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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina: Hundreds of Argentines gathered Friday to commemorate the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center that killed dozens, demanding justice for a crime for which there has not yet been a trial.

In the worst such attack in Argentina’s history, a car bomb on July 18, 1994, killed 85 people and injured more than 300 at the seven-story Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires.

Two years earlier, an explosion at the Israeli embassy killed 29 and wounded 200.

“Impunity persists, terrorism too” was the slogan for Friday’s 31st commemoration of the AMIA attack — the second such event attended by President Javier Milei, a staunch defender of Israel.

Survivors and victims’ relatives hope there will be movement under Catholic-born Milei, who has already visited Israel twice since taking office in December 2023, and has professed a deep interest in Judaism.

In April 2024, an Argentine court found Iran and Hezbollah were responsible for what it called a crime against humanity.

It ruled the likely motive for the attacks was the cancelation by the Argentine government under then-president Carlos Menem of three contracts with Iran for the supply of nuclear equipment and technology.

In June, a judge authorized a trial in absentia against ten Iranian and Lebanese defendants — former ministers and diplomats.

No date has been set.

Iran has always denied any involvement and has refused to hand over any suspects.

The Memoria Activa organization, which represents victims’ families, rejects a trial in absentia as it believes it “essential for the accused to participate” for the whole truth to come out.

The AMIA itself is in favor, but has cautioned that “holding a trial only for it to end... in some sort of nullity or a declaration of unconstitutionality would once again be very painful for everyone.”

Both organizations have been highly critical of the Argentine state’s handling of the case.

Last year, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San Jose, Costa Rica, found the state responsible for not preventing, or properly investigating, the AMIA attack.

It also blamed the state for efforts to “cover up and obstruct the investigation.”

Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, investigating accusations of a cover-up against former president Cristina Kirchner, was later found murdered.

No one was ever charged over his death.

Argentina is host to the largest Jewish community in Latin America, with nearly 300,000 people living mostly in Buenos Aires.

EPPING, UK: Police promised Friday to track down suspects behind violence at a protest outside a southeast England hotel believed to house asylum seekers, after officers and vehicles were attacked.

The violence followed several demonstrations in recent days in the town of Epping which flared after police charged an asylum seeker with sex offenses.

Eight police officers were injured and three vehicles were damaged, Essex police said.

The unrest, which police blamed on people from “outside of our community,” comes a year after anti-immigration riots rocked the UK in the wake of the fatal stabbings of three young girls in the northern town of Southport.

Then, rioters targeted hotels housing asylum seekers in several different English cities, infamously attempting to set fire to one in Rotherham, northeast England.

Essex police on Friday insisted officers would “continue to support those communities that want to peacefully protest” but would not tolerate “acts of violence and vandalism.”

“After last night I’ve got a team of specialist detectives today that are combing through the body-worn video CCTV to identify those who are responsible,” Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper told AFP.

“And what I can say is if you’re one of those individuals you can expect a knock on the door.”

Hooper said the “selfish individuals” behind the violence were mostly “from outside of the area” and had traveled to Epping “intent on causing criminality.”

Right-wing agitators, including far-right activist Tommy Robinson, have been sharing posts and videos about the situation on social media.

Footage of Thursday’s protests showed masked people pelting police vans and jumping on them, as well as clashing with officers.

The disturbances came after police charged 38-year-old asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence.

The charges stem from allegations he tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl as she ate pizza at a restaurant in Epping, just northeast of London, on July 7 and again the following day.

He has pleaded not guilty, and appeared in court for a hearing on Thursday.

An asylum seeker from Ethiopia, he arrived in the UK irregularly after crossing the Channel on a small boat at the end of last month.

In the wake of the incident, local officials have called for the Bell Hotel to no longer house asylum seekers.