Argentine ex-spy chief links Fernandez government to Nisman's death - AP and Israel Hayom Staff

by AP and Israel Hayom Staff

Ex-intelligence chief Antonio Stiuso testifies to link between former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez's government and mysterious shooting death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center.

The late Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman | Photo credit: AP

Former Argentine spy chief Antonio Stiuso says he thinks a prosecutor investigating the country's worst terrorist attack was killed by people linked to the government of former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez.

Stiuso's attorney said Wednesday that his client made the statement to a local judge this week. But the lawyer, Santiago Blanco, said that Stiuso doesn't have "direct proof" that prosecutor Alberto Nisman was killed.

"He has an interpretation of the precedents and motives that might have led to Nisman's killing," Blanco told the Vorterix radio station. He added that he didn't have more details because he didn't attend the closed-door testimony.

An attorney who represents Nisman's family in the case and who was in the courtroom during Stiuso's testimony told local news media that the former spy chief had directly blamed Fernandez for Nisman's death. The lawyer, Federico Casal, also said that Stiuso had accused officials in Fernandez's administration, including former legal secretary Carlos Zannini and former Cabinet Chief Anibal Fernandez for the prosecutor's death.

Cristina Fernandez has implied that Stiuso himself might have had something to do with the death -- also without evidence.

Stiuso assisted Nisman's investigation of the unsolved 1994 bombing of a Jewish center before he was found dead of a gunshot in his apartment on Jan. 18, 2015.

Just days before his death, Nisman accused President Fernandez of helping shield Iranian officials allegedly behind the bombing that killed 85 people. The case against Fernandez was later thrown out.

More than a year after his death, authorities have not determined whether Nisman took his own life or was killed by someone else.

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

AP and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=32167

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