THE ARGENTINE court trying the medical team of late football legend Diego Maradona over his death suspended the trial on Tuesday for a week after complaints about one of the judges.
The court ordered the suspension at the request of the prosecution after defense lawyers complained about the judge's alleged involvement in a documentary about the case.
Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari said the pause was ordered “to resolve an issue ...of institutional gravity.”
The lawyers had earlier asked for the same judge, Julieta Makintach, to be recused from the two-month-old trial.
Maradona died on November 25, 2020 at age 60, while recovering at home from brain surgery for a blood clot.
He died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema two weeks after going under the knife.
His seven-person medical team is on trial over the conditions of his convalescence at a private home in the Buenos Aires suburb of Tigre.
Prosecutors have described the football icon's care in his last days as grossly negligent.
The defendants risk prison terms between eight and 25 years if convicted of “homicide with possible intent” -- pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to death.
