Argentine prosecutor: Nisman may have been ‘induced’ to kill himself

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Alberto Nisman, who investigated the 1994 bombing at a Jewish center in the capital before he was found dead in his home last year, may have been forced to kill himself, another prosecutor who was formerly in charge of his case said Thursday.

Viviana Fein, who in December was removed from the investigation into Nisman’s mysterious death, had said before that it was likely suicide. But in an interview with local radio station La Red, she acknowledged for the first time that it was possible he was “induced” to kill himself.

Fein defended the hypothesis saying that Nisman had several back-and-forth calls with “six or seven people,” including former spy chief Antonio Stiuso and then-army chief Cesar Milani on Jan. 18, 2015. The body of Nisman, who led the probe of the AMIA Jewish center attack that killed 85 people, was discovered on that day in his apartment with a gunshot wound to the head.

“I find it suggestive and noteworthy that personalities of this caliber were on the same day of his death talking uninterruptedly,” Fein said.

Nisman had been scheduled to appear in Congress the next day to present allegations that then-president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner orchestrated a secret deal to cover up Iranian officials’ alleged role in the attack. Fernandez denied the allegations and judges threw out the case.

Nearly 18 months after Nisman’s death, authorities have yet to determine whether he took his own life or was killed by someone else.

Conspiracy theories have flourished around the case. While some people believe Nisman killed himself because he felt his claims against the former president lacked proof, others say he was murdered because he was a threat to the Argentine and Iranian governments.