Argentina’s courts have decided to treat Maradona’s death as a homicide and trial all the medical professionals involved under such a ruling.
Eight people who took care of Diego Maradona will be tried for homicide following an investigation into his November 2020 death due to cardiac arrest.
The ruling said that all eight including doctors, nurses, and a psychologist who cared for Maradona at the time of his death are accused of “simple homicide,” a serious charge that means taking life with intent.
A medical board appointed to investigate Maradona’s death concluded in 2021 that the football star’s medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner.”
The defendants named in the ruling were Maradona’s neurosurgeon and personal doctor, Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, psychologist Carlos Diaz, nurses Gisella Madrid and Ricardo Almiron, their boss Mariano Perroni, and doctors Pedro Di Spagna and Nancy Forlini.
Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60 with his death causing an uproar among his revering supporters.
The talk quickly turned to his medical team, who many felt provided inadequate care to the man who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup.
Argentine prosecutors launched investigations shortly after Maradona’s death at a house near Buenos Aires, including ordering searches of properties of his personal doctor and probing others involved in his care.
The defendants have denied responsibility for Maradona’s death with their lawyers calling for the case to be dismissed.
Vadim Mischanchuk, an attorney for Cosachov, said they would appeal the decision, adding the psychiatrist’s area of care had no relation to Maradona’s cause of death.
“A guilty party is being sought at all costs and objectivity is being lost,” the lawyer said.
The crime of “simple homicide” in Argentina generally carries a sentence of 8 to 25 years in prison.
There is no set date for the trial yet.
