By Jonathan Gilbert, 6 August 2015
BUENOS AIRES — Argentina’s labyrinthine investigation into the suicide bombing of a Jewish community center here two decades ago began a new chapter on Thursday with the start of a trial in which Carlos Menem, a former president, is accused of trying to derail the case.
Mr. Menem, 85, is one of 13 defendants, mostly former officials, suspected of conspiring to conceal what prosecutors have said was Syrian involvement in the 1994 bomb attack, which killed 85 people. The trial points to the struggles of Argentina’s judiciary, which has failed to convict anyone of the bombing but has pushed ahead with separate cover-up allegations.
For some in Argentina, the long-awaited trial arouses hopes of one day solving the bombing, a case scarred by setbacks and controversy, including the mysterious death this year of Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor who was leading the investigation. Before Mr. Nisman took the helm a decade ago, the investigation had been tainted by scandal.