Brazil & Southern Cone - 28 September 2004

Argentina's attempts to mete out justice for its worst-ever terrorist atrocity - the bombing of the AMIA Jewish mutual association in July 1994 - collapsed in chaos on 2 September. The attack, in which 85 people were killed, is widely thought to have been carried out by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. However, it was accepted that for an attack of that scale to be carried out, a so-called 'local connection' was needed.

Justice undone
Argentina has long believed that it had found its local connection. Carlos Telledí­n, a mechanic in Buenos Aires, has been in prison since shortly after the attack for allegedly preparing and supplying the minivan used in the explosion. Four members of the city's police force, including the former commissioner Juan José Ribelli, were accused of cooperating with Telledí­n.

However, the illusion that the imprisonment of these men represented a fair outcome was destroyed by the three judges of Tribunal Oral No3, when they announced their verdict after a three-year trial of the local connection. Not only did the court not find any proof that Telledí­n, Ribelli and co were involved in the bombing, but it also revealed major irregularities in the original investigation. Indeed, so significant were these irregularities that those responsible for prosecuting the men could now be brought to trial themselves.

The court found that Telledí­n might have provided engine parts for the attack, but that he did so unknowingly. It also failed to find any substantive evidence implicating Ribelli and the other convicted policemen. A further 17 policemen suspected of involvement were also cleared. Having exonerated the suspects, the court turned its attention to their conviction. The judges heaped opprobrium on Juan José Galeano, who, they said, 'directed his investigation to incriminate [those convicted], claiming to be meeting the demands of society while at the same time satisfying dark interests of unscrupulous officials'. The court also called into question the role played by the former head of the state intelligence service, Hugo Anzorreguy, and the interior minister under former president Carlos Menem, Carlos Corach.

An uncertain future for Galeano
The judges were particularly stunned that Judge Galeano, who made his name in being responsible for the initial investigation into the attack, had paid Telledí­n US$400,000 to implicate Ribelli and the other policemen. The feeling is that Galeano and certain members of the Menem government had not just gone too far in trying to find those responsible for the bombing; they had intentionally gone after the wrong suspects in order to protect the real perpetrators.

As a result, the spotlight has fallen on Galeano, who tried to dodge any investigation by tendering his resignation. President Néstor Kirchner, who has spent his first 16 months in power repeating his commitment to finding justice for the AMIA attack, refused the offer. He wants Galeano to face a full investigation into his conduct, which at the very least will see his career end in public disgrace.

The question now for Argentina is whether or not it will be able to carry on its investigation into the AMIA attack. All Kirchner's good intentions do not alter the fact that many of the trails that could have led somewhere have long gone cold; much of the evidence has disappeared; and such mistakes have already been made that ten years after the attack there seems little left for investigators. Going after Galeano, Corach, and even Menem would be a start, but no one seriously believes this would be possible.