After 2 months, 40 witnesses, Maradona trial scrapped
A new trial will have to start from scratch, with three new judges, in a case already long delayed into Maradona's death in 2020, allegedly due to medical negligence.
Judge Julieta Makintach was forced to step down from the case this week after it emerged she had been involved in a documentary miniseries about the case, potentially breaking a string of ethics rules.
Her colleague, Judge Maximiliano Savarino, annulled the trial on Thursday, saying Makintach's behaviour had "caused prejudice" to proceedings that have already heard hours of painful, sometimes tearful, testimony from witnesses including Maradona's children.
"I am not calm. I am angry. I hate them!" the footballer's daughter Jana Maradona told reporters outside the court Thursday.
Ex-partner Veronica Ojeda described the events as "outrageous."
AFP | TOMAS CUESTA
But she added: "if I have to do it (testify) a thousand times more, I will."
Maradona - considered one of the world's greatest ever players - died in November 2020 at the age of 60 while recovering from brain surgery.
He was found to have died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema - a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs - two weeks after going under the knife.
His seven-person medical team is on trial over the conditions of his home convalescence, described by prosecutors as grossly negligent.
- 'Divine Justice' -
AFP | TOMAS CUESTA
In a trial that kicked off on March 11, prosecutors alleged the former footballer was abandoned to his fate for a "prolonged, agonising period" before his death.
Daughter Gianinna Maradona told the court her father was kept in "a dark, ugly and lonely" place, and that his carers were more interested in money than his welfare.
Then the proceedings hit a hiccup, with Makintach coming under scrutiny over alleged unauthorised filming.
She denied any wrongdoing, but after police raids and a week-long suspension of proceedings, evidence came to light that brought the 47-year-old judge's conduct into question.
A trailer for a TV show dubbed "Divine Justice" was played in court Tuesday, showing Makintach stalking the halls of justice in high heels as grim details of the footballing hero's demise were relayed.
The footage, which sparked an uproar, appeared to contain unauthorised recordings made inside the court, and showed Makintach being interviewed on camera.
Makintach has been suspended from her duties and is being investigated by a judicial disciplinary body, accused of violating impartiality requirements, influence peddling and possibly even bribery.
The prosecution, the complainants and most of the defense lawyers had asked for a new panel of judges to be appointed and the trial restarted.
"There was no other option than nullifying" the trial, said Vadim Mischanchuk, the lawyer for Maradona's psychiatrist, one of the accused.
No date has been set for the new trial, but the prosecution has said it hopes for a restart this year.
Any possible appeals against Thursday's ruling could delay the resumption of proceedings, for which judges will be chosen by an internal court lottery.
Maradona's caregivers risk prison terms of between eight and 25 years if convicted of "homicide with possible intent" - pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to his death.
"Maradona still not at peace," said an Argentine press headline this week.
By Tomás Viola
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
11 hours ago
- eNCA
Togo tight-lipped as Burkina jihadists infiltrate north
Jihadists from Burkina Faso have stepped up their assaults on northern Togo since the beginning of the year, with the Togolese government tight-lipped on their covert infiltration. Keen not to sap the morale of the Togolese soldiers fighting the incursion, the small west African nation's authorities have offered little in the way of official comment or figures on violence by jihadists, who have gained ground since their first deadly attack in the country in 2022. In a rare admission, Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey recently said Islamist fighters had killed at least 62 people since January -- more than double the deaths the government recorded in the whole of 2023. Those losses reflect a surge in jihadist unrest in Togo's north, at a time when armed fighters linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group are gaining ground across the wider west African region. For Togolese political scientist and essayist Madi Djabakate, the lack of coverage in the Togolese press stems from the government's "policy of informational lockdown". Togo's High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC) has "expressly forbidden journalists from mentioning the attacks or human or material losses, so as not to demoralise the troops engaged on the ground", he told AFP. - Porous borders - Like neighbouring Benin, Togo is confronted with an overspill of violence from eastern Burkina Faso, where jihadists run rampant. In 2024, Burkina Faso saw the most deaths of any country in the world from "terrorism" for the second year running, with 1,532 victims out of a worldwide total of 7,555, according to the Global Terrorism Index. Located near the Togolese border, the Burkinabe province of Kompienga is home to a powerful branch of the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic acronym, JNIM. AFP | Ioana PLESEA, Valentina BRESCHI Just over the frontier, Kpendjal prefecture is the Togolese region worst-hit by jihadist attacks, which west African security specialist Mathias Khalfaoui said was a result of the porous border. Yet in the past year the violence has spread beyond the borderlands. In a study for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank associated with Germany's conservative CDU party, Khalfaoui said the jihadist advance could easily go under the radar "because of its slow and methodical nature". "Until 2023, the danger was still concentrated in the territories directly bordering Burkina Faso," the analyst said. Since May 2024, he said, the jihadists have extended their influence further south, towards the nearby prefectures of Oti and South Oti. - 'Absence of the state' - Khalfaoui said the expansion of the jihadists' scope in Togo was "becoming clear". "We have to go back to December 2022 to find a month when, to our knowledge, there was no attack," Khalfaoui said in his study. But tackling the issue is a challenge given the dire economic situation of Togo's north, the poorest and least developed part of an already impoverished nation, Khalfaoui added. AFP | PIUS UTOMI EKPEI Djabakate, the Togolese political scientist, agreed, arguing that the country's current approach was "essentially military and repressive". "The affected prefectures, notably Kpendjal and West Kpendjal, suffer from a structural absence of the state," Djabakate said. "Civil servants posted to these areas perceive their assignment as a punishment, given the harsh living conditions and the absence of public services," he added. Togo has deployed around 8,000 soldiers to the affected region, while the defence budget ballooned from 8.7 percent of GDP in 2017 to 17.5 percent in 2022, according to Foreign Minister Dussey. The government has also attempted to improve living conditions for Togolese in the north, through an emergency aid programme launched in 2023. But the situation is unlikely to improve without better coordination on tackling jihadism between countries in a divided west Africa, according to analysts in the region.
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Liverpool fan banned from all UK stadiums for racially abusing Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo
English referee Anthony Taylor (R) speaks with both coaches and the stadium safety officer after a Liverpool supporter shouted racist abuse at Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield. Photo: Paul Ellis/AFP A man arrested on suspicion of racially abusing Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo during the opening game of the Premier League season has been banned from every football stadium in the UK. The match against Liverpool at Anfield on Friday was briefly stopped in the first half after Semenyo reported the incident to the referee. A 47-year-old man from Liverpool has been released on bail after he was arrested the following day on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, Merseyside Police said on Monday. As part of his bail conditions, he cannot attend any regulated football match in the UK, and is not allowed within a mile of any football stadium.
eNCA
3 days ago
- eNCA
Louisiana sues Roblox game platform over child safety
AFP/File | Lionel BONAVENTURE LOUISIANA - The US state of Louisiana has filed a lawsuit accusing Roblox of facilitating the exploitation of children, prompting the online game platform to reject the claim as "untrue" on Friday. A lawsuit filed by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill contends that Silicon Valley-based Roblox facilitates distribution of child sexual abuse material and the exploitation of minors. "Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety," Murrill maintained in a release. The lawsuit charges Roblox with "knowingly and intentionally" failing to implement basic safety controls to protect children. Nearly 82 million people use Roblox daily, with more than half of them being younger than 18 years of age, according to the suit. "Any assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is simply untrue," the company said Friday in a posted response to the filing. "No system is perfect and bad actors adapt to evade detection," the company added, stressing that it works "continuously" to promote a safe online environment on the platform. The Roblox online gaming and creation platform was founded in 2004 and allows users to play, create and share virtual experiences. Roblox is one of the most popular online platforms for children, "offering a vibrant world of interactive games, imaginative play, and creative self-expression," according to the nonprofit Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI). A FOSI guide available at its website "walks parents through the basics of Roblox, the ways children commonly engage with it, and how to use built-in features like content filters, chat settings, and screen time controls" for safety. Roblox announced major safety upgrades late last year, introducing remote parental controls and restricting communication features for users under 13.
