Preliminary hearing in oral trial for Iran cover-up in AMIA case surprisingly suspended

El federal oral court 8 (TOF 8) suspended This Friday surprisingly Monday’s preliminary hearing with which the oral trial would open for the alleged cover-up of five Iranians in the attack on AMIA.

TOF 8, made up of judges Gabriela López Iñiguez, José Michilini and Daniel Obligado, thus accepted a request from the defense lawyers of the Attorney General of the Treasury, Carlos Zannini, of the piquetero K Luis D’Elía and of the Deputy Minister of Justice, Juan Martín Menna to suspend the start of the process until the former head of Interpol, Ronald Noble, declares.

The defenses insist on Noble’s testimony, after federal judge Marcelo Martínez Di Giorgi fired him for his alleged complicity with the maneuver for the benefit of the five Iranians. They seek to demonstrate that the red alerts of Interpol, the only instrument of the Argentinian state, were not relaxed and even less fell with the signing of the memorandum of understanding with Iran signed by order of Cristina Kirchner in 2013.

But Interpol has reported that, as of now, they can’t declare Noble or their second because they enjoy diplomatic immunity even after leaving office.

In a resolution released today, TOF 8 stated that “it is of the utmost importance to some of the parties that said body provides more details to those already provided in relation to individual testimonials. In other words, if they will be able to testify and when.

Since the claims “relate to evidence, to which the Court duly accepted, we find it admissible, in safeguarding the right of defense before the courts“, he added. TOF 8 underlined that “especially since the convened hearing is of an eminently technical nature, precisely in relation to the questions relating to the management, for reasons of economy, agility and order, of the future debate “.

Tomás Farini Duggan, representative of relatives of the victims of the AMIA attack, Luis Czyzewski and Mario Averbuch, complained to Bugle of that new delay. The case was brought by the former federal judge Claudio Bonadio before an oral procedure, after the closure of the investigation, in March 2018.

“There is no compelling reason for a further suspension and not for Noble’s prior declaration, “said Farini Duggan.” Until 2 p.m. I was preparing for Monday’s hearing and two hours later they informed me of the suspension, “he added. He said that Interpol had already notified that it should In addition, Farini Duggan appealed Noble’s dismissal to the Federal Chamber in Buenos Aires, which so far has not spoken.

For its part, Zannini’s defense questioned the holding of a preliminary hearing next Monday in view of the future trial for the signing of the Memorandum with Iran for the attack on AMIA and warned that “have not yet taken place preliminary statements by former Interpol officials. “

“As the expected declarations of the former Interpol officials have not yet been produced, the performance of which was ordered in the same office which ordered the celebration of the procedural act of December 14, this party considers that it is not It’s not official to hold a preliminary hearing, ”he said. Zannini’s defense attorney in the case, Mariano Fragueiro Frías.

Zannini is being dealt with in the case like Vice President Cristina Kirchner and other defendants, and the court has called the parties to the so-called “preliminary hearing” next Monday to agree on the how the debate will develop, still without a start date.

This preliminary hearing at the start of all oral trials is scheduled for 4/12 agreed by the Federal Criminal Cassation Chamber for “limit the test for debate. “

“The proceedings which the Court inexplicably did not complete, although they were ordered by the magistrates themselves, due to the insistent demands of the means of defense since the beginning of the proceedings, have remained pending. because of such a strange and surprising judicial inaction. Warned the lawyer.

These are the statements expected as witnesses from the former secretary general of Interpol, Ronald Noble and the former legal officer of the international organization Joel Sollier.

Noble has publicly declared that the signing of the Memorandum with Iran never jeopardized the validity of the Interpol red circulars which ordered the international capture of Iranian citizens requested by the Argentinian justice in the case of the attack on l ‘AMIA.

The alleged intention to drop the red capture circulars with the signing of the memorandum was the focal point of the cover-up accusation in the case opened by the late prosecutor Alberto Nisman.

The statements were scheduled by videoconference for last October, but were put on hold as Interpol said the two former officials needed permission from the agency to appear in Argentine court.

The Court has already provided the evidence for the trial by agreeing to summon 313 witnesses to the debate on the alleged cover-up of Iran by signing the Memorandum.