Alberto Nisman's service door was 'open' says locksmith, as secret third entrancefound
A locksmith says a second door to Alberto Nisman's flat - where he was found dead on Sunday - was left open, as investigators discover a third entrance to the apartment
Late Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman pauses during a meeting with journalists Photo:
REUTERS By Harriet Alexander
A locksmith called to the flat of Alberto Nisman, the Argentine prosecutor who had accused both the president and the Iranians of covering up the country's worst terrorist attack, has said that a door to his apartment was left open.
The locksmith, named only as Walter, said that he had been called to the flat at 10.03am on Sunday, when Mr Nisman's mother was alerted to the fact that her son was not answering calls.
Walter said the main entrance was locked, but that the service door was "open" and not closed with the usual security measures.
A locksmith says a second door to Alberto Nisman's flat - where he was found dead on Sunday - was left open, as investigators discover a third entrance to the apartment
Late Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman pauses during a meeting with journalists Photo:
REUTERS By Harriet Alexander
A locksmith called to the flat of Alberto Nisman, the Argentine prosecutor who had accused both the president and the Iranians of covering up the country's worst terrorist attack, has said that a door to his apartment was left open.
The locksmith, named only as Walter, said that he had been called to the flat at 10.03am on Sunday, when Mr Nisman's mother was alerted to the fact that her son was not answering calls.
Walter said the main entrance was locked, but that the service door was "open" and not closed with the usual security measures.
He told reporters outside the offices of Viviana Fein, investigating the case: "The service door was open.
I put the key in and opened it. It took two minutes."
He was asked whether only a locksmith could have opened it. "No, anyone could have done," he said.
"The mother watched me. With her key, I made a movement and opened it. It took me longer to arrange all my tools than it did to open the door - ten minutes from beginning to end.
"The key was in it. So I had to lift the key a little, push it, and then it opened."
Could a person have exited via that door, and simply closed it, he was asked? "That is for you to work out," he replied.
Argentine newspaper Clarin reported on Wednesday the existence of a secret third entrance to the flat - publishing photographs of a small metallic door which gave access to the apartment.
The third door linked Mr Nisman's flat to a neighbouring apartment, which was rented by a foreign national - not thought to be Iranian. Clarin said that in the narrow corridor between the two doors, blocked by an air conditioning unit, police had found a fingerprint and a footprint.
The 51-year-old had on January 14 spoken of his investigation into the 1994 AMIA bombing - an attack on a Jewish centre in the heart of Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and injured 300.
Iran has long been suspected of orchestrating the terrorist plot, and Mr Nisman said that Cristina Kirchner, the Argentine president, had agreed with Iran to protect those involved, in return for favourable deals on oil. Iran has always denied responsibility, and Ms Kirchner has dismissed the allegations as nonsense, and a distraction from the task of finding out what really happened.
Mr Nisman was due on Monday to speak before a parliamentary committee and detail his findings. But he was found dead on Sunday night at his home in the smart docklands area of Puerto Madero, with a Bersa Thunder .22 calibre handgun by his side.
The previous day he had borrowed the gun from a colleague, Diego Lagomarsino, 35, who delivered the weapon to Mr Nisman and was the last person to see him alive. Mr Lagomarsino, who went straight to the police on hearing of Mr Nisman's death, has reportedly said that Mr Nisman asked to borrow the gun for protection.
His death sent a political tremor through Argentina, and let to a series of spontaneous protests across the country demanding for justice for Mr Nisman.
He was asked whether only a locksmith could have opened it. "No, anyone could have done," he said.
"The mother watched me. With her key, I made a movement and opened it. It took me longer to arrange all my tools than it did to open the door - ten minutes from beginning to end.
"The key was in it. So I had to lift the key a little, push it, and then it opened."
Could a person have exited via that door, and simply closed it, he was asked? "That is for you to work out," he replied.
Argentine newspaper Clarin reported on Wednesday the existence of a secret third entrance to the flat - publishing photographs of a small metallic door which gave access to the apartment.
The third door linked Mr Nisman's flat to a neighbouring apartment, which was rented by a foreign national - not thought to be Iranian. Clarin said that in the narrow corridor between the two doors, blocked by an air conditioning unit, police had found a fingerprint and a footprint.
The 51-year-old had on January 14 spoken of his investigation into the 1994 AMIA bombing - an attack on a Jewish centre in the heart of Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and injured 300.
Iran has long been suspected of orchestrating the terrorist plot, and Mr Nisman said that Cristina Kirchner, the Argentine president, had agreed with Iran to protect those involved, in return for favourable deals on oil. Iran has always denied responsibility, and Ms Kirchner has dismissed the allegations as nonsense, and a distraction from the task of finding out what really happened.
Mr Nisman was due on Monday to speak before a parliamentary committee and detail his findings. But he was found dead on Sunday night at his home in the smart docklands area of Puerto Madero, with a Bersa Thunder .22 calibre handgun by his side.
The previous day he had borrowed the gun from a colleague, Diego Lagomarsino, 35, who delivered the weapon to Mr Nisman and was the last person to see him alive. Mr Lagomarsino, who went straight to the police on hearing of Mr Nisman's death, has reportedly said that Mr Nisman asked to borrow the gun for protection.
His death sent a political tremor through Argentina, and let to a series of spontaneous protests across the country demanding for justice for Mr Nisman.
His ex-wife, Sandra Arroyo, a judge, said her husband would not have committed suicide. Ms Fein, the
investigator, said that there were no traces of gunpowder on his right hand - although that was
inconclusive. And Mr Nisman's friends have all been quick to say that he was excited by the opportunity
to present his case - the fruit of over a decade of investigation.
Mr Nisman, a father of two daughters, had told friends that he had received threats but did not want to report them to the authorities, because it would result in his children being put under guard.
Mr Nisman himself had 10 federal bodyguards - but it was not clear where they were on Sunday, at the time of his death.
Ricardo Darin, Argentina's most famous actor, who starred in Oscar-winning The Secrets in their Eyes and is nominated again this year, said he was left shocked and confused by the case. In The Secrets in their Eyes, he plays a criminal prosecutor investigating a complex case.
"If a state prosecutor who is in charge of such a significant case doesn't have any guarantees for his survival and appears dead the night before his presentation in Congress - what hope do the rest of us have?" he said.
"I just don't understand it."
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2015
Mr Nisman, a father of two daughters, had told friends that he had received threats but did not want to report them to the authorities, because it would result in his children being put under guard.
Mr Nisman himself had 10 federal bodyguards - but it was not clear where they were on Sunday, at the time of his death.
Ricardo Darin, Argentina's most famous actor, who starred in Oscar-winning The Secrets in their Eyes and is nominated again this year, said he was left shocked and confused by the case. In The Secrets in their Eyes, he plays a criminal prosecutor investigating a complex case.
"If a state prosecutor who is in charge of such a significant case doesn't have any guarantees for his survival and appears dead the night before his presentation in Congress - what hope do the rest of us have?" he said.
"I just don't understand it."
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2015
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