"Prisoner X2" (in Hebrew: "האסיר איקס 2" or "X2 האסיר") is a placeholder name of a Mossad agent (described as an "important operative"[1]) who has reportedly been secretly imprisoned in Israel since about 2004, after he was convicted of treason (reportedly spying for Iran).[2]
Reports about Prisoner X2
Details of a "second Prisoner X" being secretly held in Ayalon Prison emerged in 2013, following the exposure of the death of Ben Zygier. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who chaired the Knesset Committee on Defense and Foreign Affairs, told Knesset members the case was "extremely serious" but that the prisoner's rights were being upheld.[3] Israeli lawyer Avigdor Feldman described this case as "a terrible security breach", and "much more grave, sensational, amazing and riveting from Zygier's case."[4][5] The case was kept secret in Israel, and reports about it were deleted from Israeli news sites.[6][7]
In May 2018, Richard Silverstein of Tikun Olam, citing the work of Amir Oren with Walla!, reported that Prisoner X2, still unidentified, had been released from custody.[2]
References
- ^ Dan Raviv, Yossi Melman (February 27, 2014). "At Least 2 Mossad Spies were Held in Israeli Prisons: One Committed Suicide, and Now Some Details on the Second Man — a World Exclusive". Archived from the original on 2014-03-02.
- ^ a b Silverstein, Richard (May 7, 2018). Trump Operatives Hired Israeli Dirty Ops Firm, Black Cube, to Dig Dirt on Obama’s Iran Team; Israel Releases Prisoner X2, Former Senior Mossad Official Secretly Imprisoned for Betraying Israel (citing report by Amir Oren of Walla!). Tikun Olam (blog). Viewed May 2, 2021.
- ^ "Israel 'secretly holds second Prisoner X' in jail". BBC News. 12 July 2013.
- ^ "Feldman: there is at least one more secret prisoner in Israel". Ynet. July 9, 2013.
- ^ "Israel secretly holds 'Prisoner X2' for security breach: lawyer". Reuters. July 9, 2013.
- ^ "In 2014, Maariv reported that according to foreign reports, a Mossad operative is being held in an Israeli prison for about a decade for treason". Maariv. March 1, 2014. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ^ "Secrets behind death of spy Ben Zygier revealed in new book, Prisoner X, by Rafael Epstein". The Sydney Morning Herald. February 22, 2014.
External links
- Lieberman reveals: The second X prisoner is involved in an "extremely grave case" (in Hebrew), Nrg, July 10, 2013
- Sources in Prison Service tell Haaretz: The second X prisoner is being held in total isolation for years (in Hebrew), Haaretz, July 10, 2013
- What We Know — and Don't Know — About Israel's Prisoner X2, The Forward, July 14, 2013
- Israel's 'Prisoner X2' case raises concerns, Deutsche Welle, July 18, 2013
