Israeli PM defiant in prisoner row

Israel’s prime minister today defended the actions of his country’s security forces following a public uproar over the mysterious death of a man who apparently hanged himself while being held secretly in a maximum-security prison.

Israel has said little about the case, but Australian media have said the man, identified as Ben Zygier, was an Australian immigrant to Israel who served in the Mossad spy agency at the time of his death in December 2010. Zygier was reportedly imprisoned for unspecified security offences.