[JURIST] Former Argentinian president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner [BBC backgrounder] went before a judge Monday for questioning as part of the investigation into her alleged corruption for granting public works contracts. She was charged [JURIST report] in federal court in May for manipulating the economy in order to resolve the country’s low foreign reserves. This is her first appearance [BBC report] in court regarding these charges, and she claims to be the victim of political persecution.

Kirchner has recently been the subject of various corruption investigations. In May, an Argentinian federal prosecutor made a formal request [JURIST report] to a judge to conduct an investigation of Kirchner and her son for illegal enrichment in an ongoing money laundering investigation. Last year a judge in Argentina dismissed criminal allegations against Kirchner that accused her of conspiring to shield Iranian officials from responsibility for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires. Kirchner was accused [JURIST report] of the cover up in January 2015. An appeals court in Argentina ruled in May 2014 that a controversial agreement between Argentina and Iran to investigate the 1994 bombing was unconstitutional [JURIST report]. The two nations signed [JURIST report] the agreement in January 2013, which permitted Argentine authorities to question the Iranian suspects under Interpol arrest warrants, but only in Tehran.