Judges Close Conspiracy Case Against Argentina’s President
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Version 0 of 1. BUENOS AIRES — A criminal case against President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was closed Tuesday when federal judges accepted a prosecutor’s decision not to pursue accusations that she had conspired to shield Iranians suspected of planning the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center here. The case had originally been brought by another prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, who was found dead in January at his home, hours before he was to present his findings before Congress. Mr. Nisman’s body was lying in a pool of blood, and he had a bullet lodged in his head. A pistol was found on the floor under the body, and a spent cartridge was also at the scene. There was no suicide note. His death thrust Argentina into its most severe political crisis in more than a decade. A team of experts is trying to determine whether it was suicide or murder, but the evidence is inconclusive and a consensus seems improbable. The three-judge panel unanimously agreed to accept a prosecutor’s decision to drop Mr. Nisman’s case. The prosecutor, Javier de Luca, refused to take up an appeal to carry the case forward after two courts dismissed it, saying there was no crime on which to base an investigation. Mr. Nisman accused Mrs. Kirchner and Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman of trying to derail his lengthy investigation into the bombing of the Jewish center, which killed 85 people. He said they had plotted a political cover-up to deflect his charges that former Iranian officials masterminded the attack. It is extremely rare for judges here to demand a criminal investigation if the prosecutor does not believe that one is warranted, legal experts said. The progress of Mr. Nisman’s case through the courts highlighted how acutely politicized Argentina’s judiciary had become. Many people here question whether judges and prosecutors can act impartially, free of political interests. Judges who threw the case out said Mr. Nisman had groped for evidence to support a predetermined hypothesis. The government also accused him of trying to destabilize Mrs. Kirchner, who has recently sought to link him to her other foes. Two prosecutors, however, argued that he had gathered leads strong enough to pursue. Still, one of the judges, Ana María Figueroa, underscored in Tuesday’s ruling comments by Mr. de Luca that “no glimmer at all remains” of Mr. Nisman’s claims of a cover-up. The three-judge panel’s decision to agree with Mr. de Luca brings a formal end to the allegations. But Mr. Nisman’s supporters hope that a new criminal case based on Mr. Nisman’s findings might be brought after a new government takes office in December. |