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| Journalist Who Reported on Argentine Prosecutor’s Death Flees to Israel | Journalist Who Reported on Argentine Prosecutor’s Death Flees to Israel |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| JERUSALEM — Damián Pachter, the journalist who broke the story of the recent death of an Argentine prosecutor investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, has fled to Israel, saying he feared for his life in Argentina. | |
| In a first-person account of the days before his flight from Argentina published on Monday in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Mr. Pachter said he concluded late Friday that he was being followed by an intelligence officer who “wore jeans, a jeans jacket and Ray-Ban sunglasses” and decided to leave the country immediately. He said that he bought a ticket to Montevideo, Uruguay, from Buenos Aires, and that he traveled on to Madrid and Tel Aviv. | In a first-person account of the days before his flight from Argentina published on Monday in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Mr. Pachter said he concluded late Friday that he was being followed by an intelligence officer who “wore jeans, a jeans jacket and Ray-Ban sunglasses” and decided to leave the country immediately. He said that he bought a ticket to Montevideo, Uruguay, from Buenos Aires, and that he traveled on to Madrid and Tel Aviv. |
| After landing in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening, Mr. Pachter told reporters waiting for him at the airport, “They are using their security forces to chase me.” | After landing in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening, Mr. Pachter told reporters waiting for him at the airport, “They are using their security forces to chase me.” |
| “I just had to move fast and quick, as fast as I could in order to get onto a plane and leave the country,” he added, speaking in English. | “I just had to move fast and quick, as fast as I could in order to get onto a plane and leave the country,” he added, speaking in English. |
| In the televised remarks, he noted that he held Israeli citizenship. | In the televised remarks, he noted that he held Israeli citizenship. |
| “These are the most important years of my life,” he added. “This is the place where I feel safe.” | “These are the most important years of my life,” he added. “This is the place where I feel safe.” |
| Mr. Pachter could not immediately be reached for comment. | Mr. Pachter could not immediately be reached for comment. |
| Relying on a source he said he considered reliable, Mr. Pachter, a journalist for the English-language Buenos Aires Herald, was the first to publicize the suspicious death of Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor. Mr. Nisman was found dead in his Buenos Aires apartment from a gunshot wound to the head on Jan. 18, the day before he was to testify before lawmakers about his accusations regarding the 1994 attack on the Jewish center and its aftermath. | |
| Mr. Nisman, 51, had been investigating for a decade the bombing in which 85 people were killed. He had accused Iranian officials of planning and financing the attack and Iran’s Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, of carrying it out. He also accused President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina and top aides of having conspired with Iran to cover up responsibility for the bombing as part of a deal that would supply Iranian oil to Argentina. | Mr. Nisman, 51, had been investigating for a decade the bombing in which 85 people were killed. He had accused Iranian officials of planning and financing the attack and Iran’s Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, of carrying it out. He also accused President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina and top aides of having conspired with Iran to cover up responsibility for the bombing as part of a deal that would supply Iranian oil to Argentina. |
| Mr. Pachter first took to his Twitter account to report that there had been “an incident” at Mr. Nisman’s home. He then posted that Mr. Nisman was found in his bathroom in a pool of blood, that he was not breathing, and that doctors were at the apartment. | Mr. Pachter first took to his Twitter account to report that there had been “an incident” at Mr. Nisman’s home. He then posted that Mr. Nisman was found in his bathroom in a pool of blood, that he was not breathing, and that doctors were at the apartment. |
| Argentine officials at first said that evidence at the scene, including a .22-caliber pistol and spent cartridge found near Mr. Nisman’s body, indicated suicide. By Friday, Argentina’s government was asserting that an ousted spymaster was involved. | Argentine officials at first said that evidence at the scene, including a .22-caliber pistol and spent cartridge found near Mr. Nisman’s body, indicated suicide. By Friday, Argentina’s government was asserting that an ousted spymaster was involved. |
| Mr. Pachter seemed to have first become alarmed about his own safety on Friday. He wrote in Haaretz that he was working in the newsroom when a colleague drew his attention to a story about Mr. Nisman’s death by the state news agency. It quoted what was said to be a post on Twitter by Mr. Pachter, but he denied writing that message. | Mr. Pachter seemed to have first become alarmed about his own safety on Friday. He wrote in Haaretz that he was working in the newsroom when a colleague drew his attention to a story about Mr. Nisman’s death by the state news agency. It quoted what was said to be a post on Twitter by Mr. Pachter, but he denied writing that message. |
| Mr. Pachter said he realized it was “a kind of coded message” and was advised by a friend to get out of the city. He took a bus to an undisclosed location and, he wrote, and while he waited for his friend at a gas station cafe, he noticed the man wearing the sunglasses — at night — sitting two tables from him. | Mr. Pachter said he realized it was “a kind of coded message” and was advised by a friend to get out of the city. He took a bus to an undisclosed location and, he wrote, and while he waited for his friend at a gas station cafe, he noticed the man wearing the sunglasses — at night — sitting two tables from him. |
| “When an Argentine intelligence agent is on your tail, it’s never good news,” Mr. Pachter wrote. “He didn’t just want to have a coffee with me, that’s for sure.” | “When an Argentine intelligence agent is on your tail, it’s never good news,” Mr. Pachter wrote. “He didn’t just want to have a coffee with me, that’s for sure.” |
| Mr. Pachter added that after he left Argentina, he found that the government was still publishing false information about him on social media. He said the Twitter feed of the Argentine presidential palace had posted the details of the airline ticket he had bought and claimed, wrongly, that he intended to return to Argentina by Feb. 2. | Mr. Pachter added that after he left Argentina, he found that the government was still publishing false information about him on social media. He said the Twitter feed of the Argentine presidential palace had posted the details of the airline ticket he had bought and claimed, wrongly, that he intended to return to Argentina by Feb. 2. |
| “In other words, I hadn’t really fled the country,” he wrote. “In fact, my return date is in December.” | “In other words, I hadn’t really fled the country,” he wrote. “In fact, my return date is in December.” |
| “Argentina has become a dark place led by a corrupt political system,” he added. “I still haven’t figured out everything that has happened to me over the past 48 hours.” | “Argentina has become a dark place led by a corrupt political system,” he added. “I still haven’t figured out everything that has happened to me over the past 48 hours.” |
| Jorge Capitanich, Argentina’s cabinet chief, defended the publication of Mr. Pachter’s movements on the Twitter account of the presidential palace. At a news conference on Monday morning, he said, “If a journalist says that he feels threatened, it’s important to publish his whereabouts.” | Jorge Capitanich, Argentina’s cabinet chief, defended the publication of Mr. Pachter’s movements on the Twitter account of the presidential palace. At a news conference on Monday morning, he said, “If a journalist says that he feels threatened, it’s important to publish his whereabouts.” |
| Télam, the national news agency, also sought to defend itself from Mr. Pachter’s accusation that it had published invented comments, writing in a piece that it had never “alluded to a fake tweet.” | Télam, the national news agency, also sought to defend itself from Mr. Pachter’s accusation that it had published invented comments, writing in a piece that it had never “alluded to a fake tweet.” |
| The conduct of Aerolíneas Argentinas, the state-run airline, was also criticized by opposition politicians. It was the airline that released the information about Mr. Pachter’s tickets. Julio Cobos, an opposition figure, said that releasing the information may have constituted a criminal act. He also pointed to the “complete irresponsibility” of the presidential palace’s Twitter account. | The conduct of Aerolíneas Argentinas, the state-run airline, was also criticized by opposition politicians. It was the airline that released the information about Mr. Pachter’s tickets. Julio Cobos, an opposition figure, said that releasing the information may have constituted a criminal act. He also pointed to the “complete irresponsibility” of the presidential palace’s Twitter account. |