Judge Dismisses Suit Accusing Argentine President of Obstructing Nisman Probe

BUENOS AIRES – A federal judge on Friday threw out a lawsuit alleging that Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and other administration officials obstructed the probe into the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who had accused the head of state of seeking to cover up the involvement of Iran in a 1994 terrorist attack on a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires that claimed 85 lives.

Judge Ariel Lijo said Argentine journalist Cristian Sanz’s accusations against Fernandez for alleged abuse of authority and breach of her public duties had no merit due to the “absence of a crime,” state-run news agency Telam reported.

“There are no solid arguments” to support the accusation, Lijo said.

Sanz also named Cabinet chief Anibal Fernandez, Attorney General Alejandra Gils Carbo and Security Secretary Sergio Berni in his complaint, filed on Feb. 6.

He accused the president of “engaging in reckless conduct” by initially publicly supporting the hypothesis of suicide but then days later changing course and saying the January fatal shooting of Nisman was a homicide, thus “sullying the judicial investigation” into the prosecutor’s death.

The journalist also accused the other administration officials of “casting suspicion” on former agents at Argentina’s intelligence agency who had recently been fired and on Diego Lagomarsino, who worked for the prosecutor and provided him with the gun that killed him.

Lagomarsino has been charged with providing a firearm to someone not licensed to use one.

Nisman, the special prosecutor for the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish organization, was found dead in his Buenos Aires apartment on Jan. 18, four days after he announced the charges against Fernandez.

The prosecutor died of a single shot to the temple. The case remains under investigation as a “suspicious death.”

Another prosecutor, Gerardo Pollicita, took up the accusation following Nisman’s death and filed a brief with Judge Daniel Rafecas in mid-February asking him to approve formal charges against Fernandez, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman and six other people.

But that magistrate dismissed the charges late last month, saying in a ruling that the evidence does not provide even minimal support for the accusations against Fernandez or the others.

Pollicita on Wednesday appealed that ruling.

Nisman’s accusation against Fernandez cited the Memorandum of Understanding her administration signed with Iran in 2013 to facilitate the AMIA investigation as the principal instrument of the purported cover-up.

The late prosecutor said that intercepts of telephone calls among some of the prospective defendants – though not Fernandez or Timerman – showed the outlines of a plan for Argentina to get Interpol to rescind the red notices the international police agency had issued for the arrest of Iranians accused in the AMIA bombing.

In exchange, according to Nisman, Iran was supposed to sell oil to Argentina.

The Fernandez administration has pointed out that no part of the ostensible conspiracy ever came to fruition, and the man who headed Interpol for 15 years until last November rebutted Nisman’s key accusation.

“I can say with 100 percent certainty, not a scintilla of doubt, that Foreign Minister Timerman and the Argentine government have been steadfast, persistent and unwavering that the Interpol’s red notices be issued, remain in effect and not be suspend or removed,” Ronald K. Noble said in January.

Many in the Argentine Jewish community believe the AMIA bombing was ordered by Iran and carried out by Tehran’s Hezbollah allies.

Both the Iranian government and the Lebanese militia group deny any involvement and some have pointed out that the accusation relies heavily on information provided by the CIA and Israel’s Mossad spy agency, both with an interest in blackening the reputation of Tehran.

Prosecutors have yet to secure a single conviction in the case.

In September 2004, 22 people accused in the bombing were acquitted after a process plagued with delays, irregularities and tales of witnesses’ being paid for their testimony.

Berlin – Grand gathering on occasion of International Women's day

 Saturday, 07 March 2015 20:40

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Berlin – Grand gathering on occasion of International Women’s Day with participation of over a hundred women personalities from five continents:

Call by Maryam Rajavi for buttressing movement against fundamentalism, the principal enemy of equality and global peace and security

NCRI - On Saturday, March 7, the participants in a grand gathering in Berlin on the occasion of International Women’s Day titled “For Tolerance and Equality against Fundamentalism and Misogyny” underscored that the advancement of the ideal of equality in the world today has come face-to-face with a formidable barrier, the Islamic Fundamentalism. This phenomenon is endangering the entire Middle East and the world through genocide, terrorism and discrimination and more than anything is hostile to women.

The participants stipulated that the sole solution to this crisis is to draw on women’s power and on a resistance movement that believes in women’s power and their leadership. They also called for a comprehensive strategy that focuses on the Iranian regime as the epicenter of Islamic fundamentalism, supports democratic Muslims, and prevents the Iranian regime from acquiring the nuclear weapon.

This gathering, in the presence of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, was held with the participation of a great number of prominent political, social and artistic personalities and human and women’s rights activists from the world’s five continents, including Kim Campbell, Rita Süssmuth, Linda Chavez, Frances Townsend, Ingrid Betancourt, as well as a delegation of women jurists, including Maria Candida Almeida (Portuguese General Prosecutor), delegation from Syrian opposition, delegation of prominent women from Asia, a large delegation of legislators and mayors and other German dignitaries, delegation of women parliamentarians from Arabic countries, delegations representing dozens of Iranian women associations and institutions throughout Europe and the United States, and thousands of women from various countries and followers of various religions.

In this conference Mrs. Maryam Rajavi stated that the key decisive factor in the empowering of the fundamentalists was the rise to power of reactionary mullahs in Iran that for the first time offered a model for governance by fundamentalist groups. She added: “Fundamentalism is not a face-off between Islam and the West nor a confrontation between Islam and Christianity and Judaism, or a Shia and Sunni conflict. The crux of the conflict is between freedom versus subjugation and dictatorship, between equality on the one hand and tyranny and misogyny on the other. Fundamentalism has placed misogyny at its core and through suppressing women it intimidates and suppresses the entire society.

To save the world from the nightmare of fundamentalism and for the emancipation of the Middle East nations from this ominous phenomenon, she called on all noble women throughout the world to form and expand a powerful front against Islamic fundamentalism and against terrorism and barbarity in the name of Islam. She said: To rein in the ominous phenomenon of Islamic fundamentalism, one should inescapably confront the religious dictatorship ruling Iran.

This regime is at the heart of the problem and its support for the Assad and Maliki dictatorships in Syria and Iraq has led to the rise of fundamentalist militias and the ISIS. As such, silence in face of regime’s meddling in countries of this region, let alone collaborating with it on the pretense of fighting ISIS, is a horrendous strategic mistake.

She warned: It is delusional to ask the arsonist to put out the fire. Diagonally opposite, the correct policy is to evict the mullahs’ regime from Iraq and Syria. Bringing down this regime is an essential imperative not just for the Iranian people, but for the region and the world. The crime of the appeasement by Western governments is that they have chosen the path of conciliation with the state sponsor of fundamentalism, the regime of Iran, and have participated in clamping down on the alternative to fundamentalism. Offering concessions to this regime in the nuclear negotiations is against the highest interests of the peoples of Iran and the region and undermines global peace and security. It is also taking the human rights of the Iranian people to the altar.

She noted the escalating trend of executions in Iran, including the hanging of at least 21 prisoners on March 4, six of whom Sunni political prisoners, and stated: To avert popular uprisings, particularly during nuclear negotiations, the Iranian regime badly needs this wave of executions and oppression. Silence and inaction regarding the grave violation of human rights in Iran, not only emboldens this regime to carry on with its atrocities, but encourages the regime in pursuing the nuclear program and exporting of terrorism.
Maryam Rajavi called support for the Iranian Resistance, the democratic alternative that has been established against the clerical regime in over three decades, as an essential step in confronting fundamentalism. This alternative follows on the path of genuine and democratic Islam and emphasizes on separation of the mosque and the state, gender equality, and a non-nuclear Iran.

In her finishing statements, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance said: The largest movement of women vanguards in Camp Liberty gives hope and inspiration to Iranian women and is an asset to equality movements in the world. She called on the international community, the U.S. government, the European Union, and the United Nations to secure their protection and security.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
March 7, 2015

Iraqi forces make gains against ISIL

Nemtsov Assassination Eyewitness Received Death Threats in Ukraine

KIEV – Ukrainian model Anna Duritskaya, the sole witness of the recent murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, is being provided with official protection from the Ukrainian authorities after receiving death threats, according to a statement made by the Ukrainian Public Prosecution on Friday.

The prosecution noted in a statement that Anna Duritskaya claimed that she had received death threats from a group of strangers while in Kiev.

The 23-year-old woman was walking with Nemtsov at the time when he took four bullets to the back about a week ago. Duritskaya’s lawyer confirmed that she received threats, but did not reveal further details.

“Public Prosecutor of Ukraine Viktor Shokin has ordered that all necessary measures be taken to protect the life and health of Hanna Durytska, a witness in the killing of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov,” Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted the prosecution’s statement.

The Ukrainian model left Moscow on Monday after testifying before the committee investigating the assassination of the Russian opposition leader.

Durytska returned back to the Ukrainian capital only after the Russian authorities allowed her to leave Moscow, and did not attend Nemtsov’s funeral, which was held the following day in Moscow.

A week after the Nemtsov’s Kremlin-adjacent murder, investigations have yet to make any substantial progress.

The Russian investigative committee announced a reward of 3 million rubles (around $50,000) for anyone with “valuable information” about the incident, and confirmed that it currently has numerous hypotheses about the possible motives for the murder.

Investigators have not ruled out that the motive behind Nemtsov’s murder are political, but concede that the impetus may have been personal.

Nemtsov was among the most prominent opponents of the Russian intervention in Ukraine’s internal affairs, and has consistently condemned the participation of thousands of Russian soldiers in fighting along with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian opposition described the murder as a “political assassination”, and attacked the Kremlin for inciting hatred inside the country as part of a larger campaign against the new enemies of the Russian people, in reference to those who condemn the separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine and question the policy adopted by Moscow concerning the conflict. 

Argentina Prosecutor Appeals Judge's Decision to Dismiss Nisman Kirchner Indictment

BUENOS AIRES -- Argentina Prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita appealed a judge's decision to dismiss legal charges against President Cristina Kirchner and others.

The charges relate to allegedly covering up Iran’s role in a 1994 terrorist attack on a Jewish center in Argentina.

They charges were originally developed by late prosecutor Alberto Nisman and presented by Pollicita after Nisman's death.

Last week federal judge Daniel Rafecas ruled that the evidence presented was not sufficient to proceed with the case.

Pollicita's appeal of this decision argued that it prematurely discarded the prosecution's hypothesis and that such serious charges should be investigated more thoroughly.

The appeal, filed on the deadline to do so, keeps some degree of pressure on President Kirchner, while the government continues to refute the allegations, publishing a full-page newspaper ad questioning whether Nisman intended to destabilize the government and saying that Rafecas was correct to dismiss the charges. 

Iran: Punishment "blinding a man " An eye for an eye ?

International rights group Amnesty International has condemned the Iranian regime on Friday for the "unspeakably cruel" blinding of a man on the grounds of retribution.

The man was forcibly blinded in his left eye on Tuesday based on the inhumane law of retribution (qisas) at a prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, Amnesty said.

The man had been convicted of throwing acid in another man's face in 2009, leading to a 10-year prison sentence, an order to pay blood money to the victim and the act of retribution.

Amnesty International said in a statement: "Punishing someone by deliberately blinding them is an unspeakably cruel and shocking act."

"This punishment exposes the utter barbarity of Iran's justice system and underlines the Iranian authorities' shocking disregard for basic humanity."

The punishment of another male convict, who was scheduled to be blinded and made deaf in a similar act of retribution on Tuesday has been postponed until next month, Amnesty said.

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