They accuse the Argentine president of threatening the prosecutor who leads the case of Cristina Fernández

Argentine President Alberto Fernández was involved in a controversy this Thursday by expressing the hope that the prosecutor in a corruption case against Vice President Cristina Fernández will not commit suicide as, according to him, another prosecutor who filed charges against her did.

The opposition coalition Together for Change characterized Fernández’s statements as “a veiled threat to the personal security of the federal prosecutor.” Some political leaders said they would file charges against him.

Prosecutor Alberto Nisman died of a gunshot wound in January 2015 on the eve of the hearing in which he was to present evidence against then-president Cristina Fernández, whom he had accused of conspiring with Iran to cover up his alleged involvement in the bomb that destroyed a Jewish community center in 1994.

Allies of the former president maintain that Nisman committed suicide, but opponents say that he was murdered or instigated to commit suicide.

In a televised interview on Wednesday night, Fernández strongly defended the vice president, accused of corruption in relation to public works contracts awarded during her government in 2007-2015. This week, prosecutor Diego Luciani requested a 12-year sentence for the former president.

Asked for his opinion on a recent request by the Supreme Court for greater security for judges and prosecutors, Fernández said that it was because “the memory of Nisman is always there.”

Fernandez said it was ridiculous “to encourage the idea that what happened to Nisman could happen to prosecutor Luciani.”

“Look, so far, what happened to Nisman is that he committed suicide, so far nothing else has been proven. I hope that prosecutor Luciani does not do something like this, ”he added.

Nisman’s death under mysterious circumstances has given rise to frenzied speculation in Argentina, where the matter fits into deep divisions between supporters and opponents of the former president.

The investigation into Nisman’s death remains open. Judge Julián Ercolini accused a suspect in late 2017 of being a “necessary participant” in his death, which he is investigating as a homicide. There are other defendants in the case.

Many opposition leaders and members of the judiciary were quick to condemn Fernández, who complained that “there has been a huge misrepresentation” of what he said.

According to Fernández, the controversy was due to the fact that he had questioned the widespread idea of ​​Nisman’s murder, when “the truth is that up to now there is no evidence that says such a thing.”

Patricia Bullrich, president of the opposition Pro party, promised Thursday to seek charges against the president “for threatening prosecutor Luciani.” Other lawmakers also called for the president to be impeached for statements they characterized as reckless and threatening.

The Association of Prosecutors and Officials of the Public Prosecutor’s Office also repudiated Fernández’s statements, pointing out that “his statements have an unpleasant and reckless content towards an official who has only done his job.”

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