The lawyer who visited Ben Zygier the day before he died told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that Zygier had said he didn't want to accept a plea bargain, saying that he wanted to fight to clear his name.
Avidgor Feldman, a respected criminal attorney, told the Post that the prisoner identified himself as Zygier, something which Israel has yet to officially confirm.
Feldman said that Zygier did not want to deal with the repercussions of a guilty plea, specifically that it would be an admission to his family and loved ones that he was guilty of what he was accused of. He sought to fight to clear his name, and was seen to be some-one who wasn't looking to give up.
While Feldman said he was not at liberty to say what the indictment against Zygier contained, he said that Zygier could absolutely have had a chance to see the light of day again, saying "there's no death penalty in Israel, he could have made it out some day."
Feldman said that security officials approved a request he made to see the evidence in the case against Zygier, but the next day he died and Feldman did not have a chance to see the evidence. He also said that by no means did Zygier look like someone ready to kill himself, saying “he looked about as calm as someone can look in a situation like this, but he was clear-eyed and look like he wanted to carry on.”
Amid speculation over Zygier's death, Australian news outlet Brisbane Times reported that he may have been about to disclose information regarding intelligence operations.
According to the report, security officials suspect that Zygier may have exposed the use of fake Australian passports prior to his arrest.
Mr Zygier ''may well have been about to blow the whistle, but he never got the chance'', an Australian security official told Fairfax Media.
ABC News in Australia on Tuesday named the prisoner as Melbourne native Ben Zygier, and said that he had been recruited by Mossad after making aliyah some 10 years ago. He had been 34 years old and married with two children at the time of his death, ABC said.
Israel on Wednesday confirmed that it had been holding a prisoner under a false identity for "security reasons", and that he had committed suicide, but did not give a name or acknowledge any Mossad connection.