A new ruling by Argentina's highest criminal court has blamed Iran for the fatal 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, declaring it a “crime against humanity” in a decision that paves the way for victims to seek justice, according to court documents released Thursday night.
The judges ruled that the bomb attack against the Associação Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) – the most lethal of its kind in the country's history, which killed 85 people and left hundreds injured – was carried out by the armed group Hezbollah and responded “to a project political and strategic” of Iran.
Representatives of the Argentine Jewish community said the court's decision was “historic” and “unique” as it opened the door for victims' relatives to take legal action against the Islamic Republic.
President Javier Milei celebrated the decision, saying it was a “significant step” that put an end to decades of “delays and cover-ups”, in an official statement.
The Argentine judiciary has long maintained that Iran was behind the attack, but joint investigations and Interpol arrest warrants have led nowhere. Iran refused to hand over citizens convicted in Argentina. Tehran denies involvement.
Prosecutors accused senior Iranian officials and Hezbollah members of ordering the bombing, as well as a 1992 attack on the Israeli embassy in Argentina that killed 22 people.
“The importance of these serious human rights violations to the international community as a whole invokes the State’s duty to provide judicial protection,” Judge Mahiques wrote.
Source: CNN Brasil
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