Seven Argentines accused of homicide for their alleged role in what prosecutors called the “horror theatre” of football legend Diego Maradona’s death four years ago went on trial in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.
Maradona died on 25 November 2020, aged 60, while recovering at home from brain surgery for a blood clot, after decades of battling cocaine and alcohol addictions.
On trial are a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a medical coordinator, a nursing coordinator, a doctor and a night nurse accused of being criminally negligent in the care they provided to the footballer in his final days.
In an opening statement, the prosecution said it intended to submit “solid” evidence that no member of the medical team “did what they were supposed to do” in the “horror theatre” that was Maradona’s deathbed.
“Look, that’s how Maradona died!” prosecutor Patricio Ferrari exclaimed in the courtroom, holding up a posthumous photo of Maradona, lying on his back in bed, his body grotesquely swollen.
The gruesome picture brought Maradona’s three daughters, Jana, Dalma and Gianinna, who attended the start of the trial, to the verge of tears.
“They [the accused] are lying to you when they say they did not take part in murder,” Ferrari charged.
The seven accused face prison terms of between eight and 25 years if convicted on charges of “homicide with possible intent” – pursuing a course of action despite knowing it can cause death.
Maradona was found dead two weeks after going under the knife, in a rented house in an exclusive Buenos Aires neighborhood where he was brought after being discharged from hospital.
It was determined he died of heart failure and acute pulmonary oedema, a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs.
The passing of the 1986 World Cup star plunged Argentina, and football fans worldwide, into mourning in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nearly 120 witnesses, including members of Maradona’s family and doctors who previously tended to him, are expected to testify in the long-delayed trial.
Prosecutors accuse his medical team of pushing for Maradona to receive home care, which proved “reckless” and “totally deficient”.
They allege the footballer was abandoned to his fate for a “prolonged, agonising period” before his death.
A panel of 20 medical experts convened by Argentina’s public prosecutor concluded in 2021 that Maradona “would have had a better chance of survival” with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.
The house where he was being cared for notably had no defibrillator.
Maradona’s family also claim that leaked audio and text messages between medical team members show the star’s health was in imminent danger.
The accused all insist on their innocence. – AFP
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
