Dead Argentinian prosecutor feared for safety of his family and himself

Women holds sign that reads in Spanish; “Argentine justice stinks,” second left, “and “Justice for Nisman,” right, during a march for justice and against impunity in the case of the mysterious death of late prosecutor Alberto Nisman, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. Investigators examining the death of Nisman, who accused Argentine President Cristina Fernandez of agreeing to shield the alleged masterminds of a 1994 terror bombing, said Tuesday, they have found a draft document he wrote requesting her arrest. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) –  A prosecutor whose mysterious death has rocked Argentina’s government confided to an opposition congresswoman that he believed his case against President Cristina Fernández was going to cost him his position, the lawmaker said Friday.

Alberto Nisman was found shot dead in his bathroom on Jan. 18. The discovery came shortly before he was to appear in Congress to detail his allegations that Fernández helped Iran cover up the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center, which killed 85. Fernández and Iran deny the accusations.

Congresswoman Laura Alonso said Nisman spoke to her privately on Jan. 14. She said he feared for his safety and for his daughters, confirming what several other friends and colleagues of Nisman have said.

Alonso said that three days before Nisman died, he had sent her a text message saying, “I’m going with everything,” a reference to the case he was going to present to lawmakers.

She said Nisman told her: “The government knows that I’m bringing this investigation forward.”

Alonso said that even though Nisman felt threatened, he was committed to his investigation and rejected the possibility that he killed himself.

Investigators initially said it appeared Nisman committed suicide, then later said they also were investigating the possibility of a homicide.

Alonso said in another text message sent on Jan. 6, Nisman wrote from London to say he was cutting short a vacation to return to Argentina. Several days later, he publicly accused Fernández of the cover up, speaking to several media outlets.

Investigators, however, have rejected the idea that Nisman altered travel plans, noting he returned on Jan. 12 in keeping with his original plane ticket.

Conspiracy theories swirl around Nisman’s death and the 1994 bombing, which has never been solved. Over the last few weeks, thousands of Argentines have taken to the streets for protests and vigils demanding justice.

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Dead Argentinian prosecutor feared for safety of his family and himself

Argentina prosecutor found dead had drafted warrant for president"s arrest, investigator says

President Cristina Fernandez at the government palace, in Buenos Aires, Friday, Jan. 30, 2015.

The Argentinian prosecutor investigating the death of her colleague, Alberto Nisman, said he had prepared a warrant for the arrest of President Cristina Fernandez.

The draft, however, was later removed and was not included in his complaint against the president, accusing her of trying to protect Iranian nationals suspected in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center.

The prosecutor, Viviana Fein, had at first denied the existence of the arrest warrant after it was published in Clarín, but later said it indeed existed.

Fein said Nisman prepared the warrant for President Fernandez’s arrest but ultimately did not include it in his complaint alleging the president tried to cover up the suspected Iranian involvement in the bombing of a Jewish center.

The 26-page document was recovered from a garbage can in Nisman’s Buenos Aires apartment, where he was found dead January 18. Fein came under fire for not disclosing the warrant’s existence earlier.

“I am beyond any political stance and am not under any pressure, I am an independent person in my way of thinking and acting; I want to state that very clearly,” she was quoted by Clarin newspaper as saying.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Nisman killed himself, was murdered and was forced to commit suicide. Senators Marco Rubio, Bob Menendez and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen have called for an independent probe into the prosecutor’s death.

EFE contributed to this report.

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Argentina prosecutor found dead had drafted warrant for president"s arrest, investigator says

Argentina special prosecutor in Jewish community center bombing found dead of gunshot wound

At left, firefighters and rescue workers search through the rubble of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association community center, after a car bomb rocked the building in downtown Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994. At right, Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor investigating the bombing, talks to journalists in Buenos Aires in 2013. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

BUENOS AIRES –  A special prosecutor who had accused Argentine President Cristina Fernandez of ordering impunity for Iranian suspects in the South American country’s worst terrorist attack was found shot dead, authorities said Monday.

Alberto Nisman, who was set to testify Monday in a closed-door hearing, was found in the bathroom of his Buenos Aires apartment late Sunday, federal prosecutor Viviana Fein told Telam, Argentina’s official news agency.

“We can confirm that it was a gunshot wound, .22 caliber,” she said, adding that it was too early in the investigation to know what had happened.

Nisman had been appointed 10 years ago by Fernandez’s late husband, then President Nestor Kirchner, to investigate the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and injured more than 200. In 2013, Argentina and Iran reached an agreement to investigate the attack, which remains unsolved.

That year, Nisman released an indictment accusing Iran and Hezbollah of organizing the blast. Iran denies any involvement.

Last week, Nisman accused Fernandez and other senior Argentine officials of agreeing not to punish at least two former Iranian officials in the case. He asked a judge to call Fernandez and others, including Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, for questioning.

“The president and her foreign minister took the criminal decision to fabricate Iran’s innocence to sate Argentina’s commercial, political and geopolitical interests,” Nisman said last week.

Government officials called the prosecutor’s allegations ludicrous.

A federal judge had begun the process of deciding whether to hear the complaint and whether anyone should be summoned for questioning.

Late Sunday, federal police agents in charge of Nisman’s protection alerted their superiors that he wasn’t answering phone calls, according to a statement from the Health Ministry. When he also didn’t answer the door, they decided to alert family members, according to the statement.

When Nisman’s mother wasn’t able to open the door because a key was in the lock on the other side, a locksmith was called to open it, the ministry said. A .22 caliber handgun and a shell casing were found next to Nisman’s body.

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Argentina special prosecutor in Jewish community center bombing found dead of gunshot wound