Trial over Maradona's death: defences present closing arguments this week
The lawyers of the seven accused will present their closing statements over three days. The Criminal Court (TOC) N°7 of San Isidro will begin deliberations after Thursday's hearing.
Closing arguments and trial over the trademark: decisive week in the Maradona cases
The trial seeking to determine responsibility for the death of Diego Armando Maradona enters its final stage this week, according to El Deber. The lawyers of the seven accused will present their closing arguments over three days—Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday—before the Criminal Oral Court (TOC) N°7 of San Isidro.
The first hearing on Tuesday is dedicated to the defenders of psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Díaz. The Prosecution and the plaintiff's lawyers have already demanded, in their turn, sentences of between eight and 14 years imprisonment for Cosachov for homicide with eventual intent combined with falsification of documents, having been attributed the falsification of a medical certificate. For Díaz, the requests were more varied: the Prosecution and two plaintiffs asked for five years for culpable homicide; a third plaintiff demanded 12 years for simple homicide with eventual intent; and the two remaining requested his acquittal. These two acquittal requests angered two of Maradona's daughters and led to a dispute between them and one of his sisters during the past week.
On Wednesday, the court will hear from the defenders of family doctor Leopoldo Luque and home care coordinator for Swiss Medical, Nancy Forlini, considered the two main accused. For both, the Prosecution and the plaintiffs requested the highest sentences in the process, of up to 16 years imprisonment.
Thursday will be the final hearing. That day the closing arguments of the lawyers for nursing chief Mariano Perroni and nurse Ricardo Almirón will be heard, for whom the Prosecution and the plaintiffs requested sentences of between three and five years for culpable homicide. The defence of clinical physician Pedro Di Spagna, who visited Maradona on only one occasion and for whom both the Prosecution and all five plaintiffs requested acquittal, will also present a brief closing statement.
The trial began on 14 April and accumulated 45 hearings for presenting evidence, in which 75 testimonies were heard and approximately a hundred messages exchanged between the accused were displayed. After the Thursday hearing concludes, TOC N°7 will begin deliberations; the verdict is expected to be known in December.
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Justice confirms that Maradona's former lawyer and sisters will go to trial over the trademark
In parallel, Argentine Justice rejected on Monday the request to suspend the proceedings for fraudulent management of the Maradona trademark, confirming that the case will move towards an oral trial. El Deber reports this based on information from the EFE agency.
The accused in this case are Matías Morla, former lawyer and representative of the star; his sisters Rita and Claudia Maradona; former assistants Sergio Garmendia and Maximiliano Pomargo; and notary Sandra Iampolsky. They are accused of having defrauded the interests of Maradona's legal heirs—his children Dalma, Gianinna, Jana, Diego Fernando and Diego Armando Junior—through the company Sattvica SA, which administered more than 250 commercial marks linked to the Argentine idol, who died on 25 November 2020. The Maradona trademark encompasses commercial rights, image rights and intellectual property rights, including products of sports clothing, perfumes and audiovisual material.
The Criminal and Correctional Oral Court N°1 rejected on Monday a series of proposals to suspend proceedings in exchange for financial compensation to the heirs. Morla's defence had offered in August 150 million pesos—almost 100,000 dollars—plus the performance of community work in a parish. The idol's sisters and his former assistants also made offers, although for smaller amounts. The ruling considered that the proposals were presented as "manifestly insufficient to be considered reparation in the measure of their possibilities".
The decision follows another by the National Criminal and Correctional Court N°43, which in April rejected a request for dismissal of the accused. That ruling explained that, although Sattvica SA appeared under the share ownership of Morla and Pomargo, its commercial operations responded to the directives of Maradona himself. After the death of the star, during succession proceedings the owners of Sattvica were required to transfer all of the marks to his legal heirs, a provision which Morla rejected. Subsequently, according to the accusation, the shares of Sattvica were transferred to Rita and Claudia Maradona, although Morla is said to have maintained a central role in the company's decisions.
The connection between both cases also became explicit during the closing arguments of the trial over the death of the star: various lawyers requested that investigation be carried out into whether Morla and Pomargo equally bore responsibility for Maradona's death.
Source: El Deber