Argentine judge orders arrest of ex-president for treason

BUENOS - A federal judge on Thursday ordered the arrest of former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on charges of treason and covering up for alleged Iranian terrorists involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center here.

Judge Claudio Bonadio asked Argentina's Senate to remove Fernandez's immunity from arrest, claiming she could try to interfere with the investigation, which was originally opened by prosecutor Alberto Nisman in January 2015, four days before he was found dead in his apartment.

The removal of Fernandez's immunity from arrest needs a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate.

Meanwhile, the judge issued arrest warrants for the ex-president's Foreign Affairs Minister Hector Timerman and legal and technical secretary Carlos Zannini.

Fernandez, Timerman and Zannini "took advantage of their public posts ... to commit treason against Argentina," Bonadio noted in his decision.

Fernandez is charge with treason because she signed an agreement in January 2012 with Iran to jointly investigate the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center.

According to Bonadio, the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran was designed to ensure "impunity" for the Iranians suspected of the crime and "normalize relations between the two states."

The penalty for treason is 10 to 25 years in jail, according to Argentine law.

The bombing of the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association center on July 18, 1994, left 85 people dead, and to date no one has been arrested in connection with the case.

Fernandez was Argentina's president from 2007 to 2015. She won a Senate seat last month.