CNN
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The homicide trial of Diego Maradona’s medical team for alleged malpractice was declared a mistrial by an Argentine court on Thursday.
The decision follows the removal of one of the three judges overseeing the case by an Argentine court.
One of the trial’s defendants had requested the disqualification of Judge Julieta Makintach due to a possible lack of impartiality and for allegedly authorizing the filming of a documentary during court hearings.
Makintach accepted the court’s disqualification but defended her conduct. “My impartiality is not at stake. There is no suspicion of a lack of neutrality because there is nothing that could imply that,” Makintach said on Tuesday prior to being removed.
The ousted judge is accused of authorizing a camera crew to film the hearings, which breached judicial rules. Makintach claims she only gave an interview and has denied any wrongdoing.
A fresh trial will be held with a new panel of judges. But it remains unclear when the new trial will begin.
“The new court will discuss the admissibility of the evidence, and a debate hearing will be set, where each party will have to redraw the accusation line, the defense lines and, from there, start these debates again,” Cosme Iribarren, one of the prosecutors, said after the court’s decision.
Fernando Burlando, one of the lawyers representing Maradona’s daughters, hopes the new trial could end with a quicker sentencing.
“Given the great knowledge that all parties have of the case, we can do it in an express manner and we could have the trial for the death of Diego Armando Maradona, perhaps with a sentence before the end of the year,” Burlando said outside the court in Buenos Aires.
“The only thing we want is for the process to move forward,” Dalma Maradona, the soccer star’s daughter, said.
Maradona, world-famous for scoring the goal that won Argentina the 1986 World Cup, died at the age of 60 due to heart failure in November 2020, days after undergoing surgery for a subdural hematoma.
Argentine prosecutors have accused eight medical staff of “simple homicide” in the footballer’s death.
The prosecutors in the case seek to prove that there was malpractice during his home hospitalization and that the medical team responsible for his care acted recklessly and negligently.
The trial for seven of the eight defendants began in March, with the eighth due to be tried by jury after the initial proceedings finish. The charges carry a possible sentence of eight to 25 years in prison.
