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[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 354 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 354

 Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the courageous work and 
life of Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman, and calling for a swift 
and transparent investigation into his tragic death in Buenos Aires on 
                           January 18, 2015.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 7, 2017

   Mr. Rubio (for himself and Mr. Menendez) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the courageous work and 
life of Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman, and calling for a swift 
and transparent investigation into his tragic death in Buenos Aires on 
                           January 18, 2015.

Whereas the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) in 
        Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 18, 1994, killed 85 people and wounded 
        more than 300;
Whereas the investigation of the AMIA bombing had been marked by grave judicial 
        misconduct, and the case had reached an impasse in 2004;
Whereas, in September 2004, Alberto Nisman was appointed as the Special 
        Prosecutor in charge of the 1994 AMIA bombing investigation;
Whereas, on October 25, 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo 
        Martinez Burgos formally accused the Government of Iran of directing the 
        bombing, and the Hezbollah militia of carrying it out;
Whereas Ibrahim Hussain Berro, a member of the terrorist group Hezbollah, was 
        identified as the AMIA bomber;
Whereas Iranian nationals Ali Fallahijan (former Iranian intelligence minster), 
        Mohsen Rabbani (former Iranian cultural attache), Ahmad Reza Asghari 
        (former Iranian diplomat), Ahmad Vahidi (former Iranian defense 
        minister), Ali Akbar Velayati (former Iranian foreign minister), Mohsen 
        Rezaee (former chief commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary 
        Guards Corps), and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (former President of 
        Iran) were named as suspects in the bombing;
Whereas Lebanese national Imad Fayez Moughnieh (former head of Hezbollah's 
        external security) was named as a suspect in the bombing;
Whereas, in November 2007, Interpol voted to put these 5 Iranian and 1 Lebanese 
        suspects in the 1994 AMIA attack on its most wanted list, and reportedly 
        has extended these red notices in July, 2017;
Whereas, in 2007, Guyanese national Abdul Kadir plotted to blow up John F. 
        Kennedy International Airport in New York and was, according to Mr. 
        Nisman, ``the most important Iranian agent'' in Guyana and influenced by 
        Mohsen Rabbani;
Whereas, in May 2013, prosecutor Alberto Nisman published a 500-page indictment 
        accusing Iran of establishing terrorist networks throughout Latin 
        America, including in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, 
        Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname, dating back to the 
        1980s;
Whereas, according to the Department of State's 2016 Report on Terrorism, 
        Hezbollah, Iran's proxy terrorist organization, continues to maintain an 
        active presence in the Western Hemisphere as well as ``some financial 
        supporters, facilitators and sympathizers'';
Whereas, in January 2013, the Government of Argentina under then-President 
        Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner agreed with Iran in a Memorandum of 
        Understanding to set up a so-called ``truth commission'' to investigate 
        who was ``really'' responsible for the bombing, despite the fact that 
        Iran and its proxy actors were and remain the only suspects in the 
        attack;
Whereas, in May 2014, an Argentine court found this Memorandum of Understanding 
        to be unconstitutional;
Whereas prosecutor Alberto Nisman was invited to testify before the United 
        States Congress in February 2013, but was prevented from doing so by the 
        Government of Argentina, who denied him permission to travel to 
        Washington, DC;
Whereas the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation provided technical 
        assistance and cooperated with Argentina law enforcement officials in 
        the AMIA bombing investigation;
Whereas, on January 13, 2015, prosecutor Alberto Nisman alleged in a complaint 
        that then-Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and then-
        Minister of Foreign Relations Hector Timerman conspired to cover up 
        Iranian involvement in the 1994 terrorist bombing, and reportedly agreed 
        to negotiate immunity for Iranian suspects and help get their names 
        removed from the Interpol list;
Whereas prosecutor Alberto Nisman claimed that he had evidence of a 
        ``sophisticated criminal plan,'' reportedly including wire-taps and 
        phone calls ``between people close to Mrs. Kirchner'' and a number of 
        Iranians, including Mohsen Rabbani, showing a planned exchange of 
        Iranian oil for purchasing rights to Argentine grain to revive 
        Argentina's economy;
Whereas prosecutor Alberto Nisman was scheduled to present his new findings to 
        the Argentinian Congress on January 19, 2015;
Whereas prosecutor Alberto Nisman was found shot in the head in his apartment in 
        Buenos Aires on January 18, 2015;
Whereas officials of the Government of Argentina under then-Argentine President 
        Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner continued to discredit Mr. Nisman after 
        his suspicious death, attempting to ruin his reputation;
Whereas then-Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner created 
        unfounded hypotheses with regard to Mr. Nisman's findings, including 
        conspiracies she suggested were orchestrated by United States hedge 
        funds and other entities she considers ``hostile'' to the President of 
        Argentina;
Whereas, in May 2015, an Argentine Federal court had dismissed Nisman's findings 
        against Ms. Kirchner and other officials and later the accusations were 
        dropped by Javier De Luca, another Federal prosecutor;
Whereas that move raised questions in Argentina about the objectivity of Mr. De 
        Luca, given his closeness to a group of Ms. Kirchner's supporters;
Whereas an independent investigation launched by Alberto Nisman's family 
        released its own report by forensic experts and forensic pathologists 
        showing that Mr. Nisman's death was not an accident or suicide, 
        including claims that ``the prosecutor had been shot in the back of the 
        head'', that ``no gun powder residue was found on his hands'', and that 
        ``Mr. Nisman's body had been moved to the bathroom once he was shot'';
Whereas, in September 2016, Argentine President Mauricio Macri stated that 
        ``it's hard to believe that Nisman committed suicide. There are too many 
        situations, indications, realities of those hours, those days, that 
        don't match with a suicide.'';
Whereas, in September 2016, Argentine President Mauricio Macri called for ``a 
        definitive investigation'' into the death of Alberto Nisman, saying: ``I 
        want to generate the conditions, which I think I'm doing, to allow our 
        justice system to freely investigate what really happened.'';
Whereas, on September 22, 2017, forensic investigators of the Argentine Federal 
        Police submitted a report to a Federal court concluding that slain 
        prosecutor Alberto Nisman did not commit suicide, but rather was 
        drugged, beaten, and fatally shot in the head on January 18, 2015;
Whereas, on December 7, 2017, former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de 
        Kirchner was charged with treason for attempting to cover up Iran's role 
        in the 1994 AMIA bombing; and
Whereas no one yet has been brought to justice for the death of Alberto Nisman, 
        nor have any of the named Iranian suspects for the AMIA bombing faced 
        prosecution: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) offers its sincerest condolences to the family of 
        Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman;
            (2) recognizes Alberto Nisman's courageous work in 
        dedicating his life to the investigation of the bombing of the 
        Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, 
        Argentina, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300;
            (3) applauds Argentine President Mauricio Macri for calling 
        for a swift, transparent, and independent investigation into 
        Alberto Nisman's tragic death;
            (4) recognizes the arduous and technical work of the 
        Argentine National Gendarmerie in reviewing evidence to produce 
        credible, evidence-based findings;
            (5) encourages the public release of the results of the 
        investigation, including the forensic and pathological reports 
        by the government, which would show whether Alberto Nisman took 
        his own life, or if his death is a homicide;
            (6) commends the Government of Argentina for exemplifying 
        the rule of law and the importance of an independent justice 
        system;
            (7) urges the President of the United States to directly 
        offer United States technical assistance to the Government of 
        Argentina in solving the death of Alberto Nisman, as well as 
        the ongoing investigation of the AMIA bombing;
            (8) expresses serious concern about Iran's terrorist 
        networks in Argentina and all of the Western Hemisphere, 
        mindful of the findings of Mr. Nisman's investigation and 
        reports on this matter, and encourages continued investigations 
        of Iranian terrorist networks based on his work;
            (9) urges an independent investigation into the findings of 
        Mr. Nisman regarding the events that led to the memorandum 
        signed between Argentina and Iran;
            (10) likewise expresses serious concerns about attempts by 
        former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and 
        her government to discredit Mr. Nisman and raise unfounded 
        hypotheses on Mr. Nisman's AMIA findings and the circumstances 
        of Mr. Nisman's death while the work of the courts on this 
        matter still continues; and
            (11) urges the President of the United States to continue 
        to monitor Iran's activities in Latin America and the Caribbean 
        as it is mandated by the Countering Iran in the Western 
        Hemisphere Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-220).
                                 <all>
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