(JTA) — Suspected Israeli spy Ben Zygier may have given detailed information about his work to Australian intelligence, leading to his arrest and imprisonment in Israel, according to an Australian news program.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp.’s "Foreign Correspondent" reported Monday that Zygier met with Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, or ASIO, and provided details about Israel’s Mossad secret service operations, including a top-secret mission in Italy that had taken years to plan.
Zygier, a Melbourne native, visited Australia often with his wife and children, and enrolled in a master’s in business administration program at Montash University in that city. It was during one of those visits that he had contact with Australian intelligence, "Foreign Correspondent" reported, and also applied for a visa to Italy.
Zygier, who was known as Prisoner X as well as Ben Alon, was the subject of an expose by "Foreign Correspondent" that reported Feb. 12 that he was jailed in early 2010 and apparently committed suicide in the high-security Ayalon Prison near Tel Aviv. The report suggested that he worked with the Mossad.
Following the report, internal investigations on his case were initiated in Israel and Australia.
Zygier was one of three Australian Jews who changed their names several times, receiving new passports for travel in the Middle East and Europe allegedly for their work for the Mossad, according to the news program. He was buried in Melbourne, where he attended day school.
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