San Isidro (Argentina) (AFP)
A nurse was heard on Monday by the Argentinian prosecution which is investigating the death of football idol Diego Maradona, as part of the first appearance interrogations of seven caregivers suspected of having "abandoned" him to a slow agony.
These hearings are part of an investigation for "manslaughter with aggravating circumstances" opened by the public prosecutor's office in San Isidro, in the suburbs of Buenos Aires.
The latter considers that the death, on November 25, 2020, of the 1986 world champion is the result of professional misconduct and negligence on the part of the medical team.
This nurse, Ricardo Almiron, 37, arrived at the San Isidro prosecutor's office at midday, accompanied by his lawyer, but without making a statement for the time being.
Prosecutors suspect him of lying when he claimed the former champion was sleeping and breathing normally hours before his death, as the autopsy revealed he was in agony.
In addition to the nurse, six other people are to be questioned soon: a nurse, the coordinator of nurses, the medical coordinator of home hospitalization, a psychologist and the psychiatrist who is accused of not having provided "administration. correct medication and psychotropic drugs "that had been prescribed.
The last to be heard on June 28 will be 39-year-old neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, Maradona's personal physician.
All face a referral to court depending on the findings of the investigation.
Two daughters of the ex-captain of the Argentina team, Gianinna, 32, and Jana, 25, had shortly after the death publicly pointed out the practitioner's responsibility for the deterioration of their father's state of health. , triggering legal proceedings.
The seven caregivers are heard free, but are prohibited from leaving the territory.
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After the interrogation, the prosecutor will forward the case to an examining magistrate, together with his recommendation to continue or to close the investigation.
If brought before a court, a decision that could take months or even years, they face sentences of 8 to 25 years in prison.
"It will probably go to trial, there is no indication to the contrary," a judicial source familiar with the matter told AFP.
- Overwhelming expertise -
Diego Maradona, who suffered from kidney, liver and heart problems, died of a heart attack alone at his home in Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, just weeks after undergoing brain surgery for a blood clot. blood.
He was 60 years old.
In early May, an expert report concluded that the former player had been "abandoned to his fate" by his medical team, whose "inadequate, deficient and reckless" treatment led him to slow agony.
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"The signs of danger of death that he presented were ignored", still estimated the twenty experts, including forensic pathologists who performed the autopsy and specialists from various medical disciplines.
According to the document, "the medical team fully and completely considered the possibility of the patient's fatal outcome, but remained absolutely indifferent to this issue and did not change their behavior and medical approach."
"Taking into account the clinical, clinico-psychiatric picture and the poor general condition, he should have continued his rehabilitation and interdisciplinary treatment in an appropriate institution", insists the document.
The death of Maradona, considered a football genius, created a planetary shock wave and shocked Argentina.
Tens of thousands of people attended the wake of her remains around the presidential palace, where she had been transported.
The legendary number 10 had sparkled in club, as in the national team, under the jersey of the Albiceleste.
His hand goal against England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, which he renamed the "hand of God", is part of the history of the sport, as is his second goal, while dribbling.
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Retired from the field at 37 years old, "el Diez" (the ten, his jersey number), then sank into drugs and alcohol, multiplying cardiac incidents, detoxification cures, phases of obesity, at the risk of his death. health.
© 2021 AFP