Daughter joint plaintiff

Maradona death: Trial against doctors has begun

More than four years after the death of Diego Maradona, the trial against seven doctors and nurses of the Argentinian soccer legend has begun. The public prosecutor's office is accusing Maradona's personal physician Leopoldo Luque, his psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and a psychologist, another doctor, the medical coordinator of the health insurance company and two nurses of manslaughter. They deny the accusations. If convicted, they face up to 25 years in prison.

Around two dozen Maradona fans gathered outside the courthouse in San Isidro, north of Buenos Aires, demanding justice for their idol. When psychiatrist Cosachov entered the court, they chanted "Murderer, murderer", as the newspaper "La Nación" reported. Maradona's ex-girlfriend Verónica Ojeda also insulted the defendant.

"Go to the extreme"
"To defend my father, so that he gets justice, I will go to extremes," said Maradona's daughter Dalma, who is a co-plaintiff in the case along with her siblings, on television. "I believe that everything will end well. I'm very tense because we've been waiting four years for this."

Leopoldo Luque(Bild: AP/Natacha Pisarenko)

The start of the trial had already been postponed twice because a number of legal issues were still unresolved. The trial is now expected to last until at least mid-July, with a total of 192 witnesses summoned. The trial against another nurse was separated from the main proceedings. The nurse will have to stand trial before a jury in the second half of the year.

Maradona died of a heart attack on November 25, 2020 in a private residence north of Buenos Aires at the age of 60. A few weeks earlier, he had undergone brain surgery. According to the investigators, massive mistakes had been made in the home care of the 1986 world champion, who was in serious health problems.