Maradona death trial verdict set for December 22
A San Isidro court will deliver its verdict on December 22 in the trial of seven healthcare professionals accused of negligence in Diego Maradona's 2020 death, after six months of hearings.
The verdict in the trial over the 2020 death of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona will be delivered on December 22, a court in San Isidro announced on Thursday, after six months of hearings.
The trial of seven healthcare professionals accused of negligence in Maradona’s death concluded on Thursday with brief statements from some of the defendants and from the family. “I hope my father receives the justice he deserves… like anyone else,” said his daughter Dalma Maradona, her voice breaking with emotion.
The main defendant, Leopoldo Luque — Maradona’s primary doctor and a neurosurgeon — told the court: “I am innocent.”
Maradona died at 60 from heart failure coupled with pulmonary edema. He was found dead in his bed on 25 November 2020 at a residence in Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, rented for his convalescence after minor neurosurgery. His death plunged Argentina into mourning in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prosecutors have requested prison sentences of between four and twelve years for six of the seven defendants, with the heaviest sentence — twelve years — sought for Luque. In closing arguments on Wednesday, Luque’s defence rejected the prosecution’s claim that Maradona’s death was foreseeable, calling their client a “scapegoat”.
The court has not yet ruled on the charges.
Sources: AFP via Malay Mail · Türkiye Today · Philstar/AFP · TBS News/AFP
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