 "Diego Maradona died on 25 November 2020 aged 60. Image: AFP")
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina: A former bodyguard of the late Diego Maradona was arrested Tuesday for allegedly withholding information and telling lies during his testimony at the trial of the soccer great’s medical team.
Seven healthcare professionals are on trial at an Argentine court accused of negligence in Maradona’s death in a house outside Buenos Aires on Nov. 25, 2020.
On Tuesday, following a request from the prosecutor’s office, the criminal court in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro ordered Julio César Coria to be investigated for false testimony. He was arrested and remained in custody Tuesday afternoon.
Coria was one of the people who attempted to resuscitate Maradona.
According to the prosecution, the accused professionals didn’t provide adequate medical care.
Coria testified in court on Tuesday that when he entered Maradona’s room, he saw nurse Gisela Madrid and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, both defendants in the case, performing CPR. He added that Cosachov gave Maradona “mouth-to-mouth resuscitation” for a while.
The trial prosecutor, Patricio Ferrari, warned the witness of contradictions in his statement.
The prosecution warned Coria that he lied when he denied in court having spoken with another of the defendants, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque.
“There are countless chats between Luque and Coria, which demonstrate a cordial and almost friendly relationship, and the witness denied having had any conversation,” Ferrari said.
Luque, Maradona’s personal physician for the last four years of his life, performed surgery to remove a blood clot from the former footballer’s brain just weeks before his death.
The 28-year-old daughter of Maradona, Jana, testified Tuesday that Luque and Coria suggested “home hospitalization” when the clinic authorities recommended that Maradona remain hospitalized.