Argentina/Iran/Israel: Justin Webster Sheds Light on the Alberto Nisman Case in New Documentary Series

September 23, 2019

On Jan. 14, 2015 prosecutor Alberto Nisman went on TV to accuse Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of negotiating the impunity of Iranians accused of the Buenos Aires’ 1994 AMIA bombing, the biggest terrorist attack in the Western hemisphere before 9/11.

“There was an alliance with terrorists, negotiation with a state that bought the terrorists and the terrorists themselves,” said a dapper Nisman, in the interview which appears in the early stretch of Justin Webster’s deeply-caring, meticulous “The Prosecutor, the President and the Spy,” a six-hour doc series which world premiered Monday at Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival.

Four days later, and on the eve of testifying in court, where he promised decisive proof of the collusion, Nisman was found dead in his bathroom with a single shot to the head. His death reverberated around the world.

Immediately, Kirchner is accused of ordering Nisman’s murder. She denounces the man described in “The Prosecutor” as Argentina’s Rasputin, the fearsome Antonio Horacio “Jaime” Stiuso, a spy with close links to the CIA and Mossad, of conspiring against her.

Produced by Barcelona’s Justin Webster Productions and Fasten Films, Berlin’s Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion and backed by Movistar+, ZDFinfo and DR,  “The Prosecutor, the President and the Spy” is “a story of ambition, corruption and espionage which unfolds, with rival narratives of good and evil, of suicide or murder, and of truth itself, around a body found in a bathroom, with enormous international resonance,” its makers say.

“The Prosecutor” will be “an earthquake” in Argentina, predicts San Sebastian Festival director José Luis Rebordinos.

It is also Webster’s most original and most ambitious series to date – building on “Death in Leon,” the Emmy-winning “Six Dreams” and HBO España’s “The Pioneer” – marking the full emergence of an auteur and the creative and industrial potential of a form of story-telling with which he admits he’s obsessed: Cinematic non-fiction series.

…

Justin Webster Sheds Light on the Alberto Nisman Case in New Documentary Series

Senate committee commemorates 25th anniversary of Jewish center bombing in Argentina

About

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Nisman

https://www.clarin.com/espectaculos/tv/caso-alberto-nisman-muerte-llego-festival-san-sebastian-serie-fiscal-presidenta-espia_0_bNSwCcNJ.html (ESPANOL)

https://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/internacionales/501930-atentados-argentina-iran-impunidad/ (ESPANOL)

https://www.losandes.com.ar/article/view?slug=el-senado-no-quiere-tratar-el-pedido-de-desafuero-a-cristina (ESPANOL)

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Nisman (FRANCAIS)

UK/Israel/Palestine: No penalty for lawyer who tried to ‘demoralise’ pro-Israel group

August 26, 2019

A leading human rights lawyer who urged protesters at an anti-racism march to “demoralise” campaigners from a Israeli lobby group with a sea of Palestinian flags will not face punishment.

Aamer Anwar has escaped discipline for accusing the Confederation of Friends of Israel of “rank hypocrisy”. He urged demonstrators at a Stand Up to Racism march last year to confront members of the group, whom he accused of “denying the right of a people to their own state”.

Sammy Stein, chairman of Glasgow Friends of Israel, said the group attended “to show our abhorrence of racism in all its forms”. Mr Anwar’s comments were, he said, “unfair, untrue and based on total ignorance of our position, which is to advocate for peace for both the

…

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/no-penalty-for-lawyer-who-tried-to-demoralise-pro-israel-group-x8k2xjjhk

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-35954510

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/human-rights-lawyer-aamer-anwar-talks-about-the-death-threats-he-s-faced-1-4943753

https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/17826238.human-rights-lawyer-aamer-anwar-community-worker-lilias-graham-greatest-glaswegian/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aamer_Anwar

Israel/Palestine: Israel sentences prisoners’ lawyer to 13 years behind bars

July 31, 2019

An Israeli court sentenced the lawyer of the PLO’s Prisoners’ Committee to 13 years, six months in prison on Tuesday, Quds Press has reported. Tariq Barghouth was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces on 27 February this year before undergoing harsh interrogation.

To put pressure on him in order to give what are said to be false confessions, the Israelis also arrested his wife and sister. The two women were released later.

Barghouth is one of the most prominent lawyers known for defending Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. He is currently in Nafha Prison in the south of Israel.

…

Israel sentences prisoners’ lawyer to 13 years behind bars

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-court-jails-prisoners-lawyer-for-13-years/1545025

Israeli military court tortures and sentences Palestinian lawyer to over 13 years in jail

http://www.tellerreport.com/news/–israeli-raids-on-gaza-and-arrests-in-the-west-bank-and-jerusalem-.SkKwgrr8V.html

IOF kidnapped Lawyer Tareq Barghouth In Jerusalem

Argentina/Iran/Israel: Latin American Jews still don’t have justice 25 years after the AMIA massacre

July 15, 2019

In any crime against a community, certain things must happen to provide some measure of healing and redemption.

But as we approach the 25th anniversary of the horrific bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, these necessary steps have not taken place.

Despite years of activity and rhetoric, justice has not been achieved for the victims, their families and Latin American Jewry — 85 people were killed and 300 injured. Argentines have not been brought together in solidarity with the Jewish community, and the government has not instilled a measure of confidence that such a devastating event will be prevented from ever happening again.

Because of this reality, a feeling exists all these years later that the terror is being relived constantly rather than being put behind them.

Early on, it became clear that Iran, through its terrorist proxy Hezbollah, was responsible for the bombing. Hezbollah had been active in the anarchic border among Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil known as the Triple Frontier.

Interpol made clear that it suspected high-level officials in the Iranian regime as being the masterminds of the plot. In 2007, red alerts were issued for former Foreign Minister Ahmad Vahidi and other Iranian officials. Disappointingly, Interpol did not issue similar alerts for former officials such as Ali Rafsanjani, Ali Akbar Velayati and Hadi Soleimanpour, the ex-ambassador to Argentina.

Meanwhile, different Argentine governments and judiciaries mismanaged or politicized the matter and never truly followed up to bring those responsible to justice.

The investigation reached a low during the presidency of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner between 2007 and 2013. A special prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, was appointed and, according to reports, he allegedly found Kirchner and other members of her government guilty of complicity with the Iranians to cover up the Iranian role in the bombing. The day before Nisman was scheduled to issue his findings, he was found dead in his apartment.

Kircher’s government quickly claimed it was a suicide, but it soon became apparent that Nisman had been murdered.

…

Latin American Jews still don’t have justice 25 years after the AMIA massacre

https://www.jpost.com/International/US-House-of-Representatives-pass-resolution-in-regards-to-AMIA-bombing-595836

https://www.timesofisrael.com/argentine-presidential-candidate-testifies-in-kirchner-iran-cover-up-case/

Argentina, Iran, and the Enduring Mystery Surrounding the Death of a Special Prosecutor

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/452469-its-time-to-hold-iran-accountable-for-terrorism-in-argentina

Home

https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/25-years-since-AMIA-resentment-resistance-resilience-596004

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/americas/.premium-amia-argentina-jews-iran-hezbollah-terror-attack-25-years-after-1.7535121

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-86th-victim-595882

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/A-unique-monument-pays-tribute-to-the-victims-of-the-AMIA-bombing-595883

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/house-passes-ted-deutchs-resolution-honoring-victims-hezbollahs-irans-terror-attack-argentina

https://www.timesofisrael.com/25-years-after-amia-bombing-israeli-argentinian-envoys-still-hope-for-justice/

https://en.mercopress.com/2019/07/18/a-unique-monument-pays-tribute-to-the-victims-of-the-amia-bombing

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/25-later-prominent-iranians-wanted-deadly-bombing-still-walk-free

http://www.thejewishstar.com/stories/amia-insult-injury-and-argentinas-election,18124

The Men Responsible for the AMIA Bombing Are Known—and Still at Large

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Nisman

http://elmed.io/matanza-de-la-amia-25-anos-de-impunidad/ (ESPANOL)

https://www.france24.com/es/20190711-fernandez-declara-juicio-pacto-argentina-iran (ESPANOL)

https://www.infobae.com/politica/2019/07/10/chicanas-y-una-diferencia-con-cristina-kirchner-en-torno-a-la-denuncia-de-nisman-la-declaracion-de-alberto-fernandez-sobre-el-pacto-con-iran/ (ESPANOL)

https://www.lavoz.com.ar/politica/caso-nisman-unico-imputado-como-participe-del-crimen-diego-lagomarsino-trabaja-como-perito- (ESPANOL)

https://www.lanacion.com.ar/editoriales/hezbollah-y-el-terrorismo-nid2267464 (ESPANOL)

https://fr.timesofisrael.com/un-responsable-de-wahington-promet-daccroitre-la-pression-sur-liran/ (FRANCAIS)

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Nisman (FRANCAIS)

Israel/Ethiopa: Death threats made against lawyer for cop who shot and killed Ethiopian-Israeli

July 11, 2019

Yair Nadashi files police complaint after receiving text messages warning him that his ‘time is short’ and ‘Judgment Day is coming’

The attorney for a police officer who shot dead a Ethiopian-Israeli during a street altercation received threats Tuesday night warning him to repent since his time “is short.”

Several anonymous text messages sent to Yair Nadashi accused him of serving as an “attorney for a murderer. Your time is short. Repent. Judgment day is coming.”

Nadashi filed a complaint with police over the incident.

The off-duty police officer, whose name is barred from publication by a court order, shot to death 19-year-old Solomon Tekah in Haifa on June 30, setting off protests across the country against police brutality that have seen violence and destruction of property.

The officer claims he was trying to break up a street fight he came across but was set upon by three youths who hurled stones at him, endangering his life. He claims he then fired a warning shot at the ground, which investigators probing the incident believe ricocheted and hit Tekah.

…

https://www.timesofisrael.com/death-threats-made-against-lawyer-for-cop-who-shot-and-killed-ethiopian-israeli/

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-press-review-thousands-protest-after-police-kill-ethiopian-israeli-teen

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/with-protests-ahead-probe-backs-cop-s-claim-he-didn-t-shoot-at-ethiopian-israeli-1.7455940

‘Black, white, we’re all human’: A whole bunch protest police capturing of Ethiopian Israeli teen – Israel Information

http://actualite-israel.com/l-avocat-du-policier-ayant-tue-solomon-tekah-menace-de-mort-699335/ (FRANCAIS)

http://www.isra.com/news/232242 (RUSSIAN)

Israel: Israel Seeks 12-year Jail Term for Blogger Accused of Slandering Public Officials

June 10, 2019

The exceptional indictment contains 120 accusations against Lori Shem-Tov and others; the prosecutors apparently see this as a test case for online shaming

Israel’s state prosecutor is seeking a 12-year prison sentence for blogger Lori Shem-Tov, who is accused of crimes including invasion of privacy and insulting civil servants, among them judges, in online publications.

At one meeting that Shem-Tov’s attorney held to discuss a plea bargain with Tel Aviv District Attorney officials, prosecutors reportedly insisted that she serve at least 10 years in prison. The district attorney’s office denied that report.

The indictment filed in April 2017 against Shem-Tov, along with fellow blogger Moti Leybel and attorney Zvi Zer, is unusual in scope. Covering 231 pages, it includes 120 accusations concerning internet activity. The three are accused of serious offenses of conspiracy to commit various crimes against social welfare, law enforcement and judicial officials; invasion of privacy; sexual harassment; insulting a civil servant; contempt of court; and violating gag orders relating to publicizing the names and images of minors.

Shem-Tov and Leybel are also accused of blackmailing a private lawyer to cut a deal with them, and threatened her that they would continue defaming her if she wouldn’t oblige them.

…

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-seeks-12-year-jail-term-for-blogger-accused-of-slandering-public-officials-1.7353653

https://www.timesofisrael.com/state-said-seeking-12-year-sentence-against-blogger-for-harassing-judges/

Israeli human rights lawyer Zvi Zer

Argentina/Israel/Iran: IRAN, ARGENTINA AND A 25-YEAR-OLD TERROR ATTACK

June 19, 2019

The AMIA terror attack on the social services hub of the Argentine Jewish community remains the largest terrorist attack in Latin America.

Next month will mark the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the AMIA building in Buenos Aires, which took the lives of 85 people and injured more than 300. The attack on the social services hub of the Argentine Jewish community remains the largest terrorist attack in Latin America. Memorial services marking a quarter century since the attack will begin this month.

To this day, justice has not been served to the victims and their families.

For three years in the wake of the attack, the judge heading the inquiry produced 22 arrests – mostly Buenos Aires provincial policemen – and a trial that, in the end, amounted to nothing more than a diversionary wild goose chase. A representative of our organization attended every day of the nearly three-year trial.

But the stench of a cover-up hovered over those proceedings. Not-guilty verdicts were handed down for those brought to trial, and the judge was later impeached for attempting to bribe a witness to give testimony incriminating police officers and for his general mishandling of the case. He was summarily removed from his post.

But what did come out of early scrutiny of the attack was the unmistakable hand of the Iranian regime. At first, it was studied speculation, but by 2006, two prosecutors in the case officially put the finger on Tehran. Operatives connected to the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires were identified, but at that point, they all had made their way out of the country.

The case was turned over to two new prosecutors, Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martínez Burgos, who in 2007 brought the matter to Interpol. They had requested that “red notices,” or arrest warrants, be issued to nine suspects, including former Iranian president Ali Rafsanjani, former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati and former Iranian ambassador to Argentina Hadi Soleimanpour. Interpol’s executive committee let those three officials off the hook, choosing instead to issue notices for the other six suspects.

Years passed, but Nisman, now working alone, pressed ahead. In 2015, he was ready to release evidence that a deal had been negotiated at the highest levels of the two governments, which would see Tehran deliver oil to Argentina in exchange for food, weapons and a pledge to convince Interpol to drop the red notices on the terrorist suspects.

On the eve of this information being shared in the Argentine Congress, Nisman was found dead, from what the authorities called a suicide. Doubt immediately surfaced, given the nature of the charges Nisman was about to bring. Subsequently, the mysterious circumstances of Nisman’s death have become clarified, and evidence points to him having been murdered.
…

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Iran-Argentina-and-a-25-year-old-terror-attack-593057

https://en.mercopress.com/2019/06/15/argentina-hosts-regional-summit-on-hezbollah-ahead-of-the-25th-anniversary-of-the-amia-bombing

https://www.jns.org/bipartisan-resolution-introduced-in-house-to-mark-amia-bombing/

https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/argentine-embassy-in-uk-commemorates-amia-bombing-ahead-of-25th-anniversary.phtml

https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/sir-alan-duncan-failure-to-catch-amia-bombing-killers-intensified-suffering/

Argentine Foreign Minister Reiterates Justice Call for Victims of 1994 AMIA Jewish Center Bombing

https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-marks-25th-anniversary-of-bombing-of-amia-jewish-center-in-buenos-aires/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Nisman

https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/investigaran-a-echegaray-por-las-filmaciones-de-alberto-nisman-dias-antes-de-su-muerte-nid2258198 (ESPANOL)

https://www.perfil.com/noticias/politica/investigan-ricardo-echegaray-videos-alberto-nisman-ezeiza.phtml (ESPANOL)

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Nisman (FRANCAIS)

Israel/Palestine: The Inspirers: Israeli lawyer fights legal battles on behalf of Palestinians

March 23, 2019

Almost six thousand Palestinians are currently detained in Israeli prisons, most are charged with “security-related offenses,” and conviction rates hover around 95 percent. Lawyers who take on Palestinian cases go up against a system of occupation that’s considered illegal by international law.

However, Gaby Lasky, an Israeli lawyer who fights some of the toughest legal battles on behalf of Palestinian clients, says it’s her moral obligation.

It was the slap and kick that went viral. And landed Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi in Israeli military prison for eight months while some Israeli ministers were calling for a life sentence. Gaby Lasky secured the lesser sentence. She has been representing Palestinians in Israeli courts for twenty years.

…

Mohammed Khatib, another client of Lasky, is also an attorney and an activist. He’s up for indictment on charges of assaulting a soldier, participating in a non-approved march and obstructing justice.

In cases against Palestinians, charges tend to be general. For example, passive resistance is always termed “assault.”

Lasky, a former Israeli army officer, today is considered a traitor by many Israelis. She said she is dancing with the wolves and has gotten threats, but she doesn’t back down.

…

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d774e3255544e33457a6333566d54/index.html

http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/authors.php?auid=19557

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/mohammed-khatib

https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2018/02/20/gaby-lasky-tres-occupee_1631072 (FRANCAIS)

Israel/Palestine: Lawyer among seven Palestinians detained from West Bank

March 18, 2019

Israeli forces detained at least seven Palestinians, including a lawyer, in multiple overnight raids across the West Bank, said the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS).

Israeli military vehicles raided the northern West Bank city of Jenin, where soldiers detained three Palestinians after storming their families’ houses.

PPS confirmed that Israeli forces detained two Palestinians, including a lawyer, from the northern West Bank district on Nablus.

In the southern West Bank, PPS confirmed that two Palestinians were rounded up from Bethlehem district.

Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.

http://english.wafa.ps/page.aspx?id=4CP3G0a108803451207a4CP3G0

http://english.wafa.ps/page.aspx?id=DHWbmFa108804402960aDHWbmF

https://imemc.org/article/army-invades-searches-homes-of-two-political-prisoners-in-ramallah/

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-following-protests-police-release-wife-of-palestinian-lawyer-under-investigation-1.6999324

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/03/gaza-hamas-must-end-brutal-crackdown-against-protesters-and-rights-defenders/

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-hamas-crushes-protests-at-cost-to-its-popularity-1.7039204

Argentina/Iran/Israel: Buenos Aires Jewish Center Bombing, 25 Years (and No Convictions) Later

March 6, 2019

At 9:53 a.m. on July 18, 1994, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a suicide bomber in a Renault van detonated more than 600 pounds of explosives near the entrance to AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association in English), a five-story center that has, for generations, provided and sponsored a variety of crucial services for the largest Jewish community in Latin America. 

The terrorist killed himself and 85 people who were in or near the Jewish center and injured hundreds. In the nearly 25 years since, there have been trials, accusations, public demonstrations, private lawsuits, volumes of testimony, videotaped bribery, at least one suspicious death and countless articles about Argentine malfeasance and the suspected involvement of Iranian, Hezbollah and Hamas officials. To date, no one has been convicted. 

“Justice” and “impunity” were key words in a symposium about the incident, held on Feb. 21 at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. The event, “25 Years After Argentina’s AMIA Bombing: Justice vs. Impunity,” featured American and Argentine speakers, mostly attorneys, many of whom have been personally involved in unsuccessful attempts to fully learn the facts and hold the perpetrators and their allies responsible, whether in Iran, Lebanon, Syria or Argentina. 

The first half of the symposium took place in a large classroom. Around 50 people attended. Each presentation was followed by critiques from experts and questions from the audience. One of the presenters was Gastón Chillier, an Argentine attorney and human rights activist, who spoke from Buenos Aires via Skype. He summed up the current state of the investigation, saying, “As of this day, Argentines do not know what happened.” 

…

https://jewishjournal.com/news/los_angeles/community/294823/buenos-aires-jewish-center-bombing-25-years-and-no-convictions-later/

http://www.jwire.com.au/25-years-after-the-amia-bombing-justice-is-again-denied/

http://www.thetower.org/7272-in-argentina-five-convicted-ex-president-and-7-others-acquitted-for-obstructing-amia-probe/

https://www.euronews.com/2019/02/28/argentine-court-clears-ex-president-menem-in-jewish-bombing-cover-up-case

https://www.dw.com/en/ex-argentine-president-cleared-in-1994-jewish-center-bombing-cover-up/a-47734089

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/middle-east/hezbollah/former-argentine-president-acquitted-of-interference-in-amia-bombing-investigation/2019/03/01/

https://worldisraelnews.com/forensic-expert-who-declared-amia-investigators-death-not-a-suicide-found-dead/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47409716

http://www.israelhayom.com/2019/03/19/key-argentinian-pathologist-in-nisman-case-found-dead/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Nisman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Alberto_Nisman

https://www.elciudadanoweb.com/el-periodista-pablo-duggan-presenta-su-libro-quien-mato-a-nisman/ (ESPANOL)

https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/la-corte-dejo-firme-prision-cristina-kirchner-nid2226329 (ESPANOL)

https://www.clarin.com/politica/amia-confirmaron-esteche-seguira-preso-juicio-oral_0_4-g7qicVV.html (ESPANOL)

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Nisman (FRANCAIS)

https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/juedische-welt/freispruch/ (DEUTSCH)

https://internacional.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,perito-do-caso-nisman-e-encontrado-morto-em-buenos-aires,70002759728?utm_source=estadao%3Afacebook&utm_medium=link&fbclid=IwAR00MDHPk6EBSOBrT21Vy6nenOg2KjLVoObAkbU2UeK50mn6q2tyHtPQElk (PORTUGUES)