Slain prosecutor had draft arrest warrant for president
BUENOS AIRES — A day after Argentina’s cabinet chief tore up a newspaper article, ridiculing the story that said deceased prosecutor Alberto Nisman had considered the arrest of the president, the investigator into his death confirmed the report.
A draft document calling for the detention of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and members of her government was found in Nisman’s apartment after his body was discovered with a bullet to the head on Jan. 18, prosecutor Viviana Fein said.
The draft warrant also called for the arrest of Hector Timerman, the country’s foreign minister.
“The drafts are there, they’ve been incorporated as part of my role,” Fein said in a radio interview on Vorterix. “They have to do with the allegations by Doctor Nisman, as was anticipated by the media, seeking the arrest of the president.”
Cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich on Monday tore up a copy of the article published in Clarin on Sunday that said Nisman had sought Fernandez’s arrest for trying to cover up the alleged Iranian involvement in the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history. The draft document, which Clarin published, was dated June 2014 and was found in the trash can of Nisman’s house, the newspaper reported.
Fein said a statement published Monday by the general prosecutor’s office denying the existence of the draft was an error.
Secretary general Anibal Fernandez described Fein’s contradictions as an “embarrassment” and asked whether someone had given her the document.
The draft document was not part of the broader dossier of evidence against President Fernandez that prosecutors have published on the Internet.
The 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires killed 85 people. Nisman’s body was found the day before he was due to present evidence for his allegations to Congress. The discovery of his body slumped against the door of his bathroom in a locked house surrounded by security agents triggered a series of conspiracy theories. Fernandez has said she is convinced he was killed in order to dirty the reputation of her government, while others suspect he was murdered to halt his investigation.
Two judges have this week refused to take up the case being pursued by Nisman, prompting concern that his death would end the investigation. There was no immediate comment from Fernandez, who is on a visit to China.