Ben Zygier
Ben Zygier, also known as Ben Alon, was an Australian citizen who reportedly hanged himself while secretly held in a high security prison in Israel in late 2010. According to Australian broadcaster ABC, Zygier had previously been recruited by Mossad.[1]
Zygier reportedly returned to Australia in 2009 to do an MBA at Monash University, where he associated with students from Iran and Saudi Arabia.[2]
According to The Age, an ASIO investigation into Zygier and two other men began at least six months before the January 2010 assassination of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in which Mossad agents using Australian and European passports are widely suspected of involvement.[2] The three men subject to the ASIO investigation are reportedly separate from those linked to the al-Mabhouh investigation.[3]
Australian journalist Jason Koutsoukis confronted Zygier over allegations that he was working for Mossad in early 2010, after learning that ASIO was investigating three dual Israeli-Australian citizens who had emigrated to Israel, each of whom had returned to Australia on multiple occasions to obtain new passports, using new Anglo-Australian names. Zygier denied any involvement in espionage.[2]
External resources
- Jason Koutsoukis and Jonathan Pearlman, ASIO in fresh Israel spy probe, 27 February 2010.
- Dimi Rieder, Prisoner X: A false-flag agent?, +972, 13 February 2013.
- Yossi Melman, Exclusive: Australian-Israeli Mossad Man, Few Days before Suicide, Seemed ‘A Nice Guy,’ No Special Stress – Considered a Plea Bargain, Spies Against Armageddon, 13 February 2013.
- Ruth Pollard, Ben Zygier: ASIO suspect who died in Israeli jail, The Age, 14 February 2013.
- Amir Oren, A liar or a blabbermouth? Ben Zygier was not suited to work for the Mossad, Haaretz, 15 February 2013.
- David Wroe, Zygier in limbo as DFAT in dark, The Age, 16 February 2013.
- Zygier ‘did not commit treason,’ was arrested because he ‘might’ have leaked info, Times of Israel, 17 February 2013.
- Ulrike Puz, How the Mossad Works: The Mystery of Israel's 'Prisoner X', SpiegelOnline, 19 February 2013.
Notes
- ↑ Trevor Bormann, Australian suspected of Mossad links dies in Israeli jail, ABC News, 13 February 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ruth Pollard, Ben Zygier: ASIO suspect who died in Israeli jail, The Age, 14 February 2013.
- ↑ Jason Koutsoukis and Jonathan Pearlman, ASIO in fresh Israel spy probe, 27 February 2010.
