Diego Maradona’s death is at the centre of a trial involving seven medical professionals.
Relatives seek prison terms of up to 16 years as lawyers deliver closing arguments over the football legend’s death.
Diego Maradona’s family sought stiff prison terms in the Maradona death trial on Wednesday, but differed over sentencing. Lawyers representing his relatives requested different penalties for members of the medical team accused over his death.
Seven medical professionals have faced trial since April over the football legend’s death on November 25, 2020. They deny charges that they provided grossly inadequate care during his recovery from brain surgery.
Maradona, a star of the 1986 World Cup, died aged 60 from heart failure and acute pulmonary edema. He had undergone surgery for a brain clot two weeks earlier and was recovering in a rented private home.
Family sentencing requests in Maradona death trial
On Wednesday, lawyer Fernando Burlando sought sentences of up to 15 years for six of the seven defendants. He represents Maradona’s daughters Dalma and Gianinna.
Burlando accused the carers of murder and argued that they had shown extreme indifference towards Maradona. Those allegations remain contested, and the court has yet to deliver its judgment.
Meanwhile, the lawyer representing Maradona’s sisters Rita, Claudia and Ana requested lower maximum terms. Pablo Jurado sought sentences of up to 10 years for five defendants.
Jurado also argued that medical coordinator Nancy Forlini should receive the most severe punishment among them.
A day earlier, a lawyer representing Maradona’s youngest son had requested longer sentences for two defendants. The lawyer for 13-year-old Diego Fernando Maradona sought 16-year terms for personal physician Leopoldo Luque and Forlini.
Prosecutors seek terms of four to 12 years
State prosecutors began their closing arguments last week, seeking guilty findings against six of the seven accused. They requested prison terms ranging from four to 12 years.
However, prosecutors identified Luque as the defendant who should receive the heaviest sentence. Their position differs from that of the sisters’ lawyer, who singled out Forlini.
The requests therefore vary both in length and in which medical professionals should face the harshest punishment. All remain sentencing requests rather than court decisions.
Closing arguments to continue until late October
The court in San Isidro, a Buenos Aires suburb near where Maradona died, is hearing the case. Closing arguments are scheduled to continue until the end of October.
After that, the court is expected to reserve its judgment for a later date. The seven medical professionals continue to deny the charges against them.
