The death of an Argentine prosecutor who accused the countrys most powerful of a criminal cover-up has put on display a labyrinth that could have hatched from a novelists imagination. It involves an investigation into the deadliest terror attack in Argentinas history, modern geopolitics, alleged betrayals, a puzzling death and a dose of paranoia. If you are unfamiliar with the story: Last week, a special prosecutor investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires filed a report alleging that the President, foreign minister and other officials conspired to cover up Irans involvement in the attack, which killed 85. The prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, was invited to testify about his allegations before Congress on Monday. But on the eve of his testimony, Nisman was found dead inside his apartment. He died of a gunshot wound to the temple. A gun and a shell casing were found near his body. The apartment was locked from the inside. At first glance, a suicide. But the untimely death raised suspicions immediately. A poll by the firm Ipsos of more than 400 Argentineans found that 70% of them believed that Nisman was murdered. Some 18% believed he took his own life, and 12% didnt have an opinion. President: Not a suicide President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who initially called Nismans death a suicide, reversed her thinking Thursday. In a statement, she called it the suicide (that I am convinced) was not a suicide. It is an about-face from her position just days before. Protesters in Buenos Aires are alleging a government cover-up in the mysterious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was <a href="cnn/2015/01/19/americas/argentina-alberto-nisman-dead/index.html">found dead in his apartment</a> Sunday. Argentines protest prosecutors death 7 photos EXPAND GALLERY Her first statement on Nismans death was a rejection of the prosecutors allegations and a reflection on, What was it that led a person to make the terrible decision to take his own life? Two things happened after that: the prosecutor looking into Nismans death said that no gunpowder residue was found on his hands, as would be likely if he pulled the trigger. Second, the locksmith who helped Nismans mother gain access into the apartment cast doubt on reports that the door could have been opened only from inside. To the contrary, someone could have gained entry with something as simple as a wire, the locksmith said. Anybody could have opened it, he told a swarm of reporters after giving a statement to investigators. cnnee cafe sarmenti argentina cfk not suicide_00013408 En Español: CFK cambia de versión 05:12 PLAY VIDEO While Fernandez now considers that Nisman did not commit suicide, she still believes that his allegations against her government are false. Nisman was not a hack with an agenda against the President, but a naive investigator who was used by others who fed him false information, Fernandez said. The criminal complaint by prosecutor Nisman was never in itself the true plot against the government, Fernandez wrote. His report collapses like a house of cards, she wrote, and Nisman probably never knew he was being fed false information. The real plot against the government was his death, which came after he accused her government of a cover-up to protect Iranian suspects in the bombing, Fernandez wrote. They used him while he was alive, and then they needed him dead, she wrote. Its that sad and terrible. Nismans report made public Nismans report promised to provide evidence of the existence of a sophisticated criminal plot, deliberately conjured to cover up and provide impunity to the Iranians accused in the investigation of the attack of the Jewish community center in 1994. Less than 48 hours after Nismans body was found, the court that had received the criminal complaint published the entire document on the internet. Traffic was so heavy that the website hosting the document crashed for a while. The 289-page report makes its case based on tapped telephone conversations between representatives of Argentina and Iran and concludes that the South American nation agreed to stop pursuing the named Iranian suspects in the bombing in exchange for an oil-for-grain-and-meat deal with Iran. A little background: In 2007, Argentina requested the arrest of several Iranians in connection with the 1994 bombing, including former Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi. Interpol approved so-called Red Notices for these suspects, alerting countries around the world of Buenos Aires desire to have them arrested. According to Nismans report, representatives on Fernandezs behalf held both secret and public meetings where it was agreed that the trade deal could be reached if the Red Notices were withdrawn. It was a geopolitical move to fortify Argentinas economic position at the cost of forgoing justice in the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association building, according to Nisman. Intercepted phone calls between representatives of both countries show that there was a conspiracy to create a new hypothesis for the bombing and to redirect the investigation based on fake evidence that would remove the spotlight from the Iranians, Nismans report states. The public face of this plan was an agreement reached between both countries in 2013 to jointly investigate the bombing by creating a binational truth commission, Nisman wrote. The plan never took off, however, because of an unexpected roadblock, according to Nismans report. Interpol refused to withdraw the Red Notices against the Iranians. Without that, Iran moved the deal to the back burner, Nisman wrote. Who can you believe? The release of Nismans report was not a bombshell. Its contents were widely reported, but Fernandezs government and its supporters outright rejected the allegations. Fernandez focused her attack on Nismans sources, including two Argentineans that the prosecutor identified as working for the countrys intelligence services. These alleged spies -- Ramon Allan Hector Bogado and Hector Yrimia -- never worked for Argentine intelligence, Fernandez said. Everything Nisman argues is false, Fernandez says -- the spies were spies, Argentina didnt ask Interpol to withdraw the Red Notices, trade between Argentina and Iran has actually decreased, and so on. We think all the allegations are baseless, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman told CNN on Thursday. Fernandezs government has done more than any previous administration to get to the bottom of the bombing, Timerman said. I am Jewish, he said. And to think that a person of my religion, the Jewish religion, can make a deal not to prosecute the death of 85 people, most of them Jewish in Argentina ... I have to tell you, its not easy to live with. The Argentine government was not involved in Nismans death in any way, he said. Nobody, I mean, wanted more for Mr. Nisman to live and to answer questions, than the President of Argentina and myself, Timerman said. And theres more... If the accusations and counter-accusations laid out by all sides arent confusing enough, additional theories continue to arise. In a news conference, Argentinas chief of the cabinet ministers, Anibal Fernandez, offered new questions. Nisman was on vacation in Europe with his teenage daughter when he suddenly cut short his trip and returned to Argentina, according to the cabinet chief. Things just get stranger, he said, asking who called him back in a hurry. Why did he return? Why did he leave his daughter there, alone at an international airport? the cabinet chief said.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 21:16:32 +0000
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