US embassy cable - 04BUENOSAIRES3081

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 003081 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/PPC, EB/IFD/OMA, S/CT 
NSC FOR TOM SHANNON AND MIKE DEMPSEY 
FBI FOR CTD/IRAN-HIZBOLLAH UNIT FOR SSA,SCOTT SUITTS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PREF, PREL, PTER, KJUS, AR, AMIA 
SUBJECT: COURT RELEASES DOCUMENTS SUPPORTING SEPTEMBER 2 
ACQUITTAL DECISION IN AMIA TERRORIST BOMBING TRIAL 
 
REF: BUENOS AIRES 2540 
 
1.  SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
2.  On October 29, the Third Federal Oral Court finally 
released the documentation supporting the three-judge panel's 
September 2 acquittal of all 22 Argentine defendants 
(including the 5 principle defendants - 4 Buenos Aires 
policemen and the chop-shop owner who implicated them) in the 
1994 AMIA Jewish Community Center terrorist bombing (Reftel). 
In that September 2 decision, the Court also called for an 
investigation into the conduct of the bombing investigation 
and trial by the original criminal judge Juan Jose Galeano, 
other court officials, former Menem government officials, 
assorted individuals, and even members of a bi-cameral 
congressional committee formed at the time to investigate the 
attack. 
 
3.  In the 4,500-page decision released by the Court, the 
Panel conceded that the source of the explosion that devasted 
the AMIA center, killing 85 people, was a van loaded with 300 
to 400 kilograms of explosives.  After that point, however, 
the Court turns the case on its head, accusing Judge Galeano, 
other court and government officials, members of Congress and 
others of conspiring to fabricate a case against the police 
in order to provide scapegoats in the attack.  The Court 
found that Galeano's star witness, chop-shop owner Carlos 
Telledin, was paid USD 400,000 in monies from the Argentine 
intelligence service (SIDE) -- with the knowledge and 
complicity of Galeano, former head of SIDE Hugo Anzorreguy, 
and former Menem-era Interior Minister Carlos Corach -- to 
implicate his police co-defendants. 
 
4.  The Court has ordered that a new investigation be opened 
against Galeano for "arbitrary consideration of evidence," 
lack of impartiality and bribery; and against former Interior 
Minister Corach and SIDE head Anzorreguy for their role in 
the illegal payment made to Telleldin and their support for 
Galeano's activities.  Also to be investigated for their 
alleged role in the "conspiracy" to implicate the accused 
police officers is former Delegation of Jewish Associations 
(DAIA) president Ruben Bereja, and a number of members of a 
bi-cameral Congressional Commission formed at the time.  In 
related news, Judge Galeano is scheduled to appear November 5 
before the Council of Magistrates for the beginning of what 
is likely to be impeachment proceedings against him. 
 
4.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Interested parties are just starting to 
wade through the 4,500 pages of the court decision and none 
of the principle parties have made any substantive public 
comment yet.  Galeano, Corach, DAIA, AMIA and others have 10 
days to appeal the decision.  Although the AMIA investigation 
now has turned inward (i.e. looking at the actions of 
investigators and authorities rather than the perpetrators), 
at the end of the day the families of the victims of the 1994 
bombing will still be looking to the government to identify 
the perpetrators of the attack and try to bring them to 
justice.  With all of the evidence collected by Galeano now 
called into question by this court decision, the danger lies 
in the possibility that good leads and evidence will be 
tossed out with the possibly-tainted. 
GUTIERREZ