November 9, 2006 – New York – The American Jewish Committee has just received word from Buenos Aires of a critically important development in the ongoing investigation of the 1994 terror attack against the headquarters of AMIA, the central Jewish organization in Argentina.Argentine Prosecuting Judge Rodolfo Canicoba-Corral has accepted today the investigative report prepared by Argentine Special Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who named seven Iranian former government officials and one Hezbollah operative as complicit in the attack.
The eight will now be pursued internationally as a matter of Argentine state policy. AJC was told that the eight names will be submitted to Interpol for the purpose of issuing warrants for their arrest in any country with which Interpol has jurisdiction.
Further, Judge Canicoba-Corral declared the attack on AMIA a “crime against humanity,” which means the case has no statute of limitations.
“We welcome this most recent example of Argentina’s determination to press ahead in this longstanding and difficult investigation,” said AJC Executive Director David A. Harris, who met with Argentine government officials in Buenos Aires earlier this week. “We hope that other nations involved in the global struggles against international terrorism will assist Argentina in these important efforts to bring closure to the AMIA case.”
AJC has demonstrated its solidarity with AMIA, one of AJCÂ’s interantional partners, from the very beginning. AJC officials flew to Buenos Aires within hours of the attack and have returned to the Argentine capital frequently to urge officials to pursue justice. As AJC and AMIA are partner organizations, these advocacy efforts have always been done in tandem. AJC also has published a series of annual assessments, in English and Spanish, on the state of the investigation.