[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 5, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2652-S2653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 167--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

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

                              S. Res. 167

       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 AMIA bombing case has been marked by judicial 
     misconduct, and the investigation 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 Iranians Ali Fallahijan (former Iranian 
     Intelligence Minster), Mohsen Rabbani (former Iranian 
     cultural attache), Ahmad Reza Asghari (former Iranian 
     Diplomat), Ahmad Vahidi (former Iranian Minister of Defense), 
     Ali Akbar Velayati (former

[[Page S2653]]

     Iranian Foreign Minister), Mohsen Rezaee (former Chief 
     Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps), and Ali 
     Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (former President of Iran) were 
     named as the Iranian suspects in the bombing;
       Whereas 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 5 Iranian 
     and 1 Lebanese suspect in the 1994 AMIA attack on its most 
     wanted list;
       Whereas, in 2007, a Guyanese man, Abdul Kadir, plotted to 
     blow up JFK airport in New York and was, according to Mr. 
     Nisman, ``the most important Iranian agent'' in Guyana and 
     influenced by Mohsen Rabbani;
       Whereas there are countries in Latin America, especially 
     the group known as the Bolivarian Alliance (ALBA), that 
     actively cooperate with the Government of Iran and maintain 
     special relations with the Islamic Republic at various 
     levels;
       Whereas Iranians and other citizens from the Middle East 
     have received passports from Venezuela or purchased them in 
     other countries of the region associated with ALBA countries;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has allegedly purchased 
     uranium from Venezuela and Bolivia;
       Whereas Hezbollah, Iran's proxy, cooperates with drug 
     cartels in Latin America;
       Whereas, in January of 2013, the Argentinian agreement with 
     Iran set up a ``truth commission'' to investigate who was 
     ``really'' responsible for the bombing, despite the fact that 
     Iran remains the main suspect in such attack;
       Whereas Alberto Nisman was invited to testify before 
     Congress in February 2013, but was prevented by the 
     Government of Argentina, who denied him permission to travel 
     to Washington, DC, to testify;
       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, on January 13, 2015, Alberto Nisman alleged in a 
     complaint that Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de 
     Kirchner and 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 Alberto Nisman alleged that Iranian oil was to flow 
     to Argentina in exchange for Iran to purchase large 
     quantities of Argentine grain and had evidence that 
     reportedly included wire-taps of phone calls ``between people 
     close to Mrs. Kirchner'' and a number of Iranians, including 
     Mr. Rabbani, the Iranian diplomat;
       Whereas Alberto Nisman was scheduled to present his new 
     findings to the Argentinian Congress on January 19, 2015;
       Whereas Alberto Nisman was found shot in the head in his 
     apartment located in Buenos Aires on January 18, 2015;
       Whereas, Diego Lagomarsino, the prosecutor's office 
     employee who last saw Alberto Nisman alive and had provided 
     Mr. Nisman with the revolver that was found at Mr. Nisman's 
     residence, stated that Mr. Nisman had told him that ``it [the 
     revolver] was for security'' and that the previous day 
     Antonio Jaimie Stiusso (former head of Argentina's 
     Intelligence service) had called, warning him to ``take care 
     of his [Nisman's] security detail and his daughters' 
     safety'';
       Whereas officials of the Government of Argentina continue 
     to discredit Mr. Nisman, attempting to ruin his reputation;
       Whereas the President of Argentina continues to raise 
     unfounded hypotheses with regard to Mr. Nisman's findings, 
     including imaginary conspiracies she has suggested were 
     orchestrated by United States hedge funds and other entities 
     she considers ``hostile'' to the President of Argentina;
       Whereas an Argentinean Federal court dismissed Nisman's 
     findings against the president and other officials and later 
     the accusations were dropped by Javier De Luca, another 
     Federal prosecutor;
       Whereas that move has raised questions in Argentina about 
     the objectivity of Mr. De Luca, given his closeness to a 
     group of Ms. Kirchner's supporters;
       Whereas the ongoing official investigation into Alberto 
     Nisman's death has yet to determine 2 months later whether 
     his death is a suicide or a homicide;
       Whereas an independent investigation launched by Alberto 
     Nisman's family has 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''; and
       Whereas no one has been brought to justice for the death of 
     Alberto Nisman, nor have any of the named Iranian suspects 
     for the AMIA bombing: 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) calls for a swift, transparent, and internationally 
     backed investigation into Alberto Nisman's tragic death;
       (4) 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;
       (5) urges the President 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;
       (6) expresses serious concern about Iran's terrorist 
     network in Argentina, the United States, 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;
       (7) urges an independent investigation into the findings of 
     Mr. Nisman regarding the events that led to the memorandum 
     signed between Argentina and Iran;
       (8) likewise expresses serious concerns about attempts by 
     President Cristina Kirchner and her government to discredit 
     Mr. Nisman and raise unfounded hypotheses on Mr. Nisman's 
     findings and death findings while the work of the courts on 
     this matter still continues; and
       (9) 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).

                          ____________________