Former Argentine President To Be Tried For Alleged Cover-Up Of Iran’s Role In Jewish Center Bombing

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will stand trial over accusations that she covered up the involvement of senior Iranian officials in the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center. The attack on the AMIA center, which killed 85 people and injured hundreds more, came two years after Israel’s Embassy in Argentina was bombed, which is also attributed to Tehran and its Lebanese proxy Hizbullah. The decision to put Kirchner on trial—this, after a federal judge in December indicted her for treason—is directly related to accusations made by former state prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who claimed that former Argentine leader had forged favorable economic deals with the Islamic Republic in exchange for burying evidence of its complicity in the terror attacks. The issue gained international notoriety in 2015 when Nisman was found dead in his apartment, the day before he was scheduled to present his allegations to lawmakers. Initially deemed a suicide, his shooting has since been ruled a homicide. While Kirchner currently serves as a Senator, her diplomatic immunity only prevents her from being arrested but not tried. The crime of treason is punishable by up to 25 years in prison, Argentina’s maximum sentence.