The family of alleged Mossad spy Ben Zygier, who committed suicide in prison, will receive $1.1 million from Israel, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday. Zygier, a Jewish Australian who became an Israeli citizen and joined the army, was detained in 2010 by the Israeli government, according to Reuters. Australia’s Fairfax newspapers and the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported last March that Zygier had unwittingly given away classified information about Lebanese informants while working for Israel’s Mossad spy service.
Zygier hanged himself in prison three years ago. The case was kept under wraps until February when an Australian news station ran the story. Though Zygier’s family accused Israel of negligence, Israeli authorities investigated the death and said last April that they found no criminal negligence.
“The reasons the state agreed to pay this ($1.1 million) sum stemmed from its desire to avoid a court hearing in which details that could harm national security might be revealed,” the ministry said in a statement.
[Reuters]