The prosecutor’s death also had a major impact on the investigation of the largest attack perpetrated on Argentine soil.
Seven years after the mysterious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, the Argentine Justice continues its investigations to clarify the two great unknowns that fly over this case: who put an end to his life and why.
The prosecutor was found dead, shot in the head, on the night of January 18, 2015, hours before appearing before Congress to expose his complaint against then-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015), today vice president , for allegedly covering up several Iranian terror suspects.
His death, initially investigated as a suicide, was classified as “homicide” by the Federal Criminal Cassation Chamber in June 2018, an assessment that does not convince all Argentines.
In its beginnings, the investigation into Nisman’s death was riddled with irregularities: the erratic performance of the police forces was compounded by the reaction of the Executive Power itself, with several of its members behaving “as if they wanted to kill him” even before his death. death.
This is stated by Federico Casal, lawyer for Nisman’s daughters until the end of 2018, for whom the case was “decidedly aimed at making this homicide pass for a suicide”, a course that was “directed” when the Federal Justice assumed the reins of the investigation.
“Once the case passed to the federal jurisdiction, an expert opinion was made in the Gendarmerie, where more than 50 experts participated. This expert opinion was conclusive: Nisman was killed (…). It is judicially accredited by a stage of the process that it was a homicide”, remembers the lawyer.
The investigation, which is still in the investigation stage, is currently focused on the multitude of telephone calls that took place in the vicinity of prosecutor Nisman’s apartment during the hours after his death.
“The circle is closing,” says Casal, who is “optimistic” about the course of a case that “is going to be long,” due to the enormous amount of evidence that is being analyzed.
So far, there are five prosecuted for the death of the prosecutor: the computer technician Diego Lagomarsino, Nisman’s former collaborator and accused of “necessary participant” for being the owner of the murder weapon, as well as the four custodians of the prosecutor, investigated for alleged breach of duties and murder cover-up.
Attack without culprits
Nisman’s death also had a major impact on the investigation of the largest attack perpetrated on Argentine soil to date: the attack on the AMIA headquarters in 1994, which left 85 dead and 300 injured and continues unpunished.
In the opinion of Jorge Knoblovits, president of the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), Nisman’s commitment was “decisive” in trying to clarify this event, which the Argentine Justice attributes to former senior officials of the Government of Iran and the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah.
“The case has run out of procedural momentum. The Collegiate Prosecutor’s Office (the Fiscal Unit for the Investigation of the AMIA Case) governs it as best it can, but there is no promoter like Alberto Nisman,” Knoblovits, who defines the deceased prosecutor, told Efe. as an “honest” and “enthusiastic” professional.
Nisman, who was leading the investigation of that attack, had filed a complaint four days before his death against several members of the Executive Power, including Cristina Fernández, for signing a “memorandum of understanding with Iran” in 2013 that according to the deceased The prosecutor sought to cover up for the Iranian suspects.
An accusation that the current vice president has always denied, assuring that this agreement only sought to formalize a joint investigation of the attack.
Almost seven years later, on October 7, the Federal Oral Court 8 unanimously dismissed that case, considering that the memorandum with Iran “did not constitute a crime.”
Discrepancies about death
Nisman’s death, which this Tuesday will be remembered with a night march in Buenos Aires, still divides many Argentines based on their political affinity: thus, some supporters of the ruling party maintain that the prosecutor committed suicide; while many of the opposition supporters claim that he was assassinated.
“Justice has to transcend and impose its truth (…). In this country, Justice does not seem to have the last word, but rather is the starting point for many opinologists and storytellers to question what one says of the basic powers of the Republic”, laments Federico Casal.
For the president of the DAIA, an entity that this year will not hold face-to-face acts of tribute to Nisman due to the advance of the pandemic, the prosecutor’s death must be considered an “assassination”.
“The attack against Jewish community buildings in the city of Buenos Aires and the death of prosecutor Nisman is not an issue for the Jewish community, it is an issue pending resolution for the entire Argentine Republic,” concludes Knoblovits. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
