AMIA BOMBING DEFENDENTS ACQUITTED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BUENOS AIRES 002540 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/PPC, EB/IFD/OMA, S/CT NSC FOR TOM SHANNON AND MIKE DEMPSEY FBI FOR CTD/IRAN-HIZBOLLAH UNIT FOR SSA E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2014 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL PTER KJUS AR AMIA SUBJECT: AMIA BOMBING DEFENDENTS ACQUITTED REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 1349 ¶B. 03 BUENOS AIRES 4022 Classified By: DCM HUGO LLORENS FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: A three judge panel last night, citing the prosecution's failure to prove their guilt, acquitted all 22 Argentine defendants charged in the 1994 AMIA Jewish Community Center terrorist bombing. The panel faulted the original Judge Juan Jose Galeano and prosecutors and blamed them, former government officials during the Menem administration and a congressional commission at the time for essentially trying to find a scapegoat for the attack and building a case to find them guilty. The judicial panel called for investigations into the the handling of the investigation and the actions of the original Judge Galeano and others. The verdict was not unexpected and was met with resignation here, but also anger on the part of many in the jewish community, including victims' family members and survivors who charged the government with mishandling the investigation and prosecution. The court will release its final verdict on October 29, at which time the full details of the judgement will be known along with any possible grounds for appeals. The verdicts issued last night do nothing to resolve the AMIA case, assign blame, or uncover the truth. On the contrary, while the GOA and interested parties will likely continue to seek domestic redress, and possibly international justice in the UN or OAS, renewed and reinvigorated attention will certainly be focused on Judge Galeano and the Menem-era handling of the investigation and trial and the numerous allegations of cover-up and diversion of justice. Nevertheless in the long term, attention from Jewish organizations, the victims' families, and world attention will also focus on the Kirchner administration's efforts to achieve some measure of justice in this important terrorist case. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Almost three years after beginning the trial, and ten years after the July 1994 terrorist bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in downtown Buenos Aires, a three-judge panel on September 2 acquitted all 22 Argentine defendants -- including the four Buenos Aires provincial police and one civilian accused of providing the stolen vehicle used as the carbomb by the actual perpetrators of the attack. The investigation and trial has been rife with irregularities and accusations of mishandling and political cover-up. The original judge Juan Jose Galeano and two of the original prosecutors Eamon Mullen and Jose Barbaccia were recused from the trial (Refs A and B) as a result of an illegal USD400,000 payment to chop shop owner Carlos Telledin for his testimony against the provincial police officers. ¶3. (U) With the recusal of Galeano last December, trial co-complainants, the Delegation of Jewish Associations (DAIA) and the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA),became concerned that the trial and investigation under new judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral had begun to focus more on the irregularities of the case rather than the guilt of the accused. In the Court's findings last night, apart from acquitting the defendants, the three-judge panel also implied that certain government officials and the prosecution, under public pressure to find a guilty party, had "walked away from the seach for truth" and looked instead for a scapegoat. The panel called for an investigation of Galeano, Mullen and Barbaccia, and also former Menem-era Interior Minister Carlos Corach and Security Chief Hugo Anzorreguy. The panel also called for an investigation into the actions of a special bicameral congressional committee created to investigate the AMIA case. Even DAIA's lead lawyer, Marta Nercellas, was referred by the panel to the Bar Association for investigation. ¶4. (C) The detailed findings of the court will not be publicized until October 29, at which time options for appeal by the GOA and/or AMIA, DAIA, "Family and Friends of AMIA Victims" and "Memoria Activa" will become more clear. In conversations prior to the September 2 verdict, Acting DAIA President Jorge Kirzenbaum and DAIA lawyer Nercellas told PolOff that they would be appealing the expected acquittal of the five principal defendants. Following the verdicts, a number of representatives of the various Jewish groups and interested parties vowed to take the case to various international fora, e.g. the United Nations and Organization for American States. The twist here is that they are just as likely to bring suit against the GOA as they are against the just-acquited defendants. DAIA and AMIA are both under fire from their constituencies for being complicit in the mishandling of the case. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: While the acquittal decision had been expected for some time, the court's repudiation of Judge Galeano's investigation and initial trial, and its implication of a concerted effort on the part of Galeano, prosecutors, former GOA officials and others to find a scapegoat and assign blame, was the surprise. The judges' decision insures that the AMIA saga becomes even more twisted and difficult -- if not impossible -- to resolve. Appeal options will not become clear until the court publishes its detailed findings on October 29. The "international option," apparently exhausted by the GOA (Reftel A),is being raised again by both the GOA and the co-complainants. Some of the co-complainants, however, are not talking about bringing suit in international fora against the just-acquitted defendants (or the assumed Hizbollah/Iranian authors of the attack),but rather against the GOA and former officials for the mismanagement and alledged cover-up in the case, and the resulting denial of justice and violation of the victims' human rights. ¶6. (C) The Kirchner administration gave new life to the investigation and trial soon after assuming office when it released classified documents and instructed intelligence agency (SIDE) officials to testify in the case. Kirchner administration officials also blamed President Menem and his senior officials, as well as Judge Galeano, for manipulating the case to suit its own narrow political ends. Beginning with this verdict, the Kirchner administration will have to consider what next steps it will pursue -- not just in the investigations of the actions of Galeano and Menem officials -- but also in how it will attempt to achieve a measure of justice in this case. The Jewish organizations, families of victims and public opinion will make sure of that. GUTIERREZ