Alberto Nisman Death: Argentine Prosecutor Who Accused President Kirchner Of Covering Up Iran Attack Found Dead A Day Before Testifying

July 18, 1994 marked Argentina’s deadliest bombing ever, an attack to a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that left 85 dead and over 300 injured. The attack was aimed at the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA; Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) building. Argentina is home to a Jewish community of 250,000, the largest in Latin America and sixth in the world outside Israel. Over the years, this case has been marked by incompetence and accusations of cover-ups. On October 25, 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martínez Burgos formally accused the government of Iran of directing the bombing, and the Hezbollah militia of carrying it out, although Iran vehemently denies any involvement.

Today, Alberto Nisman is dead. He was 51. His body was found over the weekend by his mother in the bathroom of his apartment in Buenos Aires. “Alberto Nisman was found dead on Sunday night in his flat on the 13th floor of the tower Le Parc, in the Buenos Aires district of Puerto Madero,” the Argentinian security ministry said in a statement. “Next to Nisman’s body, a .22-calibre handgun was found, together with a bullet casing.” He was scheduled to appear in court on Monday, Jan. 19 to testify in a closed-door hearing against Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Nisman had filed a criminal complaint last week accusing Kirchner, Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman and others of conducting negotiations through non-diplomatic channels with Iran, offering immunity to the Iranian suspects of the 1994 attack in exchange for Iranian oil. “The issue is very clear,” Nisman wrote in an email to The Wall Street Journal on Friday, declining to offer additional details about the case. “On Monday, in the Argentine Congress, I am going to explain it in detail in my exposition.” Protests and demonstrations were announced when the news of Nisman’s death broke, amid speculation that he was victim of an assassination.

“In the coming days we will determine the cause of death with an autopsy,” prosecutor Viviana Fein told journalists gathered at the scene. “I ask for seriousness, I ask for prudence.” On Monday morning, officials began a post-mortem examination of Nisman’s body. “Everything indicates it was a suicide,” Secretary of National Security Sergio Berni told local television. ”We have to see if gunpowder is found on his hands.” However, politician Patricia Bullrich revealed to local television that Nisman had received threats since making his claims last week.