Argentinian police have searched the home and office of one of Diego Maradona’s doctors, taking away medical records as part of investigations into the 60-year-old’s death.
Key points:
- Neurologist Leopoldo Luque defended his treatment of Diego Maradona in an interview with Argentinian TV
- The San Isidro prosecutor’s office is overseeing a probe into the medical attention Maradona received before his death
- Dr Luque said Maradona was a difficult patient who had kicked him out of his house several times
Neurologist Leopoldo Luque told reporters he had given investigators all the records of his treatment of Maradona, as well as computers, hard drives and mobile phones.
Weeping at times, he defended his treatment of the troubled former footballer, who died of a heart attack last week following a brain operation earlier in the month.
“I know what I did. I know how I did itβ¦. I am absolutely sure that I did the best for Diego, the best I could,” Dr Luque said.
The search order was requested by prosecutors in the affluent Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro and signed by a local judge, according to a statement issued by the prosecutor’s office.
“By virtue of the evidence that was collected, it was considered necessary to request searches at the home and office of Dr Leopoldo Luque,” the prosecutor’s office said in the statement.
The prosecutor’s office provided no information on what prompted the investigation.
Dr Luque said he was not Maradona’s chief physician, but part of a medical team.
Court investigators have been taking declarations from Maradona’s relatives, according to a statement from the San Isidro prosecutor’s office, which is overseeing the probe into the medical attention Maradona received before he died.
Maradona had suffered a series of medical problems, some due to his excessive use of drugs and alcohol. He was reportedly near death in 2000 and 2004.
Dr Luque said he was a difficult patient and had kicked the doctor out of his house several times.
“Diego did what he wanted,” Dr Luque said.
Tens of thousands of weeping fans lined up to file past Maradona’s coffin before his burial in Buenos Aires last week.
Some of them clashed with police, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas as they tried to maintain order.
Wires