Argentine prosecutor affirms Nisman ‘was murdered’

Argentinian Prosecutor Ricardo Sáenz tells judges at the Criminal Court that special prosecutor Alberto Nisman was murdered.

Nisman was investigating the 1994 AMIA bombing that left 85 dead and a Jewish community traumatized. He had identified the Hezbollah suicide bomber and traced the AMIA bombing to Iran, and was due to testify over then-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s alleged coverup of Iranian responsibility. A day before his scheduled testimony, Nisman was found dead in his Buenos Aires apartment.

Nisman’s lawsuit accused the government of establishing a “parallel communication channel” with Iran in order to “transmit and implement the orders established by the President (Kirchner) and, in that way, reach the illicit objectives,” including establishing trade relations.

His death was discovered just hours before he was to present the evidence to Argentine lawmakers at the National Parliament. He was found dead in his apartment, a .22 pistol by his side, and associates of Kirchner said his death was a suicide.