Maradona case could collapse after judge stars in trial documentary
The trial of Diego Maradona's medical team in Argentina could collapse after a judge admitted to starring in a documentary about the case.
Julieta Makintach, one of three judges presiding over the case, recused herself after the trailer for the six-part mini-series Divine Justice was played to the court.
A nearly two-minute-long preview for the series begins with Ms Makintach, 47, striding through the entrance of what appears to be a courthouse, in a white skirt and high heels, and taking a lift to the upper floors.
The trailer is interspersed with news broadcasts of Maradona's death and an excerpt of an emergency call requesting an ambulance to an address in Buenos Aires.
It ends with Ms Makintach preparing a bundle of documents at a desk in an office lined with ring binders and textbooks.
The trailer was one of several pieces of evidence seized by police in raids last week, as the trial was suspended.
A script for the series, also presented to the court, said the documentary would follow Ms Makintach as she 'reconstructs the death of Maradona and certain painful milestones of his life related to abandonment'.
The footage suggests that unauthorised recordings had been made inside the courtroom and constitute a breach of judicial rules.
As the footage was played, Ms Makintach sat with her head bowed, biting her lip, and said she had 'no choice' but to bow out of proceedings.
Seven members of the late footballer's medical team are being prosecuted for negligent homicide over his death from a heart attack aged 60 in November 2020. They deny the charges.
If convicted, they face between eight and 25 years in prison.
Ms Makintach denied being paid for the documentary.
She said: 'I gave an interview to a childhood friend about the justice system.
'That material was raw, it was intimate. It was on a Sunday at 5pm. Does that give it the label of forbidden, hidden, illicit?'
Patricio Ferrari, prosecutor, denounced Ms Makintach as 'behaving like an actress and not a judge'.
He said: '[Ms Makintach] spoke about Maradona, the trial, how it was unfolding.
'She has been completely influenced by her leading role, by the centrality of her figure.
'She lied to our faces for three months. I demand that the court recuse judge Makintach.'
Mr Ferrari, according to Argentinian media reports, added: 'On Sunday March 9, before the trial began, Makintach entered the building with six people.
'And if there is a script and a trailer, it wasn't just an interview.
'There were photos, footage. There was no authorisation for this irregular entry.
'All the aggravating circumstances clearly exist that demonstrate the loss of independence and impartiality of the member summoned to this trial.'
Rodolfo Baque, representing the defendants, leapt out of his chair and shouted 'trash' at Ms Makintach and had to be calmed down by Gianinna Maradona, the footballer's daughter.
Mario Baudry, the lawyer for Verónica Ojeda, Maradona's former partner, has called for a new trial, arguing proceedings have been irrevocably tainted by the scandal.
'Everyone now feels that this is compromised. It's healthiest to start over from scratch.'
The court will decide on Thursday whether the trial is still able to go ahead.
Maradona had been recovering at his home in Buenos Aires from surgery on a brain blood clot in November 2020 when he died of a heart attack, aged 60.
Prosecutors allege his death could have been avoided and describe the care given as 'reckless, deficient and unprecedented'.
Gianinna Maradona has claimed her father was kept in a 'dark, ugly and lonely' place and that his carers were more interested in money than his welfare'.
The medical team on trial includes a neurosurgeon, a doctor and a night nurse.
The defendants claim Maradona refused further treatment and should have stayed at home for longer after his operation.
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