Documents of the Argentina Jewish Center Bombing Case Declassified

On Friday, March 13, the Argentine government declassified documents related to the deadly bombing in 1994 at the Jewish Center in Buenos Aires known as AMIA. According to AFP, at the request of the prosecutors of the case, the government has declassified all documents in the bombing case. Reports indicate that even documents and reports that were not part of the case but were somehow related can now be published. Leaders of the Argentine Jewish community have strongly welcomed this government action. Waldo Wolf, vice president of the Argentine Jewish Associations, stated in an interview with 'Radio Mitre': 'We welcome the publication of any information. However, what is questionable is the accuracy of the information; especially since we know that those who conducted the investigations are themselves accused of negligence in this regard.' In the 1994 bombing at the Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, 85 people were killed and 300 others were injured. This bombing is considered the deadliest attack in Argentina's history. In the initial investigations, no individual or group was convicted of involvement in the case. However, 21 years after the incident, with the suspicious death of Alberto Nisman, the former prosecutor, the issue of the bombing at the Jewish Center has once again come under international media scrutiny. Before his death, Nisman accused Cristina Fernández, the President of Argentina, of attempting to divert the investigation. Nisman believed that the Argentine president ignored the role of Iranian officials in the bombing in exchange for oil and trade concessions from Tehran. The body of this prominent prosecutor was found a few days after his controversial statements, with a bullet wound to his head. An Argentine court dismissed the charges against Fernández last month. New prosecutors in the case have requested a review. Nisman also accused the Iranian government of issuing the order for the bombing through the Lebanese Hezbollah group. According to his claims, Iranian officials, led by former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, had reached an agreement with the Argentine government to cancel the Interpol arrest warrant for Iranian officials. Both the Iranian and Argentine governments deny these accusations. Ronald Noble, the then-president of Interpol, also stated that such a request had not been sent to the organization. Carlos Menem, the then-president of Argentina, is also accused of obstructing the progress of the investigation and will go to court in June on this charge.