'Prisoner X' died by hanging in shower, says Israeli court
An anonymous detainee found dead in prison in December 2010, identified by Australian media as Mossad agent Ben Zygier, died by hanging in his cell’s bathroom, an Israeli court revealed on Tuesday.
An anonymous prisoner who died in an Israeli prison in 2010, identified by the press as Australian-Israeli Mossad agent Ben Zygier, hanged himself in the bathroom of his cell, court documents said on Tuesday.
“The deceased was found hanging in the shower of his detention cell, with a sheet around his neck tied to the window of the bathroom,” read the protocol, issued after a hearing at Rishon LeTzion Magistrates Court near Tel Aviv.
The court approved a request to loosen a gag order on publication of details from the inquest into the death of the prisoner, who was last week identified by Australian broadcaster ABC as Ben Zygier.
Israel has acknowledged only that a prisoner with a foreign passport had committed suicide.
It went to extreme lengths to cover up the story, imposing a media blackout that was only partially eased last week after the story was broken by ABC, which said Zygier had been jailed in top-secret conditions in Ayalon prison near Tel Aviv.
Following Tuesday’s hearing, parts of the inquest – which was only completed about six weeks ago – were made public. They included the verdict that the prisoner had committed suicide on December 15, 2010.
