Meanwhile Mr McCann and his sister had arrived. The Judge asked to call the two witnesses first Eduardo Dâmaso and later Trish Cameron.
Who is Eduardo Damaso?
Eduardo Dâmaso is probably another witness that was not directly invited, as happened with Menezes and Melchior. He is a journalist and not favorable towards the McCann's version of events.
Mrs. Duarte is taking advantage of a law in Portugal that obliges anyone being appointed as witnesses to be present in Court - unless you can justify the absence with a medical or very important professional reason.
What Mrs. Duarte attempted to do was to neutralize some potential witnesses to the other part - if you recall, Menezes (and I am not sure about Melchior) was a witness to Amaral on the previous Trial.
However I don't think this strategy is going to produce any fruits. Considering the witnesses on Amaral's side - people that were directly involved in the investigation and people that were involved in the Media exposure of the case - until now, there has not been an ounce of objective proof that the defendants (respondants) harmed either the investigation or the welfare of the family -, I think these witnesses are in a better position to testify that whatever the claimants suffered had nothing to do with the publication of a book, a DVd or a TV documentary.
The McCann weren't appointed as witnesses, I think, because before September, 1st, in these cases the claimants only had to appoint witnesses and submit documents, they were not considered relevant as witnesses since they were subjective parts in the process.
As the law changed they could have been included in the roll, but they were not supposed to appear, according to the UK Media - allegedly by recommendation from the SY. Apparently the situation has changed last 26th and Mrs. Duarte submitted a petition to have Mr. McCann.
Although Mrs. Duarte knew that there was a request from one of the Defense (respondents) lawyers to have a suspension on friday, and that a change of witnesses requested on thursday would take maybe at least 5 days to be answered, Mr. McCann jumped into a plane to be able to express to the UK rags his disappointment for the impossibility to give testimony in Court on Friday.
