Prosecutor Alberto Nisman (photo: Wikipedia)
Stiuso, a senior intelligence official who was collaborating closely with Nisman prior to his death on 18th January 2015, gave a 16-hour testimony to Palmaghini on Monday, in which he reportedly claimed that the prosecutor had been murdered.
Palmaghini, who in December had ruled it was “premature” to suspect homicide in the case, will now step aside, with the investigation to pass to the Federal Courts.
‘Contamination’
In a lengthy resolution released yesterday to justify her decision, Palmaghini criticised the role of security and public officials present at the scene after Nisman’s body was found.
The judge highlighted how at least 20 people were in Nisman’s flat before the prosecutor Viviana Fein arrived, and without the proper precautions taken, concluded that it was “impossible to maintain that the scene examined by forensics was undamaged”.
Palmaghini said that taken together, the flaws in the procedures followed that night were enough to “raise apprehension”.
The judge also noted that Stiuso’s testimony – along with that of another intelligence officer, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez – regarded Nisman’s death as a homicide related to the work he was doing at the time.
For those reasons – of which only Stiuso’s testimony is new evidence – Palmaghini declared her court “incompetent” in the investigation.
The judge also opened a new investigation into Fein after Stiuso claimed that the prosecutor previously in charge of the case had not documented his full testimony when previously cited, though he had signed off his own declaration at the time.
Stiuso’s Testimony
Details of Stiuso’s testimony were revealed by Federico Casal, the lawyer for Nisman’s daughters.
“Stiuso said that those interested in the death of Nisman were [Cristina] Fernández de Kirchner, [legal secretary Carlos] Zannini, and [ex-cabinet chief] Anibal Fernández,” said Casal, adding that the ex-intelligence chief had said that the former president had ordered Nisman to stop investigation Iran’s alleged role in the 1994 AMIA bombing. “Nisman’s death came as a result of him not obeying the directives coming from the presidency,” said Casal.
However, Stiuso’s own lawyer Santiago Blanco Bermúdez confirmed today that his client had not provided any direct evidence to back his view that Nisman was murdered. Stiusos claims, said Bermúdez, was based on his “interpretation of precedents and motives.”
Former head of the Intelligence Agency, Oscar Parrilli, today said that Stiuso had “lied unashamedly” to Judge Palmaghini, adding that his testimony was part of a “political and media operation.”
“Could anyone believe that Nisman’s death benefited the previous government?” said Parilli in an interview with Radio La Plata today.
Parilli also claimed that Nisman was working for Stiuso, who prepared the prosecutor’s explosive allegations of a cover up led by the ex president and other government officials. Nisman accused Fernández of coodinating a plan to hide Iran’s involvement in the 1994 AMIA bombing in exchange for favourable trade concessions. The previous government denies the charges, and the case was dismissed by several judges.
“What led Nisman to present the allegations against Cristina was the president’s decision to dismiss Stiuso… Stiuso prepared the case against Cristina for Nisman, he made Nisman come back early from his holiday, and made him present the allegations against Cristina,” said Parilli.
The Context
Judge Palmaghini’s decision is the latest in a series of recent novelties in the investigation into Nisman’s death.
On Friday, prosecutor Ricardo Sáenz, who had led the 18F “silent march” for Nisman last year, accepted the plaintiff’s argument that Nisman had been murdered. “There is no doubt that it was not Alberto Nisman who fired the gun that killed him, which necessarily leads to the conclusion that he was victim of a homicide,” said Sáenz
The Nisman case was also referred to by President Mauricio Macri in hisspeech to Congress yesterday. Macri said: “Let’s not forget that little more than a year ago prosecutor Alberto Nisman appeared dead in circumstances that remain uncertain but that are slowly starting to be cleared up.”
A government statement said Macri’s recent pledge to declassify relevant documents is to “help with the clarification” of the case and is also aimed towards “expediting” the investigation.
Next Steps
Pending an appeal the investigation into Nisman’s death will be reverted to the Federal Courts, and sent to one of six judges on call.
The post Nisman Case: Ex-Spy’s Testimony Changes Course of Investigation appeared first on The Argentina Independent.