Israeli lawyer sheds some light on 'Prisoner X' mystery
Partially lifting a gag order on the case, an Israeli court said a dual-nationality citizen had been imprisoned secretly under a false name for 'security reasons,' and found dead in his cell in what was ruled a suicide.
An Israeli prison guard keeps watch from a tower at Ayalon prison in Ramle near Tel Aviv February 13. An Australian man committed suicide in the high-security Israeli jail in 2010 after being held for months in great secrecy, Australia's ABC channel said on Tuesday, throwing new light on a case that has rattled Israel.
Nir Elias/Reuters
JERUSALEM; and CANBERR
An Australian immigrant, reported to have been recruited by Israel's Mossad spy agency, was charged with grave crimes before he committed suicide in an Israeli jail, one of his lawyers said on Thursday.
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The closely guarded case has raised questions in Australia and Israel about the suspected use by the Mossad of dual Australian-Israeli nationals and the circumstances behind the 2010 detention and death of 34-year-old Ben Zygier.
Israel on Wednesday broke its silence over an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) report which said that Zygier, who moved to Israel, was jailed in isolation over suspected misconduct while spying for the Mossad.
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