Friday, September 03, 2004

  • Friday, September 03, 2004
  • Elder of Ziyon

The trial of four Argentine police officers and a car thief, accused of providing the vehicle used in a deadly terrorist bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, ended Thursday in the acquittal of all the defendants.


It was the longest, most complex trial in Argentine history, nearly three years, with 1,284 witnesses.

The verdict was reached 10 years after the attack on the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300 in what remains the deadliest anti-Semitic incident anywhere since World War II. For months, prominent Jews had warned that judicial misconduct and an official cover-up were ruining a true inquiry and preventing the main culprits from facing justice.

Carlos Sa�l Menem, who was president of Argentina at the time of the bombing, at first blamed Islamic extremists from Iran. Governments that came to power after he left office in 1999 have accused Mr. Menem of deliberately ignoring promising leads that might have implicated the state intelligence apparatus and other groups loyal to him. In their final ruling, the judges asked for an inquiry into the conduct of his minister of the interior, Carlos Carach.

'Carlos Menem is the culprit and is a criminal fugitive,'' Marina Degtiar, speaking on behalf of relatives of the victims, said at a recent ceremony for the 10th anniversary of the attack on the center, known by its Spanish initials as AMIA. 'So many facts still lie with impunity beneath the ruins,'' she added.

In 2003, arrest warrants were issued for four Iranian government officials who were accused of organizing and carrying out the attack. They included a former ambassador to Argentina. Iran responded with vague threats against Argentina, and Britain would not allow the former ambassador to be extradited after he was found there.

Amid heavy security, a three judge panel announced the verdict on Thursday night in a national television broadcast. The judges cited lack of proof as their reason for rejecting the prosecution's request for life sentences for the accused, but it will be a month or so before the full text of their decision will be made available.

The five men were not accused of a direct role in the attack, but were charged as accessories, part of what prosecutors called 'the local connection'' to Islamic extremist groups. 'The Iranian connection needs to be explored,'' the American Jewish Committee said in a statement urging the Argentine government 'to step up'' efforts to solve this case and a similar attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992.."

Related Posts:

  • Mamilla update and the text of the judgmentsThe Jewish Journal of Los Angeles has an op-ed by Rabbi Marvin Hier where he discusses the article I found in the Palestine Post about how the Supreme Muslim Council approved building on the Mamilla Cemetery in 1945 - includi… Read More
  • Hillel Cohen responds to my review of "Good Arabs"The author of "Good Arabs," Hillel Cohen, responded to my review where I questioned whether the word Nakba was used in the 1950s:Thanks for your review. Just one factual comment - the term Nakba was in use in Arabic in the 19… Read More
  • Dubai police now have 26 suspectsFrom Gulf News:Police revealed 15 more suspects in the Al Mabhouh murder case on Wednesday. The extensive investigation has led to a total of 26 suspects so far involved in the murder of the Hamas official Mahmoud Al Mabhou… Read More
  • Ahmadinejad blames US for delaying return of the MahdiFrom Al-Arabiya:President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed once again to "cut the hands" of Iran's enemies if the Islamic republic came under attack, AFP reported Tuesday.In the speech, broadcast live on state television and circu… Read More
  • Are Muslims obligated to hate all Jews and Christians?Last week, an op-ed was written by a Dr. Hamad Al-Majid in Asharq al-Awsat, calling on Muslims to interpret the Quran in liberal ways that would allow respect for non-Muslims:I think that with a careful Shariaa reading of a n… Read More

AddToAny

EoZTV Podcast

Podcast URL

Subscribe in podnovaSubscribe with FeedlyAdd to netvibes
addtomyyahoo4Subscribe with SubToMe

search eoz

comments

Speaking

translate

E-Book

For $18 donation








Sample Text

EoZ's Most Popular Posts in recent years

Search2

Hasbys!

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

Donate!

Donate to fight for Israel!

Monthly subscription:
Payment options


One time donation:

Follow EoZ on Twitter!

Interesting Blogs

Blog Archive