Judge turns away Alberto Nisman's case against president of Argentina
Judge turns away Alberto Nisman's case against president of Argentina
Question mark over future of Iran conspiracy claims that were raised against Cristina Fernández de Kirchner by prosecutor who was later found dead
Jonathan Watts, Latin America correspondent
Monday 2 February 2015 20.37 EST
An Argentinian judge has refused to pursue allegations that president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner conspired with Iran to cover up the nation’s deadliest terrorist attack – raising the prospect of the case dying along with the prosecutor who presented it.
The accusation was made in January by Alberto Nisman, who less than a week after presenting the indictment was found dead with a bullet in his head.
In a nearly 300-page legal document he had claimed that the president, her foreign minister Hector Timmerman and other aides plotted to shift the blame for the 1994 bombing of the Amia Jewish community centre so that Argentina could secure access to Iranian oil.
The allegations shocked Argentina, which has already seen one former president, Carlos Menem, indicted for trying to subvert the course of justice regarding the attack, which killed 85 people.
But many analysts said Nisman’s case was flawed because it relied too heavily on intelligence from wiretaps and appeared to have been contradicted by events. Argentina has not boosted trade with Iran and the former head of Interpol has denied that its government has ever requested the lifting of “red notice” warrants against Iranian officials who were allegedly involved in the bombing.
More:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/03/judge-turns-away-alberto-nismans-case-against-argentinas-president