MOSCOW, January 20 (Sputnik) — Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who accused President Cristina Kirchner and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman of collusion in the case of the Jewish cultural center's blast in Buenos Aires in 1994, was found dead in his apartment, local media reports.
#Argentine Prosecutor #Nisman Is Found Dead After Accusing President of Coverup — http://t.co/gxqBgR5fqa
— Christopher Kingdon (@C_Kingdon) January 19, 2015
Last week, Nisman, reading into the case of the attack, accused Kirchner and Timerman of conspiring to "ensure impunity" of Iranians, indicted for participation in the blast by Argentinian authorities. In addition, Nisman asked the judge to question the president and foreign minister on the case and to impose an embargo on their property in the amount of 200 million pesos (about $23 million).
In addition, the prosecutor indicted several other politicians, close to the incumbent government. According to him, they were mediators in the negotiations with Iran on exchange of Argentinian grain to Iranian oil.
Argentine Security Secretary says prosecutor #Nisman appears to have killed himself, but his death is now likely to fuel all sort of rumours
— Ignacio de los Reyes (@BBC_DelosReyes) January 19, 2015
According to local media, Nisman’s body was found in his bathroom in Buenos Aires on Monday morning. As lawmaker Patricia Bullrich told a local TV channel, members of Parliament are going to hold a meeting on Monday morning to discuss the situation. Nisman was to appear before lawmakers on Monday afternoon to explain his accusations against the president, Reuters reports.
Argentina accuses a number of high-ranking Iranians, including former President Hashemi Rafsanjani and seven former government officials of the involvement in the organization of the largest terrorist attack in the country's history, which killed 85 people and injured over 200. Iranian authorities have always vehemently denied the accusations.
Special prosecutor #Nisman found shot dead in the bathroom of his apartment http://t.co/sGFZrzmlxo #Argentina pic.twitter.com/k6ZYEnV4SV
— DW (English) (@dw_english) January 19, 2015
Earlier, the authorities of Argentina and Iran ratified the Memorandum of Understanding, which stipulates a joint investigation into the explosion. The influential Jewish community in Argentina has strongly opposed the document, calling it "unconstitutional", aimed at "blanching over the Iranian regime" and "ensuring impunity" of the attack organizers.
