Dead Prosecutor Had Drafted Warrant for Argentine President's Arrest

from nbc

BY DANIELLA SILVA AND LAURA SARAVIA

First published February 3rd 2015, 5:12 pm

An Argentine special prosecutor who was found dead of a gunshot wound in his home had drafted a warrant seeking the arrest of the country's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, according to documents obtained by local media.

Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor whose death last month sent shockwaves through Argentina, drafted a 26-page document, first published in Argentine Spanish-language newspaper Clarin, calling for the detention of Fernandez and her foreign minister, Hector Zimmerman.

The document was found in a trash bin at the Nisman's apartment, where he was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head by police on Jan. 18.

Nisman was the lead investigator into the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and injured hundreds more. In the last few months, Nisman had been outspoken in his criticism of Kirchner and other government officials, accusing them of having shielded Iranian officials from responsibility in the attack. Nisman was set to testify in a hearing about the bombing before his death.

Image: RODRIGO ABD / AP
In this Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015 photo, a woman holds up a sign that reads in Spanish "Justice" as she gathers with others outside the funeral home where a private wake for the late prosecutor Alberto Nisman takes place, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Nisman was scheduled to appear before Congress the day after he was found dead in his apartment on Jan. 18, to detail his allegations that President Cristina Fernandez had conspired to protect some of the Iranian suspects in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center. The man who gave Nisman the gun that killed him said Wednesday that Nisman feared for the safety of his daughters and didn't trust the policemen protecting him.
Viviana Fein, the lead investigator into Nisman's death, initially denied the existence of a draft when Clarin first reported on them on Sunday. But on Tuesday Fein walked back her comments, saying on Argentine radio that it was a misinterpretation.

"The word I should have used is: It is clear that there was a draft," she said on Argentine radio station Vorterix.

In a statement released by Fein's office, she said different types of documentation were found in Nisman's home, including in a trash bin, and that the material was protected as evidence and all part of the investigation. She added that further testing of evidence will take place next Monday. Fein did not acknowledge whether there was a warrant for the president's arrest.

The killing is still under investigation: Some have said Nisman's death was a suicide — he was found with a gun next to him and his home was locked from the inside — while others, including the Argentine president herself, have questioned that claim.

In a post on her Facebook page, Fernandez suggested the death and ensuing political drama was part of an ongoing struggle with Argentina's intelligence community.

"They used him while he was alive and then they needed him dead," she said in the post, adding that his death was "sad and terrible".

Image: Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman attends a meeting with journalists in Buenos Aires MARCOS BRINDICCI / REUTERS FILE
Late Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman pauses during a meeting with journalists May 29, 2013.
Reuters contributed to this report.

First published February 3rd 2015, 5:12 pm
DANIELLA SILVA 
Daniella Silva is a Cover/Social Media Producer and reporter for NBCNews.com. She began in January 2015... Expand Bio