Amia Case

Assessment of Argentine explosions, developments on AMIA dossier

Introduction

Two Jewish centers in Argentine, including the buildings of Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) and Delegation of Israeli Argentine Associations (DAIA) were destroyed in a bomb explosion on July 18, 1994 leaving 85 people dead and more than 250 others injured.

According to reports released at the time, the explosion took place after a bomb-laden car crashed into the buildings in a suicide bombing.

Two years prior to the blast, an explosion took place in the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires on March 17, in which 22 were killed and dozens, mostly Argentines, were injured.

Despite firm evidences that the explosion took place within the AMIA building and the rejection of the suicide bombing theory, subsequent developments-- including legal proceedings in the case, relevant investigations, charges leveled, evidences and confessions -- proved the existence of a pre-planned conspiracy by international Zionism and Argentine agents. This was mainly aimed at vilifying Iran and introducing Iranian officials and Lebanon's Hezbollah to the world public as terrorists.

Many fake documents and false evidences were presented over the past 12 years and a great number of government and judicial officials, Jewish associations as well as the Israeli regime launched a propaganda campaign against the Muslims in a concerted move.

Initial accusations against IRI

Immediately following the explosion at the Argentinean Jewish Center (AMIA) certain circles pointed the finger of blame at the Islamic Republic of Iran, accusing Tehran of having masterminded the attack.

The then health minister of the Zionist regime, Ephraim Sneh accused Iran in these words, "Iran is a potential terrorist and AMIA blast resembles the one at the Israeli Embassy."

In the wake of such antagonistic comments, the spokesman of our country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the massacre of innocent people irrespective of their faith and nationality, stressing that the main objective of such comments is to disrupt Iran-Argentine relations. Our embassy in Buenos Aires, also in a communiqué condemned the act of terrorism and declared the complete readiness of the Islamic Republic to cooperate with the Argentinean authorities to shed light on the matter.

Staging of numerous rallies in front of the IRI Embassy in Buenos Aires, organized by the Zionist regime with the backing of Jewish circles in Argentina and the United States in complete harmony with Western media, had created a poisonous atmosphere against our country.

The Argentinean government was faced, on the one hand with the flood of media reports against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and on the other by efforts of some Argentinean politicians and legal authorities in forging documents and bribing witnesses to give evidence in favor of the Zionist regime, using completely fabricated material as evidence. Such factors led to the concurrence of the Argentinean government with the judiciary in issuing unjust verdicts against Iran and Hezbollah resulting in an almost total break in political, economic, and cultural ties between the two countries.

Former judiciary group's investigations headed by Jose Galeano

Argentina's Judge Juan Jose Galeano, a federal judge since 1993, was appointed to look into the AMIA case. After a series of investigations, hearings and comprehensive research work, he came up with the hypotheses that Lebanese Hezbollah had carried out the AMIA terrorist attack with the planning and support of Iran. Based on that postulation, a number of Argentinean officers, led by Juan Jose Ribelli, were implicated in the conspiracy. In support of his postulation, Judge Galeano had presented thousands of pages of documents and statements by witnesses that were mainly based on falsehood, phony claims and forged documents. Numerous witnesses that gave evidence in the court in favor of Judge Galeano's postulations were later on proved to have been commissioned by that judge, the then Argentinean and Zionist officials and the Zionist lobby in the West, to perjury in order to accuse Iran of having masterminded the crime.////

For instance, Judge Galeano illegally issued an arrest warrant against a Ms. Miriam Salinas who was released shortly thereafter. Soon after her release, Salinas was summoned to AMIA case hearing to give evidence as an 'unnamed witness' to back up Judge Galeano's conjecture.

Meanwhile, through bribery and deception, Galeano had instigated one of the lawyers in the AMIA case, Alessandro Samoril to give evidence as another 'unnamed witness' in favor of his phony hypothesis. Some Iranian expatriates, too, were bribed with promises of political asylum, or cash rewards to put forward claims in favor of Galeano's hypothesis in the court.

The climax of irregularities and dishonesty of the judiciary was the payment of US $400,000 to an Argentinean dealer of stolen cars, called Carlos Telleldin, as a bribe by Argentina's intelligence organization, Servicio Inteligencia Del Estado (SIDE). After receiving that kickback he testified in the court that he had supplied a 'Renault Trafic' brand truck to Hezbollah agents for bombing AMIA Center.

On that basis, also a completely fabricated document was prepared that showed the engine of the said truck had been found in the ruins of the AMIA Center.

In 2003, SIDE drew up its first official report on AMIA incident and submitted it to Judge Galeano--a report that apparently served as the main reference for the Judge's subsequent judiciary works. That report was completely void of any kind of authentic evidence, and was abundant in forged and falsified documents. Based on this weak report, on March 5, 2003, Judge Galeano issued his first arrest warrants against four former IRI diplomats and embassy officials: Fallahian, Rabbani, Parvaresh, and Balesh-Abadi.

Of course, the Iranian Government refused to accept the warrants. A few months later Judge Galeano issued another international arrest warrant against eight more Iranian diplomats, namely Soleimanpour, Asqari, Baghban, Amiri, Tabrizi, Mowla'ie, Elmollahi and Monzavizadeh.

Detention and acquittal of former IRI ambassador

Iran's former ambassador to Argentina, Hadi Soleimanpour was detained on August 21, 2003 in Durham , Britain , where he was studying. However, the British judicial authorities released him on bail for 750 pounds sterling on September 12, 2003 as the court refused to accept the 6,000-page document presented by the Argentinean judge.

Just two months later, British home secretary issued an order dropping the charges against the former ambassador due to the failure of the Argentinean judge to furnish sufficient evidence to prove the allegations against him.

A British court held a 51-minute hearing on November 13, 2003 and issued a final verdict acquitting Soleimanpour and declaring the case officially closed.

The final verdict was a clear proof that the allegations made by the judicial body were totally unfounded.

Following a complaint filed two years later by Iran against the British court for libel and damages, the British government paid 180,000 pounds sterling to cover the costs of the trial.

International media assessed this as 'a major success' for Iran's diplomacy in countering allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran and damaging its image.

Open court hearing held for Argentinean culprits

In addition to issuing arrest warrants against 12 Iranian diplomats, Judge Galeano also summoned four Argentinean police officers (Ribelli, Barreiro, Leal, and Ibarra), as well as an Argentinean dealer in stolen cars (Carlos Telleldin) who had received a bribe for US $400,000 for giving false evidence sending them all to prison.

The people who were considered 'insider' defendants in the case spent between eight and ten years of their lives behind bars on the charges.

Extensive and tedious investigations by AMIA Special Survey Unit and the convening of an Open Court Number 3 on September 2, 2004 led to the issuance of a verdict acquitting those culprits.

In that court's verdict, it was clearly stated that Judge Galeano, as a collaborator of former president Carlos Menem, had conspired to portray innocent individuals as criminals.

In his verdict, Galeano pursued his pre-planned objectives and hypotheses in order to satisfy certain circles (and provided apparently logical and convincing answers to the public) and secure the special interests of certain politicians.

The court has also declared as null and void the documents on finding the engine of a Renault automobile that had apparently been used in the destruction of the Jewish center, due to 'spurious nature of the evidence presented', thus also absolving Carlos Telleldin of involvement in providing the car used in the terrorist act.

During that court hearing Telleldin confessed that his earlier statements had been made following intrigues and promises by the then head of the Argentinean intelligence service, SIDE, and that he had given false evidence under oath (committed perjury) after receiving a bribe of US $400,000.

SIDE officials also confessed that they were involved in the move 'as part of an intelligence operation', thus justifying the payment of the bribe as a part of a legal procedure. On the day when Telleldin's wife received the advance payment of the bribe in a US $200,000 check, her signature appeared on the bottom of a court document that confirmed that Buenos Aires Police had been involved in the sale of the van to terrorists, whose charred remains was later found among the rubbles of the AMIA Center.

Perjury by Telleldin and his wife as witnesses in the court was in fact completely pre-planed with Judge Galeano and the prosecutors of the dossier.

Galeano had also urged Ms. Miriam Salinas during her illegal detention to bear witness in his court against police officers under the command of Juan Jose Ribelli, and to conspire with the former lawyer of Carlos Telleldin, Alessandro Samoril, to accuse the police offices. He had to justify having committed all these infringements under the guise of a sound judicial procedure.

Judge Galeano impeached and removed from his post

Judge Galeano was impeached on August 3, 2005 and formally removed from his post by Argentine Federal Court for gross irregularities and mishandling of AMIA investigation that was based on false evidence.

Later, the prosecutors in the case, Eamon Mullen and Jose Barbaccia dropped the case.

These events, along with the British courts' verdicts about the falsehood of scenarios concocted for Iranian diplomats, brought further disgrace to this false file.

Following the removal of Galeano, Rodolfo Canicoba Corral was appointed by the present Argentinean government to take charge of the AMIA case. Claudio Bonadilo was in charge of investigating the irregularities of the AMIA case. However, later, following probes into the case by Juan Jose Ribelli, a police officer who had been acquitted in open court proceedings, Bonadilo was dismissed for his friendship with and support for Galeano and the former interior minister and was replaced by a federal judge, Ariel Jose Lijo.

Although charge cases against Bonadilo had been placed in the archives, Ariel Lijo believed that he should be put on trial for mismanaging the case and destroying certain relevant investigation reports.

Ribelli was imprisoned for years by Galeano. Therefore, he filed a complaint against Galeano and others including some other former judiciary officials, ex-president Carlos Menem and some members of his cabinet, former chief of federal police and two former prosecutors who were involved in the case, former head of the country's security agency (SIDE) and former president of Jewish community in Argentine. In his complaint, he demanded their arrest.

Ribelli said in his complaint that these people were part of an illegal circle who unlawfully detained some of the suspects in AMIA case. This was also divulged by former head of AMIA investigation section Alejandro Rua in an interview with the Argentine daily 'La Nacion' on February 1, 2006. He said that the Argentine government and judiciary have not performed their responsibilities to prevent this illegal process. According to him, an independent court (Open Court No. 3) had concluded that the three branches of government colluded in providing a falsified solution to the case.

Rua asserted that 'an illegal circle has been seeking a falsified solution to the case since 1995 and accordingly has committed various crimes including pressurizing witnesses, abusing public property, making illegal arrests, and tampering with related information and reports'.

Rua has implicitly referred to the possibility of illegal financing of Carlos Menem's presidential campaign and of providing arms and nuclear facilities to Middle East countries. He believed that launching a smear campaign against Hezbollah, Islamic Republic of Iran and certain people such as Mohsen Rabbani and Ibrahim Hossein Berro was aimed at diverting public attention from the said circle.

Rua told 'La Nacion', "A falsified hypothesis was put forward by Argentine security service, police and judiciary, supported by majority of the Jewish community leaders which was almost impossible to doubt or reject at that time. However, an open court proceeding (Open Court No. 3) existed and we cooperated with the court to reveal an order issued by SIDE to pay a bribe of $400,000 to a dealer of stolen cars Carlos Alberto Telleldin in order to trump up charges against some police officers.

Alejandro Rua, during his tenure, called for joining the special investigative section as plaintiff to file a complaint against Galeano and others following the formation of the Open Court No 3. Through his efforts, the Argentinean government directly filed complaints against people such as Galeano who had jeopardized judicial proceedings.

On September 19, 2006, Judge Ariel Lijo brought charges against Juan Jose Galeano, former chief of Argentinean security agency (SIDE) Hugo Anzorreguy, former president of the country's Jewish community (DAIA) Ruben Beraja, two former prosecutors of the file Eamon Mullen and Jose Barbaccia, stolen cars dealer Carlos Alberto Telleldin and Victor Stefano for illegal actions during AMIA investigations. However legal action against Ruben Beraja for his role in concealing facts during the AMIA explosion investigations, encountered a harsh reaction from Argentine's Jewish community. Jorge Kirssenbaum a former leader of DAIA said indicting Beraja meant bringing legal action against the Jewish community, claiming it was one of the most tragic contradictions in the contemporary history of the country, since, he argued, the responsibility of the investigation lies with the state and not the victims. He also said that Beraja, as representative of DAIA's executive committee, did not make decisions on his own.

DAIA in a statement in this regard claimed that the Argentine government has not carried out its obligations in prosecuting those responsible for the AMIA explosion and that the victims have been portrayed as criminals.

Appeal Court Hearing in Argentina (2)

The appeal court convened on May 21, 2006 to hear the appeal filed by the plaintiff--that is AMIA, DAIA and a newly established group formed by the victims' families--to overturn the verdict of acquittal for those charged with involvement in the explosion in the AMIA center (including Carlos Telleldin, Juan Jose Ribelli and a group of former police officers). Argentine judges Gustav Mitchell, Pedro David and Juan Fegolli headed the appeal court.

The Zionists expected the appeal court to repeal the verdict issued by the Open Court No. 3. However, having listened to all plaintiffs and their attorneys, the court upheld the verdict of the Open Court No. 3, which led to acquittal of the people, accused of involvement in AMIA explosion. It also inducted the Menem administration as well as Juan Jose Galeano of irregularities and mishandling the investigations. The appeal court believed reasons used by the Federal Open Court No. 3 was well founded. It other words, it said the verdict of the Open Court enjoyed quite sufficient legal bases required to make the verdict authentic.

Interpol annual session concludes Iranian nationals are not guilty

Since an international arrest warrant had been issued by Judge Galeano, in spite of the fabricated theory of this impeached judge, Islamic Republic of Iran submitted legal documents based on sound evidence to Interpol and called for the cancellation of the warrant.

Interpol suspended the warrant after reviewing the documents submitted by Iran, but deferred a final decision to the next annual session of the body.

In its next session, held in 2005 in Berlin, Germany, Interpol discussed the case and finally annulled the arrest warrant issued against 12 Iranian nationals. Interpol chief announced at the end of the session that the Argentine judge, who had issued the warrant, had bribed one of the witnesses in the court hearings of the case.

The action of the Interpol once again proved that the charges raised against the Islamic Republic of Iran were baseless. This was despite the fact that up to the final moment leading to the official announcement of Interpol's position, the Argentinean government made all-out efforts to prevent this trend.

The 250,000-member Argentine Jewish community is the biggest Jewish group in Latin America. Zionist circles in this country and in the US and Israel are trying hard to fabricate ridiculous scenarios to keep alive charges against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Following the recent remarks by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against Zionism, the current AMIA president Louis Greenwald once again claimed that suicide bombers who attacked the Israeli embassy and AMIA headquarters had been trained and abetted by Iranian intelligence. 'Active Memory', DAIA and AMIA societies, AMIA headquarters as well as the powerful Zionist center of legal and social studies in Argentine are among the groups who are following up the case.

Also the World Jewish Congress and Jewish circles in the US and Israel are exerting immense pressure on the Argentine judiciary system to attain the desired results.

Families of victims in Washington have filed lawsuits to protest the lack of progress in the investigation process. They have followed the case through Inter-American Human Rights Commission affiliated to the Organization of American States (OAS) against the Argentine government. The commission has already held gatherings in which Argentine governmental and judiciary officials and the victims' families took part.

The victims' families met Argentina's President Nestor Kirchner in Washington in early 2006. The meeting, sponsored by OAS and US Zionist societies, was aimed at conveying the concern of the families about the investigation process and proposing to set up a commission for reforming all national laws on terrorism. Kirchner accepted the proposal and gave good news about the progress made in the investigations and promised further good news from the prosecutor in the near future.

The victims' families have also repeatedly met Argentine officials including the country's justice minister in June 2006 in which they called for speedy follow-up of the case.

The Argentine government agreed to bear all expenses involved in the legal procedures on behalf of the victims' families.

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Results of fresh investigations and the hypothesis by prosecutors

Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martinez Burgos, the two prosecutors appointed for the AMIA case, concluded after 18 months of investigations, which led to the compiling of 855 pages of documents, that the decision to carry out the AMIA operation was taken in Iran by senior government officials. The prosecutors put forward a hypothesis that, despite the minor differences with the one put forward earlier by Galeano, centered on documents and evidence gathered by Galeano though a major part of it had already been rejected. The prosecutors claimed Iran planned and carried out the operation to avenge the unilateral decision by the Carlos Menem administration to suspend a deal reached earlier with the government of President Raul Alfonsin to supply nuclear material and technology.

They cited intelligence they had gathered from different sources including the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) to make up a story claiming that a special committee of the Iranian government had held a session in the city of Mashhad to adopt the decision. It said several senior Iranian officials had participated in the meeting, which assigned the Lebanese Hezbollah to carry out the decision.

According to the prosecutors, the team called EZEIZA, which was allegedly responsible for the operation arrived in Argentina via Buenos Aires Airport on July 1, 1994 and left the country from the same airport on July 18 just one hour before the blast. The operation was carried out using a van packed with explosives with an Ibrahim Hussein Berro behind the wheels. The team had purchased the van from Carlos Telleldin. The prosecutors believed the Hezbollah had been operating from within the Triple Frontier, where the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet. They said the fact that the family of Ibrahim Hossein Berro had been twice contacted from telephone in a mosque located within this triangle in July 1994 proved the claim.

Based on this hypothesis, the investigation judge was asked to issue arrest warrants for seven Iranian officials and diplomats on charges of involvement in planning and carrying out the blast in AMIA and inform the Interpol and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran of the decision. The Iranian officials included Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ali Akbar Velayati, Hojjatoleslam Ali Fallahian, Mohsen Rezaie, General Ahmad Vahidi, Hojjatoleslam Mohsen Rabbani, Ahmadreza Asghari and a Lebanese Hezbollah leader Imad Mugniyah. The federal judge confirmed the verdict in only a matter of few days. He, of course, added the name of Hadi Soleimanpour to the list.

A few points on the latest investigations

Though details of the case were never disclosed, judging from what was published in the Argentinean media and based on the remarks by Argentinean judicial and administrative officials, the attorneys built up their hypothesis on some scattered information, which had no rational sequence and bases. They based their opinion on the manipulated intelligence provided by anti-Iran terrorist groups, the intelligence services of Israel and the US and certain local Zionist groups. The documents and intelligence, even if their authenticity is proved, are misleading and lack any logical sequence.

Some points deserve to be mentioned here. The names of some of the people mentioned, such as Messrs Fallahian, Soleimanpour, Rabbani, Asghari and Mugniyeh, had already been included in Galeano list as well. This contradicts the fact that the Interpol had been straightforward in rejecting the list, saying the people mentioned were clear of the charges brought up against them. The second point is that based on the false testimony of Abolqassem Mesbahi, known as witness C, the Iranian government has paid 10 million dollars to the government of the then Argentine president Carlos Menem to cover up its involvement in the explosion. On the contrary, the present attorneys not only confirmed the opposite but also believed the serious differences between Iranian and Argentinean government were the real cause of the AMIA blast.

One important thing deserving attention here is that the two above-mentioned prosecutors had claimed in the summer of 2006 that they had managed to identify the suicide bomber in the AMIA blast. They identified him as Ibrahim Hossein Berro, a former member of Lebanese Hezbollah. They said his two brothers, who were living in Detroit, in the US, had confirmed this. Following this, Hezbollah announced that Ibrahim Berro had been killed in a gun-battle with Zionist soldiers so he could never have been able to carry out the suicide bombing in Argentina. The Berro brothers, Hassan and Abbas, too, categorically denied it. They said the prosecutors did interview them but they revealed nothing to them. Their remarks are confirmed by documents in Argentine Justice Ministry. The documents say the two prosecutors had questioned the Berro brothers in the presence of the Michigan Prosecutor Barbara McQuade but they had rejected any kind of involvement of their brother in the suicide bombing. The document clearly mentioned that the Berro brothers had confirmed Ibrahim's martyrdom in a battle against Zionist soldiers in Lebanon on September 9, 1994.

Furthermore, Nisman had claimed in a press conference that he had shown the picture of Hussein Berro to the witness (Mrs. Nicholas Romero) and she had said there was a striking resemblance between the person in the picture and the terrorist she had seen. However, she had later claimed little resemblance between the two and said she was not that sure about it.

The prosecutors' report and the subsequent issuance of international arrest warrant against former officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran were greatly welcomed by the enemies of the Islamic Republic. Now they were able to see that their two years of intense struggle was bearing fruit. The US and Israeli officials, leaders of the major Zionist groups in Argentina (AMIA and DAIA), the Zionism lobby in the US and Galeano himself, whose documents and witnesses had been rejected but were now being used again, were the first to express delight over the warrants. In some cases, they rushed to endorse and approve them without full knowledge about the content of the dossier. Still, numerous self-conscious and fair people set aside group interests and their political and religious affiliations and rejected the report, considering it a new conspiracy. For example, Ms. Laura Ginsberg from the group called 'La Agrupacion Por El Esclarecimiento De La Massacre Impune De La AMIA' expressed distrust over the persecutors' report, saying such expressions served the interests of the US which sought to blame Iran to avenge itself on the recent Middle East clashes. Mr. Luis d'Elia, deputy to the secretary of the Lands and Housing Organization, which is an important governmental organization in Argentina, too, rejected the report and the charges against Iran. This cost him his post. Opposing the adventurism of Argentina judiciary officials, he said the US and Israel were putting pressure on the Argentinean government and judiciary officials to create another crisis between Iran and Argentina.

He said leveling charges against the Islamic Republic of Iran is a conspiracy of external groups who are encouraged by foreign countries. He said the plot aimed at paving the way for the US and Israel to attack Iran.

According to d'Elia, "Neither the US nor Israel are in a position to launch an anti-terrorism campaign so they should not be allowed to use Argentine as a tool to materialize their evil goals against Iran. They (the US and Israel) follow their imperialistic policies in flouting international laws and violating the sovereignty of states. There is a fear that they might destroy the resources and nations."

Some leftist organizations and Islamic groups, too, having realized the true content of the prosecutors' reports, voiced solidarity with the Iranian nation and blasted US and Israeli actions against Iran. For example, members of Argentine Laborers' Syndicate issued a statement in Iran's support and condemned the move of Argentine judicial officials as a scenario by certain foreign countries against Iran. In July 2006, a political group, Quebracho, in cooperation with a number of leftist groups joined the Muslims living in Argentina who had gathered in front of Iran's embassy in Buenos Aires as a move to bar Jewish groups and Zionist agents from staging protests there under the pretext of commemorating the 12th anniversary of AMIA blast. A few days later, the same groups staged demonstrations attended by over 4,000 people to demand withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon and the occupied territories of Palestine. The demonstrators also chanted slogans against Israel and the Zionists and sprayed similar graffiti on the walls of historical buildings, which provoked the rage of the Jewish community. People like Mr. Fernando Steach, leader of Quebracho, Sheikh Abdulkarim Paz, the representative of Argentine Islamic Organization and Vilma Ripoll, the former member of the parliament affiliated to Laborers' Socialist Movement Party, were among the leaders of the demonstrations.

Opponents of the Zionist regime in Argentina also sent emails in which they accused Israel of masterminding and carrying out the blast in AMIA in 1994. They said in their emails that 'the terrorist state of Israel plotted and carried out the blast to justify its military operations against our Palestinian brothers'. Students of Faculty of Philosophy and Literature in Buenos Aires University, who were enraged about the oppressive and militaristic policies of Israel , expressed their wrath against it by writing slogans and putting up posters on the walls.

Pressure on Argentina's executive and judicial branches

Many would admit existence of political pressures being exerted on Argentine judicial system. In an interview with the Buenos Aires-based newspaper 'La Nacion', the former chief of the special investigations bureau, Alejandro Rua, said, "The government and judicial system of Argentine have failed to fulfill their responsibilities in preventing the operation, conducting proper investigations and acting accordingly."

The Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner, too, stressed that 'the president will never accept the demands of Jewish leaders to sever ties with Iran…'

The governments of Israel and the US, DAIA and AMIA societies, the 'Active Memory' group, the Center for Legal and Social Studies and a number of World Jewish Congress members top the list of organizations and individuals who are constantly exerting political pressure on the political and judicial systems to work towards their desired goals. They used many different ploys and mechanisms to manipulate the dossier the way they desired. They arranged direct meetings through human rights groups such as the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, staged demonstrations, sent letters and petitions, granted or refrained from granting awards and prizes, used slur, bribe and threats on individuals and etc. The attempts sought to achieve four major goals of persuading the government to:

1. Provide security for the ceremonies and gatherings held by Jewish community given the increasing anti-Semitism in Argentina,

2. Condemn Lebanese Hezbollah and stop support for it

3. Work on the AMIA and Israeli embassy blast dossiers more seriously while stressing the role of Islamic Republic of Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah in them and

4. Ultimately sever all ties with Iran.

The vigilant public opinion in Argentina went against the Zionists and staged public protests, which were organized to confront bullying by Israel and its agents. This resulted in stopping any demonstrations in front of the Iranian embassy by Zionist groups both in and outside Argentina who were after bringing greater pressure on the government. Zionist groups used any activity as an excuse to counter 'growing anti-Semitism' in the Argentinean society. This was absolutely a hollow claim, as statistics had recorded no rise in anti-Semitic sentiments compared with previous years. It would be quite logical to conclude that writing slogans and staging violent protests by Zionist circles pursued very particular objectives that could be linked to the AMIA case. The Argentine president himself admitted that "exactly on the same day that my wife was going to meet the Jewish community leaders, these slogans appeared on walls. This could be no simple coincidence".

So it is easy to see that the leaders of the 250,000-strong Jewish community in Argentina, which is the largest in Latin America, arranged so many meetings with numerous Argentinean officials including a secret one with Interior Minister Anibal Fernandez.

Led by the society's leaders who were basically organized in the two associations of AMIA and DAIA founded completely on Zionist principles and views, the families of AMIA victims held frequent meetings with Argentinean officials including the minister of justice. The Argentinean government has paid for all the legal fees incurred by the victims' families.

Close to 7,000 families of Jewish descent, who used to live in Argentina, migrated to occupied territories in 1976-1983. They still hold their Argentinean passports. A number of these Argentinean Jews objected to the indifference of Kirchner government. They also voiced their discontent in a letter to the president of Argentina . Their representatives also met Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to urge him to convey his concern and dissatisfaction to Argentinean authorities. Olmert was urged by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to meet his Argentinean counterpart in New York. The meeting mainly focused on AMIA blast and 'growing' anti-Semitism in Argentina.

The leaders of the Jewish community in the US also did not remain idle even for a moment. Senior representatives of eight major Jewish groups including 'Active Memory' and the New-York based 'Center for Legal and Social Studies' met Argentinean first lady Kirchner and its foreign minister to express their deep concern on the government's indifference in face of anti-Semitic activities which were taking place within the framework in Israel-Hezbollah confrontations. They demanded explanations on the government ban on any gatherings in front of Iran's embassy in Buenos Aires. One of the community leaders, Abraham Foxman, even went farther to make the interventionist remark: "We cannot understand Argentina's support for Hugo Chavez." -- to which the first lady responded with displeasure: "No one has the right to decide on what friends Argentina should choose for itself." They voiced strong objection to Argentina's failure to end the AMIA case.

In a separate development, families of AMIA victims in Washington lodged a complaint with the Commission of Inter-American Human Rights, which is affiliated to the Organization of American States, on the lack of progress in the case. This compelled the Argentinean government to admit its failure to name the people responsible for the blast in March 2005. The Kirchner government was forced to promise to take the necessary measures to expedite the uncovering of the facts and then enforcing the laws. From that date on, Argentinean delegations have kept on visiting the US to deliver explanations to relevant authorities there. Furthermore, the CIDH has arranged many meetings between Argentinean government and judicial officials and the members of the victims' families. The meeting between the victims' family members and the Argentinean president in Washington was also arranged by the same organization.

Argentine’s response to AMIA case

Argentine's then president Carlos Menem was not able to solve the AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) building bombing case. Even Menem and some other high-ranking officials in his government were summoned to court as suspects and accused. Subsequent Argentinean governments also pursued the case without any results.

In 2000 and at the time of the radical coalition government, a special branch in the Ministry of Justice was set up to head the AMIA bombing inquiry which was in effect an inquiry by the government in parallel to the ministry's inquiry.

Nilda Garre who was in charge of the branch was forced to resign for publishing secret points in the case following appeals by Eamon Mullen and Jose Barbaccia who were prosecutors of the AMIA bombing and Alejandro Rua was appointed to replace her.

Rua found a number of interesting points in the case during her four-year investigation but was sidelined under pressure from outside players. Alejandro Escolar was appointed to the special branch of the judiciary for AMIA from February 2006.

Judge José Galeano ordered the arrest of Iranian officials and diplomats during the presidency of Eduardo Duhalde in 2003 based on fabricated evidence.

A few months later Nestor Kirchner, Argentina's new president pledged to follow up the case after a trip to the US and meetings with Jewish organizations' leaders and to maintain US financial help to Argentina. This led to the issuance of arrest warrants for eight Iranian diplomats, which, as mentioned earlier, were later revoked by Interpol.

Despite considerable political pressure, two main points should not be overlooked:

1) Argentinean officials' admissions about a Zionist conspiracy: Nestor Kirchner in a speech on January 19, 2006, insisted that he never participated in dirty and corrupt relations between the Menem government and Jewish lobbies. He also accused Galeano and officials of the Menem administration of covering up the facts in relation to terrorist plots.

Argentinean government has resisted the calls to complete sever diplomatic relations with Iran which indicates its knowledge about external ploys.

Resignation or removal of Luis d’Elia, Under-secretary of Land and Housing Department, which is a cabinet position and his insistence on existence of an anti-Iranian ploy is another sign of such knowledge within the Argentinean government.

2) Existence of some infiltrated elements in Argentinean government: Alejandro Rua's remarks about the existence of an illegal society of Zionist lobbies and Argentina’s three branches is a confirmation of the existence of underground ploys with certain international aims which has acted as a corrupt international network.

Former judge Galliano testified in the presence of Judge Ariel Lijo that payment of bribes to Carlos Telleldin in 1995 was done on the orders of the then internal affairs minister Carlos Corach and with the help of the then head of Intelligence Service (SIDE) Hugo Anzorreguy and from his department's budget.

After the discovery of corruption in AMIA case, it was clear that the chosen judge about this case was himself a close colleague of suspects such as Carlos Corach.

Bonanno has been working under Carlos Corach in Legal and Technical Secretariat during 1990s.

The person in charge of Argentinean Justice Ministry today is a person who has been the Interior Ministry’s deputy during 1990s.

Alberto Iribarne was chosen as Interior Ministry deputy in 1997 and one of Claudio Bonanno's accusations is cover up of information about Iribarne.

It is interesting that Judge Canio Bakoral has announced during an interview that he was asked to stop his inquiry and transfer it to someone else so that he was no longer the person in charge of the inquiry.

After publication of prosecutor's Inquiry results and its approval by Canio Bakoral and publishing of new arrest warrants, Argentinean government declined to approve or reject them.

Only Jorge Taiana, Argentinean foreign minister backed the inquiry during an interview. He said, "Because of the seriousness of the situation and inquiry, the Foreign Ministry is expecting the Iranian officials to continue their cooperation according to the matter without considering what has happened so far."

References and Sources:

- Buenos Aires Herald: June 23 and 24, March 15 and 23 March and September 20 2006.

- La Nacion: 14 June, 18, 14, 18 May, 28 April, 16 and 17 March, 26

February, 31 August, and 16, 21 and 23 September 2006.

- Clarin: 6 June, 20, 24, 27, 31 May, 21, 26 April, 3, 6 March, 11 February, and 16, 22, 23 September 2006.

- Pagina: 19, 23 July 2006.

- El Fronton: 10 May 2006.

- Official News Agency of Argentina (Telam): 25 October 2006.

- Khanevade-ye Sabz, issue 131, Ordibehesht 1384 (April-May 2006), From AMIA

Blast in Argentina to British Home Secretary’s Mistress.

- Baztab website

Annex

Some of the most important suspects and witnesses who testified in the AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) bombing case and were interrogated by Judge Galeano are mentioned in the following table:

Name / suspect or witness Suspected of or testified in Outcome of further investigations

Manouchehr Motamed / Witness He accused Iranian officials of complicity in drawing up the plot for AMIA. He is an Iranian exile whose fraud cases were presented to Argentinean judiciary officials. He was arrested in US for shoplifting after being granted asylum in that country.

Abolqasem Mesbahi / also called Witness C During Judge Galeano

investigations, he claimed that Iran had given 10 million dollars to

the Argentinean government to cover up its role in the bombing. He denied all his claims in a letter to Argentina 's intelligence and security agency on 2003 and revealed that all the interrogations by Galeano have been one-sided and that he has never made such claims.

Carlos Telleldin / suspect and witness He is one the five Argentinean suspects arrested by Galeano. Telleldin was a dealer in stolen cars who claimed that he sold the car to Hezbollah. He also accused Argentinean police officials of being accomplices in the operation. After further investigation by Argentinean judiciary officials, it was revealed that Telleldin was bribed for 400 thousand dollars by Argentina 's intelligence and security agency to give false testimony. He was cleared in AMIA bombing by court branch 3 on 2004. Telleldin said he was under pressure when testifying as a suspect.

Anna Boragni (Carlos Telleldin's wife) / suspect and witness She confessed her husband had taken the bribe but acknowledged she didn't know this money was a bribe and thought it was given for a book published by a Swedish institute.

Alessandro Semoril / witness He is Telleldin's previous attorney who after being influenced by Galeano supported his assumptions.

Juan Jose Ribelli / suspect He is the police officer who was imprisoned by Galeano for eight years between 1996 and 2004. Telleldin accused Ribelli and some other police of complicity in AMIA bombing. He was cleared of the charge of complicity in AMIA bombing by branch number 3 of Argentinean court. He sued Galeano and Hugo Anzorreguy (then SIDE chief) after being released.

Mario Bario / suspect He was the police officer who was imprisoned by Galeano for eight years between 1996 and 2004. He was cleared of the charge of complicity in AMIA bombing by branch number 3 of Argentinean court in 2004.

Anastasio Leal / suspect He was the police officer who was imprisoned by Galeano for eight years between 1996 and 2004. He was cleared of the charge of complicity in AMIA bombing by branch number 3 of Argentinean court in 2004.

Raul Ibara / suspect He was the police officer who was imprisoned by Galeano for eight years between 1996 and 2004. He was cleared of the charge of complicity in AMIA bombing by branch number 3 of Argentinean court in 2004.

Miriam Salinas / witness She was first arrested by Galeano as a suspect but immediately after her release she confirmed Galeano's assumption.

Nicolas Romero / witness She claimed seeing the driver of the suicide bombing before the blast. After seeing the picture of martyr Ibrahim Berro, she said there was little resemblance between the two and she was not sure.

List of the people believed to have been involved in distorting the legal process and are members of the conspiracy ring:

1) Carlos Corach:

Argentina's interior minister in Carlos Menem government.

2) Claudio Bonadillo:

The judge of the case looking into irregularities in the investigations during 2001 to 2006 who was removed from his post after being accused of friendship with and support for Galeano and former Argentinean interior minister. He covered up the findings for many years. Bonadillo was working under Carlos Corach in Law and Technical Secretariat.

3) Alberto Iribarne:

The current Argentinean justice minister who was interior minister until 1997. It is believed that Iribarne covered up many facts about the case because of his background when he was investigating irregularities in the case.

4) Juan Jose Galeano:

He is a former federal judge and investigations by Argentinean justice system revealed that Galeano had distorted the facts during investigations and was removed as a result.

5) Hugo Anzorreguy:

He was the then head of Argentina 's intelligence service (SIDE). He is accused of conspiracy and had paid 400 thousand dollars to Telleldin in bribe to make him give false evidence. In a recent letter to the court, Anzorreguy confessed to the payment of 400,000 dollars to one of the accused in AMIA bombing aimed at accusing police officers and said he did so on an order from Carlos Menem, Argentina 's then president.

He revealed that the sum was taken from the account of national security agency of Argentina and was paid to Telleldin by Judge Galeano.

6) Patricio Finen:

A former high ranking official of Argentina 's security and intelligence service (SIDE).

7) Alejandro Berson:

A former high ranking official of Argentina 's security and intelligence service (SIDE).

8) Eamon Mullen:

The former attorney in AMIA case who, like Galeano, is also a suspect.

9) Jose Barbaccia:

The former attorney in AMIA case who, like Galeano, is also a suspect.

10) Ruben Beraja:

He was in charge of 'Delegation of Argentine Jewish Associations' (DAIA) which was located in AMIA building between 1991 and 1998. Beraja is accused of being involved in the payment of 400 thousand dollars to Telleldin to frame a group of police officers. He was also jailed for two years because of bankruptcy of May Bank when he served as a manager.

11) Martha Nerseza:

The current attorney of DAIA, she is one of the people who have been sued by Juan Jose Ribelli, the Argentinean police officer.

12) Alberto Nisman:

One of the current attorneys of the case whose probe especially on Hezbollah's complicity has been discredited. His judgments have meanwhile, through bribery and deception, been criticized repeatedly.

13) Marcelo Martinez Burges:

One of the current attorneys of the case whose investigations are based on ill-informed and biased information provided by Israeli intelligence services and MKO and counter-revolutionaries.