Federal judge Julián Ercolini charged judge Manuel De Campos and former prosecutor Viviana Fein on Wednesday for the serious irregularities that occurred at the crime scene of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in his apartment in Puerto Madero on the night of January 18, 2015.
The charges come more than ten years after the event, which shocked the country, and are part of an investigation into the conduct of judicial and security officials during the initial operation.
Four days before his death, Nisman had accused then-president Cristina Kirchner of covering up the perpetrators of the AMIA bombing, which took place in 1994 and left 85 victims. According to prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, the evidence that should have been preserved and collected was erased due to the negligent actions of the officials present, which made it difficult to clarify the homicide.
Viviana Fein y Sergio Berni.
In less than 10 hours, at least 88 people passed through the three-room apartment on the 13th floor of the Le Parc towers, which created a real chaos in the preservation of evidence. For this reason, former Security Secretary Sergio Berni, his aide Darío Ruiz, and the former chiefs of the Federal Police and Coast Guard, Román Di Santo and Luis Heiler, respectively, had already been charged.
The request for charges highlights that the procedure was "riddled with serious and obvious irregularities" and that the "negligence" of De Campos and Fein directly impacted the investigation. As evidence of the disaster, not a single one of Nisman's fingerprints was found in the apartment, while the fingerprints of one of the coast guards in charge of securing the scene did appear. Expert Osvaldo Raffo described the situation as the actions of "a herd of buffaloes."
The lack of control was also evident outside the apartment, where neighbors and visitors were able to walk freely through the premises without being checked, while the body of the murdered prosecutor remained in the en suite bathroom.
Alberto Nisman, fiscal asesinado.
Coast guard Horacio Aranda confirmed that he was unable to prevent the entry of political officials and members of other security forces into Nisman's bedroom, while subsequent phone records revealed that Berni had multiple communications with then-president Cristina Kirchner during the early morning hours, contradicting his initial statements.
Among other irregularities, it was observed how the blood on the gun used in the crime was cleaned with toilet paper, with people sitting on Nisman's bed and armchair. Similarly, according to prosecutor Taiano, while walking through the apartment, Berni's sneakers were muddy.
The investigation into the case is now focused on the Army Intelligence services under the command of ultra-Kirchnerist general César Milani, seeking to clarify the events surrounding the prosecutor's death.
