Israel confirms it held mystery 'Prisoner X'

ISRAEL: Israel has confirmed it jailed a foreigner in solitary confinement on security grounds who later committed suicide, as Australia admitted Thursday it knew one of its citizens had been secretly held.

The man, identified by Australian media as Mossad agent Ben Zygier, known as "Prisoner X", died in a secret prison near Tel Aviv in 2010 in a case Israel went to extreme lengths to cover up, imposing media gag orders. Tel Aviv broke its silence after the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said the man was a dual Australian-Israeli citizen and reported that he was a spy for Israel's intelligence agency.

"For security reasons the man was held under a false identity although his family was immediately informed of his arrest," Israel's justice ministry said. The man was found dead in his cell and a judicial inquiry ruled he took his own life, the ministry added in a statement, although it did not reveal his identity or the charges against him. "Following an extensive investigation it was ruled six weeks ago that it was suicide," said the ministry. "The prisoner was held in jail under a warrant issued by a court." But other details of the case remained under a gag order, leaving local media obliged to quote foreign reports.

AFP