Author Topic: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral libel hearing witness Kate Healy (McCann)  (Read 2986 times)

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Offline John

McCann v Gonçalo Amaral Libel Trial in Lisbon - Day 12

Introduction


The Judge at the beginning of hearing sessions spoke and instructed the scribe about the request that had been made by Gonçalo Amaral’s previous lawyer so the defendant could be heard in court. That request was opposed by the McCann's lawyer, Isabel Duarte, and had been previously refused by the Judge in 2013.

The McCanns also requested to be heard in court and saw their application similarly refused. Their lawyer appealed that decision to the Appeals court and their request was granted, therefore they were now authorized to be heard in court, which is what takes place after this “introductory” instruction by the lady Judge, Maria Emília de Melo e Castro.

The Judge added that since Gonçalo Amaral’s former lawyer did not oppose the ruling - which refused his request to be heard - a new appeal opposing it [the Judge's ruling] could no longer be accepted, and therefore that decision had now become final.

The Judge continues instructing the scribe and states that the plaintiffs have requested the court to solicit an official application to ATA [Autoridade Tributária Aduaneira] i.e. the Portuguese equivalent to the IRS, in order to obtain confidential fiscal information.

The Judge Maria Emília de Melo e Castro authorises and orders the dispatch to be prepared “since it is essential to know, within the scope of the case being analysed here at the court, what are the eventual earnings” of the defendant Gonçalo Amaral regarding the sales of the book ‘Maddie, A Verdade da Mentira’.

The Judge then adds that the court dismissed the need to observe the confidentiality of that fiscal information in view of the fact that “the acquirement of that evidence” is crucial and ruled that the other defendant parties have 10 days to oppose the plaintiff's request. That meant that the hearing session of yesterday's afternoon, where Isabel Duarte was supposed to make her final allegations for a period of three hours was adjourned sine die [without a definite date scheduled] and so was the hearing session of the 10th of July. Due to the judicial holidays it's very likely that the trial will only continue in or after September. The Judge also mentions that in September alterations will be made to the Penal Code Process but those changes will not affect the ongoing trial.

Earlier this year, the only defendant party opposing the McCann’s fiscal request was the lawyer for the Guerra e Paz book publishers who argued that this new application would cause an unnecessary lengthening of the trial.

What follows is Kate Healy and Gerry McCann's declarations to the court in strict compliance with Portuguese Law. A declaration is a series of answers to questions put by the Judge, and of questions from the accusation or/and defendant's lawyers.

The McCanns requested to make a further statement at the end of each declaration, these statements will not be considered and will have no effect on the trial outcome even though they were recorded by the scribe.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2014, 04:02:07 AM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline John

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral libel hearing witness Kate Healy (McCann)
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2014, 02:36:33 PM »
McCann v Gonçalo Amaral libel hearing witness Kate Healy (McCann).

Important Notice
Readers are warned that this court Report is not a verbatim account of events but is merely a summary. 
As the content is sourced via a third party and although checks are made, the forum cannot guarantee
its veracity.  All reports are made in good faith.


Libel trial McCann v Gonçalo Amaral - Day  12 Witness No 1


The testimony as it happened...

(08.07.2014, 9:45am)

Kate McCann enters the court room, stands at a chair directly in front of the Judge Maria Emília de Melo e Castro.  Standing by her right side is a female interpreter who will translate the questions put to Kate and communicate her answers back to the Judge and lawyers.  To Kate McCann's left sits lawyer Dr. Miguel Coroadinha, Isabel Duarte and her assistant Dr. Ricardo Afonso. Opposite the McCanns sits Dr. Henrique Costa Pinto, lawyer for VC Filmes, Dr Fátima de Oliveira Esteves, Dr Ginçalo Amaral and his new lawyer, Dr. Miguel Rodrigues. 

The Judge tells Kate McCann that she is obliged to speak the truth during her declaration. Kate then promises under oath to tell the truth and the whole truth. The Judge questions her about her name to which Kate replies that it is "Kate Healy". The Judge asks why she doesn't use the name McCann as her last name and Kate responds that she still uses her maiden name. Kate is then asked about her home address, and her employment status to which she replies that she is a "general practitioner" and that she has stopped working since Madeleine was "abducted". The Judge orders Kate Healy to sit down so the declaration can proceed.

Judge - Do you recall when the book was first published and when you first heard about it?
Kate Healy (McCann)  A few months after it was published.

Judge - Did you read the book and when?
Kate Healy (McCann)  I first read extracts from the book in media reports and then on the internet around the end of 2008.

Judge - How and what did you feel?
Kate Healy (McCann)   Responds that she was devastated. She already had an idea of what was in that book, but when she read it all she felt desperate because of the injustice against her and her family as a whole and also felt anxious because of the damage that this book was causing to Madeleine. She gives as an example the fact that the book accuses her and her husband of being somehow involved and of faking an abduction. The book smears her and her husband throughout.

Judge - What sort of damages?
Kate Healy (McCann) - The book had many negative effects in Portugal. She says that this book sounds credible and if people believe what it says, that Madeleine is dead, they will not search for her and bring more information about her. She says that it is a particularly serious matter that such a theory is published in Portugal, because it is from there that Madeleine disappeared.

Judge - What were the damages in Portugal?
Kate Healy (McCann) - The book was read by thousands of people, people would believe, due to the author's credibility, that Madeleine was dead and that we were involved. People, neighbours on the street, in coffee shops believed Mr. Amaral. And for us Portugal was the most important place. It was here that Madeleine was taken from us.

Judge - Do you remember a documentary?
Kate Healy (McCann)  I learned about it through Portuguese friends who watched it on TVI, they texted me saying the documentary was horrible. On the following day they sent me detailed annotations.

Judge - Did you watch the documentary?
Kate Healy (McCann)  I watched some parts of the documentary on the media and then the full documentary on the internet.

Judge – What new element does this documentary bring? How did you feel watching it compared to what you felt when you read the book?
KMC finds that the destructive power of the documentary is bigger, it is yet more damaging.

Judge – Did you feel worse and why?
KMC explains that the documentary was more definitive and cutting than the book. She felt despair because of the injustice towards her family as a whole and she was anxious that it would damage the search since there was no official investigation and they were the only ones working very hard. As it was jeopardising their efforts, she felt pain and fear. 

Judge - Do you recall an  interview that Mr. Amaral gave to Correio da Manhã on 24th July 2008 called Cadaver was frozen or kept in the cold.
Kate Healy (McCann)  He gave several interviews but I do recall one in particular which was exaggerated. Where he said that Madeleine's body had been kept frozen and then taken inside the boot of the car we had rented seven weeks later [sic, car was rented 23 days later].

Judge - How did you learn about that interview?
Kate Healy (McCann)  Some friends in Portugal sent us the translations, they made summaries of what was published by the Portuguese media.

Judge - When did you learn about that interview?
Kate Healy (McCann)  Right after the documentary was broadcast.

« Last Edit: July 11, 2014, 04:28:03 AM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline John

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral libel hearing witness Kate Healy (McCann)
« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2014, 03:25:25 PM »
Judge - What is your impression about what the Portuguese people think of you and your husband regarding this case?
Kate Healy (McCann)  Most people are against us. The damages were more extensive because Mr. Amaral published his book in various languages and gave interviews.

Judge - What do were your feelings regarding that?
Kate Healy (McCann)  We needed the help and support of the Portuguese. We felt distressed with the negative opinion people had of us. It was stressful.

Judge - You felt ashamed by it?
Kate Healy (McCann)  That is not the right word for it. People thought that we were bad parents.

Judge - In the thesis presented on the book it is claimed that you hid the body, do you think people thought that you were cowards?
Kate Healy (McCann)  It was worst than that.

Judge - Do you suffer from insomnia?

Kate Healy (McCann) - No, not as much as I did in 2008, 2009, because then the efforts that we did were boycotted by Mr. Amaral's book. We were desperate to find Madeleine. I felt that he destroyed our hypotheses.

Judge - Do the twins know about the book and about the documentary?
Kate Healy (McCann)  They know about them but they don't know the details. They understand why we are here today.

Judge - So they have an idea?

Kate Healy (McCann) - In October last year my son Sean asked me why did Mr. Amaral said that we had hid Madeleine's body. I told him that Mr. Amaral says many silly things.

Judge - How did he know about that?
Kate Healy (McCann)  I think he heard it on the radio, in the school bus.

Judge - What have you done to protect the twins?
Kate Healy (McCann)  We arranged for them to have psychological support, David Trickey a child psychologist told us that we should answer the twins questions with honesty and let them speak about it if they wished to. We also had to make arrangements with their school and supervise the twins access to the internet in school and at home. The book is already very distressing for an adult and it's even worse for a child.

Judge - Were you diagnosed with a clinical depression?
Kate Healy (McCann)  No. Depression is an over-diagnosed, over used term to diagnose those who feel a bit down, clinically I wasn't depressed.

Judge - There is a quote attributed to you - did you ever say that you wished you were in a coma so you wouldn't suffer?
Kate Healy (McCann)  Yes.

Judge - Did that have to do with the disappearance of your child, or with the book and the documentary?
Kate Healy (McCann)  Both were overwhelming, but it was intensified when the book was published.

Judge - How old are the twins?
Kate Healy (McCann)  They are nine years old.

Judge - What year are they at school?
Kate Healy (McCann)  Fifth grade.

Judge - In what year did they start at school?
Kate Healy (McCann)  When they were 4 years old at the end of August 2009.

Judge Maria Emília de Melo e Castro allows a question put by the McCann's lawyer, Dr. Isabel Duarte.

ID - What were the reactions to the book and to the documentary in England?
Judge reformulates but keeps the question.
Kate Healy (McCann)  The reactions were less negative than in Portugal, due to the newspapers in England who were sued for defamatory articles, those articles weren't based on evidence. We have people that monitor the internet and there are groups of people, like the 'Madeleine Foundation' who have caused us great distress by publishing Mr. Amaral's theories on the internet, which has compounded our vilification.

« Last Edit: July 11, 2014, 04:39:47 AM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline John

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral libel hearing witness Kate Healy (McCann)
« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2014, 03:26:45 PM »
Judge - What is the 'Madeleine Foundation'?
Kate Healy (McCann)  They are a group of people who believe and promote Mr. Amaral's theories. They even distributed leaflets in our home town at a time when our children were starting school.

Judge - What is the connection between them and the book or the documentary? Did they appear afterwards?
Kate Healy (McCann)  I think they already existed as a group, the book just added more fuel to the fire. They even invited Mr. Amaral to go to England for a conference, they kept promoting his theories.

Dr. Isabel Duarte - Were there threats?
Judge - [to Isabel Duarte] That is not material to the case being discussed in this court. [rejects the question]

Judge - [to Kate Healy] On the subject of your children, of Sean, were there any repercussions?
Kate Healy (McCann)  At that time no. The twins ask questions, and following David Trickey's advice we answer their questions only then, instead of giving them information.

Judge - Did Sean speak to you about the case again?
Kate Healy (McCann)  No, he never spoke again, it was just that one time.

The Judge Maria Emília de Melo e Castro allows a question put by Goncalo Amaral's lawyer, Dr. Miguel Cruz Rodrigues.

MCR - What caused you to feel more distressed - a) The disappearance of your daughter? b) to be constituted as an arguida? or c) the book and the documentary?
The judge rephrases – What disturbed you more: the disappearance of your daughter, the fact you were made arguido or the reason for this trial, i.e the book and the documentary?
Kate Healy (McCann)  There is nothing worse than loosing a child, and that pain was amplified by both the book and the documentary.
MCR - The authors of this lawsuit speak of social destruction. However didn't you have the support of many celebrities? Namely of Angelina Jolie in August 2008, in an article entitled Jolie’s support to Maddie mum.
Kate Healy (McCann)  I don't recall Angelina Jolie but we were given support by various celebrities.

MCR - Do you recall an event that took place in December 8, 2008 of about 20,000 people who got together to pray for Madeleine? Thousands join East Lancashire group's prayers for Madeleine McCann.
Kate Healy (McCann)  No, I don't remember that. Where did that take place?

MCR - In the UK.
Kate Healy (McCann)  Obviously there are people who have always prayed and will continue to pray for Madeleine.

MCR - Did you not receive the support of Missing People UK, when they created a fund raising gala dinner to commemorate the 1,000th day since the disappearance of Madeleine? The 1,000 Day Anniversary Events in January 2010.
Kate Healy (McCann)  Yes I did.

Judge - Very well, no one else has questions. [To the interpreter] Please tell the lady that she is excused.
Kate Healy (McCann)  May I say something?

Judge - You may.
Kate Healy (McCann)  I believe in freedom of expression, I don't believe in the freedom to defame.

Judge - Very well. The judge tells KMC that she is free to leave or to remain in the Court room. She remains there, sitting next to her lawyer.

Judge - This court will now hold a break for a few minutes and then we will proceed with Mr Gerald McCann's declaration.

Evidence ends


Important Notice
Readers are warned that this court Report is not a verbatim account of events but is merely a summary. 
As the content is sourced via a third party and although checks are made, the forum cannot guarantee
its veracity.  All reports are made in good faith.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2014, 04:58:12 AM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.