In late 2009, it appeared that Zygier was on the verge of disclosing secrets about Israel’s use of dual nationals in its spy operations.
He “may well have been about to blow the whistle, but he never got the chance," Fairfax Media reported, quoting what it described as an Australian security official with knowledge of the case. Fairfax publishes Australia’s two largest newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age..
After a visit to Australia, Zygier was arrested in Israel in February 2010. Australian newspapers have reported that Israel informed Australia’s secret service of the arrest on Feb. 24, 2010, eight days after Dubai police revealed that Mossad agents had used foreign passports – including Australian and British – to enter Dubai and assassinate a leading official of the Hamas movement, Mahmoud al Mabhouh.
One Israeli official familiar with the case, who spoke to McClatchy on the condition that he not be identified because of the gag order, confirmed that Zygier had intended to reveal sensitive details about the Mossad’s use of foreign passports that would have harmed Israel’s diplomatic relations with Western countries.
“Its unclear how far he went and therefore what the crimes were that he is being accused of committing,” he said.
The official version of Zygier’s death – that he hanged himself in his cell on Dec. 15, 2010 – is being greeted with widespread skepticism as details about his life become known.
