BUENOS AIRES — A federal prosecutor in Argentina on Friday revived the explosive accusations leveled by Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor whose mysterious death has gripped the country, by seeking to charge President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner with covering up secret negotiations to shield Iranians from responsibility over a 1994 bombing.
Putting Kirchner on the defensive, the move by the prosecutor, Gerardo Pollicita, prevents the 289-page criminal complaint that Nisman had filed against Kirchner before his death last month from languishing in Argentina's legal system.
Pollicita is also seeking to charge the foreign minister and other political supporters of Kirchner, continuing the case Nisman had begun. Jorge Capitanich, Kirchner's Cabinet chief, called the move "judicial putschism" and "an active strategy of destabilization."
The angry reactions to the charges reflect the rising tension between Kirchner's government and parts of the judiciary. A group of prosecutors is planning a march here on Feb. 18 in Nisman's honor at a time when many Argentines believe that the president is meddling in the inquiry into his death.
Nisman, the lead investigator of the 1994 attack on a Jewish center that left 85 people dead, had described in his criminal complaint a complex web of back-channel negotiations, accusing Argentina's president of directing an effort to reduce pressure on Iranians wanted in connection with the bombing, in exchange for trade benefits.
But Nisman was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in his apartment the day before he was scheduled to speak before Congress about his allegations.
While investigators are seeking to determine whether his death was a suicide or a murder, Kirchner and senior officials have cast suspicion on others, including an aide to Nisman and an ousted spy chief from Argentina's main intelligence agency.
Pollicita, who was assigned to review Nisman's case against Kirchner, could have decided that the complaint was not worth pursuing. But while Nisman had acknowledged in his complaint that the secret deal had not materialized, Pollicita believed that the charges of a coverup had sufficient foundations for the case to progress.
A judge, Daniel Rafecas, will now begin the process of requesting evidence and setting up investigative inquiries, and can decide whether the case should be dismissed or proceed to trial, said Susana Ciruzzi, a criminal law professor at the University of Buenos Aires.