Argentine Prosecutor Who Accused President of Corruption Found Dead

An Argentine prosecutor who had accused the president of trying to thwart an investigation into a terrorist attack that took place in 1994 has been found dead just hours before he was scheduled to testify to the Argentine congress about the matter.

The Economist reports that federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman was found dead in his bathroom with a gun near his lifeless body. Nisman was the lead investigator of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center that left 86 people dead and hundreds of others injured and maimed.

Nisman alleged that the attack was the work of Iran through its proxy organization Hezbollah. Through the course of his investigation reaching this determination, Nisman also discovered that the Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman and President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner tried to make an unsavory deal with Iran.

Nisman contended that the Argentine government provided assurances to the Iranian government that the investigation into the bombing would not result in the prosecution of Iranians if Iran was open to a trade deal where Argentina would provide food commodities in exchange for oil.

The Economist notes that police are not sure whether the death was a suicide or not, and the door to Nisman's apartment was locked from the inside when authorities arrived.

At the same time, however, The Economist says that Nisman had publicly mused about increasing his security detail. He also supposedly told close confidants that he thought his life may very well be in danger as a result of his work.

The New York Times reports that Nisman had a security detail of ten police officers at the time of his death, but they grew concerned throughout the day of Jan. 18 because they had not heard from Nisman and he had not collected his newspaper from in front of his apartment door.