Australia on Wednesday admitted for the first time that a man found hanged in a Tel Aviv jail worked for the Israeli government, but stopped short of confirming he was a Mossad spy.
Dual Australian-Israeli citizen Ben Zygier, known as “Prisoner X”, died in 2010 in an allegedly suicide-proof cell with Israel going to extreme lengths to cover it up, sparking claims by Australian media that he worked for Mossad.
In releasing a report into his department’s handling of Zygier’s imprisonment, Foreign Minister Bob Carr said it was a complicated case.
“Mr Zygier went off to live in another country, for 10 years, took out citizenship of that country, worked for its government,” he said.
“And if reports are to be believed, he worked for one of its intelligence services. That’s not something I can deny or confirm. You can draw your own conclusions.”
That Zygier managed to hang himself while being held in a high security prison under continuous surveillance has fed conspiracy theories.
Last month, ABC television said Zygier, 34, was arrested after giving Australian intelligence officials a comprehensive account of a number of Mossad operations. Israel denied this.