Maradona’s Daughters Demand Up to 15 Years in Prison for Medical Team

The daughters of late Argentine football legend Diego Maradona have called for lengthy prison sentences for members of his medical team standing trial over his death in 2020.

Dalma and Gianinna Maradona, through their lawyer Fernando Burlando, accused the medical professionals of gross negligence, describing their alleged actions as “murder” and seeking prison terms of up to 15 years for six of the seven defendants.

Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60 from heart failure and acute pulmonary edema, two weeks after undergoing surgery for a blood clot in his brain.

The seven medical professionals have been on trial since April over allegations that they provided inadequate care while the former Argentina captain was recovering at a rented private residence. The defendants have denied the charges.

Speaking in court on Wednesday, Burlando accused the medical team of showing “brutal indifference” to Maradona’s condition.

“They killed a mythological hero,” he said.

However, Maradona’s relatives are divided over the appropriate punishment for those accused.

Lawyers representing his three sisters, Rita, Claudia and Ana, requested sentences of up to 10 years in prison for five of the defendants. Their lawyer, Pablo Jurado, argued that medical coordinator Nancy Forlini should receive the harshest punishment among those they represent.

On Tuesday, a lawyer representing Maradona’s youngest son, 13-year-old Diego Fernando Maradona, called for personal physician Leopoldo Luque and Forlini to each receive 16-year prison sentences.

Prosecutors Seek Convictions

State prosecutors began their closing arguments the previous week, calling for six of the seven defendants to be found guilty and requesting prison sentences ranging from four to 12 years.

They also argued that Luque should receive the longest sentence.

The closing arguments are expected to continue until the end of October, after which the court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, is expected to reserve its judgment for a later date.

The trial seeks to establish whether members of Maradona’s medical team bear criminal responsibility for the circumstances surrounding his death.