Argentina's ex-president Mauricio Macri on Wednesday denied having ordered surveillance on the families of 44 sailors who died when a navy submarine sank in 2017.

The 62-year-old former head of state made a brief court appearance in Dolores, some 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Buenos Aires, and submitted a written statement in which he proclaimed his innocence.

"I did not spy on anyone, I never ordered (anyone) in my government to spy on anyone. I never saw any report on the crew of the San Juan (submarine) or any other ship," it said.

The ARA San Juan sub disappeared in November 2017. When it was found just over a year later, it was at a depth of more than 900 meters (2,950 feet) in a desolate area of the South Atlantic, some 400 kilometers off the coast of Argentina.

It had been crushed from an implosion apparently caused by a technical fault. Authorities decided against attempting to refloat it.

Family members of the 44 crew told investigators they were followed and wiretapped, filmed and intimidated into abandoning any claims related to the incident.

Macri is accused of ordering the espionage. He risks between three and 10 years in jail for allegedly violating Argentina's intelligence laws.

At a court hearing last week, Macri asked for the case to be thrown out as the court did not have the authority to lift secrecy provisions on state intelligence to allow him to testify.

He claims he is the victim of political persecution during campaigning for November 14 elections for half the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and a third of the Senate.

Macri led the country from 2015 to 2019 and is now the leader of Argentina's right-wing opposition.

The court will decide within 10 days whether Macri should be charged or not.

A judge had earlier ordered the prosecution of secret service heads Gustavo Arribas and Silvia Majdalani, who reported to Macri at the time.

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