Argentine prosecutors ask for up to 12 years in prison for Maradona’s doctor Leopoldo Luque and four to 10 years for other staff over his 2020 death.
Argentine prosecutors on Thursday asked a court to hand prison terms of up to 12 years to the medical team that treated Diego Maradona before his death, describing the care he received as “chaotic” and negligent.
The heaviest request, 12 years, targets Leopoldo Luque, the football legend’s personal physician. For the remaining defendants, who include a psychiatrist, a nurse and care coordinators, prosecutors asked for sentences between four and 10 years.
Seven health professionals have been standing trial since April over the death of Maradona on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60.
The defendants face charges of homicide with “dolo eventual,” a legal concept describing a person who knows their conduct could cause harm and goes ahead regardless. If convicted, they face between eight and 25 years in prison.
Prosecutors describe abandonmentIn his closing arguments, prosecutor Patricio Ferrari said the team’s disorganization left the sick patient helpless and “abandoning him to his fate.” He told the court the defendants neglected duties they were obliged to fulfill and took steps that ran against sound medical practice.
At the center of the case is the decision to let Maradona recover in a rented private home rather than in a hospital. Prosecutors say the house lacked basic equipment, including a hospital bed and a defibrillator, and had no ambulance ready to reach him quickly.
Several medical experts also told the court that the carers failed to act on obvious warning signs. Maradona had swelling from fluid retention, a racing heartbeat and trouble breathing in the days before he died.
Assistant prosecutor Cosme Iribarren told the judges that the fatal outcome was foreshadowed long in advance, with signs appearing well before the final day.
The prosecution again showed the court photographs of Maradona’s body in bed, his abdomen heavily swollen. His three daughters, who attended the opening of the closing statements, reportedly covered their faces as the images appeared.
Defendants reject the accusationsAll seven deny wrongdoing. They maintain that Maradona’s death could not have been foreseen and that they carried out their duties, and each has sought to play down their personal share of responsibility for his care.
Luque told the court in April that he was innocent and that he deeply regretted the death. He said he was not the one in charge of the home recovery and challenged parts of the autopsy findings.
Prosecutors responded by playing WhatsApp voice messages between Luque and Maradona’s private secretary, which suggested he had maneuvered to win the daughters’ support for treatment at home.
The defense has also argued that Maradona, who struggled with cocaine and alcohol addiction, died of natural causes.
Background to the trialMaradona died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema, a buildup of fluid in the lungs, at the rented house in Tigre, outside Buenos Aires. It happened two weeks after he underwent surgery for a blood clot in the brain.
An earlier trial collapsed last year after two and a half months of hearings, when it emerged that one of the judges had taken part in a secret documentary about the case. That judge was later removed from office.
The closing statements are expected to take about two weeks. A verdict will come at a later date.
Maradona was as well known for his political stances as for his football.
He was an outspoken critic of US imperialism and counted Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Bolivia’s Evo Morales among his friends. In 2005, he joined protests in Mar del Plata against a visit by US President George W. Bush.
He was also a loud supporter of Palestine. In 2012, he called himself the biggest fan of the Palestinian people. In 2014, he condemned the aggression that “Israel” launched on Gaza, calling its treatment of Palestinians shameful. In 2018, he embraced Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow and told him his heart was Palestinian.
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