Particle.news
Download on the App Store
4 ARTICLES
·
20h ago

Argentina Orders Absentia Trial for AMIA Bombing Suspects

Judge Daniel Rafecas invoked a recent penal code reform allowing trials in absentia to advance a decades-old investigation against ten suspects in the AMIA bombing.

Image
30e anniversaire de l’attentat contre le centre juif AMIA qui a tué 85 personnes, à Buenos Aires, en Argentine, le 18 juillet 2024. Un juge a ordonné ce jeudi 26 juin 2025 le procès par contumace de dix suspects iraniens et libanais.
Des personnes tiennent des photos de victimes lors d'une cérémonie commémorant l'anniversaire de l'attentat à la bombe contre l'Association Mutuelle Israélite Argentine (AMIA) à Buenos Aires, le 18 juillet 2024

Overview

  • On June 26, 2025, Judge Daniel Rafecas required a trial in absentia for ten individuals accused in the 1994 AMIA bombing that killed 85 people and wounded around 300.
  • A March 2025 amendment to Argentina’s penal code now permits absentia proceedings for serious crimes, creating the legal basis for this unprecedented case.
  • The accused include eight Iranians and two Lebanese nationals, among them former Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, ex-intelligence chief Ali Fallahian and former ambassador Hadi Soleimanpour.
  • Argentina and Israel have long alleged that Iran and Hezbollah sponsored the attack, but Tehran denies any involvement and has refused to make its former officials available for questioning.
  • Some victims’ relatives warn that absentia trials may fall short of revealing the full truth, and the unresolved case continues to polarize Argentina’s political landscape.