Democracy ‘under threat’ after death of lawyer

The Argentine bishops have said they are shocked by the death of the lawyer investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural centre in Buenos Aires in which 87 people were killed and 300 injured.

Alberto Nisman was found dead last week, shortly before he was due to present his evidence of alleged collaboration between the Argentine and Iranian Governments over the bombing, widely believed to have been perpetrated by Iranian agents.

“We share the shock, confusion and uncertainty that Argentines are currently feeling,” said the bishops. Nisman’s death had been declared suicide but investigators later said they were unable to rule out murder.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was among those implicated in Nisman’s report, said she believed he was killed by members of Argentina’s shadowy intelligence services, which she said were acting to undermine the Government. In a televised address, she said she planned to dissolve the current intelligence secretariat.