[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 704 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 704
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the
courageous work and life of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, and
calling for a swift and transparent investigation into his tragic death
in Buenos Aires on January 18, 2015.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 18, 2018
Mr. Deutch (for himself and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the
courageous work and life of Argentine 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-Argentine 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 Argentine 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 House of Representatives--
(1) offers its sincerest condolences to the family of
Argentine 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).
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