Wiesenthal Centre Warns: "Argentine Memorandum Judgment is a Huge Prize to Iran, Setting Scene for Further Antisemitic and Other Targets for Terror”

October 9, 2021

BUENOS AIRES + PARIS - The news broke on 27 January 2013, that Argentina had signed a Memorandum of Understanding, transferring to Iran the investigation into the role of its citizens in the 1994 terrorist bombing of the AMIA Jewish Centre in Buenos Aires, leaving 85 dead and over 300 wounded. They would testify to an Iranian, thus removing the place for Argentine justice.

The then-President, now Vice President, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's government presented this procedure to be immediately approved by Congress.

In January 2015, the week before he was found murdered in his apartment, the Prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, denounced the signing of this Memorandum as due to interests other than the investigation of the attack. These reportedly involved the President, her Foreign Minister, other officials, government agents, and even characters acting as 'a parallel embassy of Iran' in Argentina.

Different legal actions were filed against the approval of the Memorandum, which was declared unconstitutional. As soon as the government of Mauricio Macri took office, there was no appeal to that decision, thus leaving the said Memorandum without value. It should be noted that Iran also did not pursue its approval.

This week, the judges, taking the Kirchner administration position, against those judicial officials promoted after Nisman's death, acquitted those implicated arguing the absence of crime, without even producing the evidence. The representatives of the Jewish Community and some relatives of the victims of the attack will appeal the decision.

Dr. Ariel Gelblung, Director of the Wiesenthal Center for Latin America stated, “As this is a cause with high political content, any resolution would generate discontent. The hardest aspect is that discontent always falls on the side of those who wait for justice. A remarkable factor is that today no one claims the signing of the shameful Memorandum, not even those who promoted it at that time."

Dr. Shimon Samuels, SWC Director for International Relations added: "The federal judges ruled on the Memorandum, regardless whether it is considered a political success or failure and did not constitute it a crime or a coverup... This leaves open the reality of the Memorandum and its intent"..."The judgment weakens the value of INTERPOL and its Red arrest warrant for the six Iranian perpetrators. The judgment is a huge prize to Iran, setting the scene for further antisemitic and other targets for terror... That is now our message and warning to the countries of Europe.”

For further information, please contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at +336 09770158 or Dr. Ariel Gelblung at +54 9 11 49695365, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).