Diego Maradona's daughter Gianinna on Tuesday slammed what she called the "total manipulation' of the late player's family by his doctors in the lead-up to his 2020 death.
She was testifying at the trial of Maradona's seven-person medical team, which is accused of gross negligence over the death of the Argentine football legend at the age of 60.
"The manipulation was total and horrible," Gianinna told the court in the northern Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro, near where Maradona died while convalescing after surgery for a brain clot.
Gianinna said the medics convinced her and her siblings that their father could recuperate safely at his rented home in Tigre, Buenos Aires Province.
She said the doctors presented this as a "serious" option and assured that his residence would be well-equipped in medical terms.
"I trusted these three people, who only manipulated us and left my son without a grandfather," she added, referring to neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and nurse Carlos Díaz.
“Beyond what they were telling us, they had a parallel strategy,” said Gianna, referring to WhatsApp audio messages that were exchanged by members of the medical team discussing how to protect themselves if Maradona were to die.
"I never imagined that they were already thinking they had to cover for themselves, to pass the buck to the patient; it makes me quite angry to hear that," said Maradona’s daughter.
At the start of the hearing, the prosecution played messages implicating Luque, who then asked to give evidence immediately in response to the evidence presented by the prosecution.
This is the third time Luque has given evidence since the trial began last week, and he will do so “as many times as necessary,” remarked Julio Rivas, one of his defence lawyers.
Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari also of Díaz, who sent an audio suggesting the group “cover our backs.”
"It makes me angry to hear it," was Gianinna’s reaction after listening to the audio clip.
The late footballer’s seven care-givers face prison terms of between eight and 25 years if convicted of homicide with possible malice aforethought (dolo eventual) – pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to death.
A key question at the heart of the trial is whether the decision to allow Maradona to convalesce at home instead of a medical facility endangered his life.
The defendants argue that the hard-living star, who battled cocaine and alcohol addictions throughout his life, died of natural causes.
Maradona, arguably Argentina’s most favourite son, died of heart failure, acute pulmonary edema – a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs – and dilated cardiomyopathy, two weeks after undergoing an operation.
The first trial over Maradona's death was annulled last year following revelations that one of the judges took part in a clandestine documentary about the case.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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