Argentina began a long-awaited trial on Tuesday of the medical team for soccer star Diego Maradona, over four years after his death in 2020, in a case that has riled emotions in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
Maradona's family, lawyers and his former nurses, brain surgeon and psychiatrist accused of homicide by negligence, arrived at the court on the outskirts of capital city Buenos Aires in what promises to be a drama-filled and lengthy saga.
Outside the San Isidro appeals court, fans held up placards with the message "Justice for D10S," using a nickname based on Maradona's shirt number and the Spanish word for God.
"They killed him, and today they will have to deal with it here," Maradona fan Sergio Gimenez said outside the court.
Maradona, immortalized in Argentina in huge murals and tattoos, is considered one of the greatest soccer players ever.
Seven members of the medical team are due in court in a trial expected to last several months. An eighth member faces a trial by jury in July.
Maradona died at home in November 2020 from heart failure at age 60 while recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot days earlier. His medical team reject the charges of "simple homicide with eventual intent" in the treatment of the former Boca Juniors and Napoli player.
Prosecutors read out the indictment to a packed courtroom that included Maradona's ex-wife and several of his children, where they described the conditions of care received by the late star as "calamitous, reckless, deficient, unprecedented."
They alleged that protocols were broken by medical professionals and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery was described as a "theater of horror" where nobody did what was required.
The defense lawyer for neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque said that home hospitalization was agreed between doctors and Maradona's relatives. There was no wrongdoing because Maradona died from an "unforeseeable" cardiac event, lawyer Mara Digiuni added.
"New evidence proves that there is no criminal responsibility for Maradona's death on the part of any of the accused," lawyer for psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov told reporters on entering the court.
If convicted, those accused could face prison sentences of between eight and 25 years.
'LET'S HOPE JUSTICE WILL BE DONE'
Maradona's death rocked the South American nation where he was revered for leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, prompting an outpouring of grief and finger-pointing over who was to blame after Maradona's years-long battle with drug addiction and ill health.
More than 100 witness testimonies are due to be presented to the three-judge court, ranging from family members and doctors to friends and journalists.
Investigators classified the case in 2021 as culpable homicide, a crime similar to involuntary manslaughter, because they determined the accused were aware of the seriousness of Maradona's health condition and failed to take the necessary measures to save him.
"There are more than enough elements to prove that Diego was not treated properly," said Mario Baudry, lawyer for one of Maradona's sons who together with other family members brought the case forward to reporters.
"Let's hope that justice is done, that's what we all want," the lawyer added.
Those standing trial include psychiatrist Cosachov, neurosurgeon Luque, psychologist Carlos Ángel Díaz, doctor Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almirón, the chief nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni and clinical physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna.
An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried separately in July, local media reported.
The global recall of Airbus A320 aircraft has triggered widespread disruption across several major airlines, forcing flight cancellations in the Unite...
U.S. investigators have recovered the black box recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in flames on takeoff in Louisville, Kent...
Pope Leo visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday, stepping inside one of the most iconic sites of the Muslim world. He removed his shoes at the e...
Russian drones and missiles struck several districts of Kyiv early on Saturday, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen. Fires swept through...
Shoppers packed malls and downtown streets in Caracas on Black Friday (28 November) as retailers offered discounts despite Venezuela’s prolonged eco...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 14th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Some tariffs on foods and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, and El Salvador will be removed under framework agreements that give U.S. firms greater market access, the United States said on Thursday.
Argentina’s former president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, went on trial on Thursday over allegations of bribery linked to public works contracts awarded during her time in office.
Argentina has boosted security along its border with Brazil following a large-scale police operation against the Comando Vermelho gang in Rio de Janeiro, which has reportedly left more than 100 people dead since it began on Tuesday.
At least 47 people have died and another 21 are reported missing following ten days of heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides across Sri Lanka, local media reported on Thursday (27 November).
Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 128 people, injuring 79 and leaving around 200 still missing.
Netflix crashed on Wednesday for about an hour in the U.S. as it launched season five of "Stranger Things", with the service becoming inaccessible to many subscribers within minutes of the episodes going live at 8 p.m. local time.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier in the Latin American region on Thursday, amid a military buildup by President Donald Trump’s administration that has heightened tensions with Venezuela.
French health experts are warning that the highly pathogenic H5 strain of bird flu, already devastating wild and farm animals, could evolve into a virus capable of human-to-human transmission — potentially sparking a pandemic worse than COVID-19.
The global recall of Airbus A320 aircraft has triggered widespread disruption across several major airlines, forcing flight cancellations in the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Pope Leo visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday, stepping inside one of the most iconic sites of the Muslim world. He removed his shoes at the entrance in a gesture of respect. He did not appear to pray.
Russian drones and missiles struck several districts of Kyiv early on Saturday, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen. Fires swept through residential blocks as debris rained over the city.
Shoppers packed malls and downtown streets in Caracas on Black Friday (28 November) as retailers offered discounts despite Venezuela’s prolonged economic crisis. Customers queued in shoe and electronics stores and browsed signs advertising cuts of up to 50%.
The famed Nuremberg Christmas Market opened on Friday (28 November) with its traditional ceremony featuring the Nuremberg Christkind, an angel-like child figure said to deliver Christmas gifts in some European countries.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment