Argentinian Politician Accused of Covering Up Iran's Role in AMIA Case Temporarily Released

According to Argentine media, Carlos Zanini, an advisor to the former president of Argentina, who was arrested for allegedly covering up Iran's role in the AMIA case, was temporarily released from prison on Saturday, March 4, until his trial. French news agency reported that Argentine judicial authorities confirmed that Luis D'Elia, another defendant in this case, was also temporarily released alongside Mr. Zanini. Cristina Kirchner Fernández, the former president of Argentina, and about twenty members of her cabinet have been accused of colluding with the Islamic Republic to 'conceal' evidence related to Iran's role in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, known as AMIA. Ms. Kirchner has denied these accusations, claiming they are 'politically motivated.' Carlos Zanini, after his release from a prison located twenty kilometers south of Buenos Aires, held a press conference where he accused the Argentine government of 'fabricating cases' and referred to himself as a 'political prisoner.' Zanini, who held key positions in the cabinets of two Argentine presidents from 2003 to 2015, was one of several individuals recently detained for judicial investigations regarding the potential cover-up of Iran's role in the 1994 bombings. Gabriela Baygón, the prosecutor who ordered the release of Carlos Zanini and another defendant, stated in an interview with a local radio station, without going into details, that according to the law, defendants are entitled to conditional freedom under specific circumstances, which applied to these two cases. Cristina Kirchner Fernández, who served as president from 2007 to 2015 and currently serves in the Argentine Senate, is set to be tried alongside about twenty members of her government, although the Argentine judiciary has yet to announce the date for this trial. The bombing at the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, AMIA, occurred in July 1994, resulting in 85 deaths and over three hundred injuries. Since then, the Lebanese Hezbollah group has been accused of carrying out this deadly operation on the orders of Iranian officials. This accusation led to Interpol arrest warrants for Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the then-president, Ali Fallahian, the then-minister of intelligence, Ali Akbar Velayati, the then-foreign minister, and Mohsen Rezai, the then-commander of the Revolutionary Guards. The judicial proceedings in this case, referred to as the longest legal case in Argentina, have also faced political repercussions in the country and included the suspicious death of the prosecutor handling this case. Iran has consistently denied any involvement in the AMIA bombing.