Madeleine McCann police chief was found guilty of falsifying evidence.

[John]

Some members continue to hold the mistaken belief that Dr Gonçalo Amaral was convicted of torture in the Joana Cipriano case.  I suggest they read up on the facts outlined below.


Madeleine McCann police chief found guilty of falsifying evidence



By John Bingham
23 May 2009

The former Portuguese police chief who accused the parents of Madeleine McCann of involvement in her disappearance, has been found guilty of falsifying evidence in another missing child case.



Mr Amaral has now been convicted of falsifying evidence to help cover up for three of his officers who were accused of torture.

He stood trial in relation to the investigation into the disappearance of eight-year-old Joana Cipriano from a village near Praia da Luz in 2004.

Her mother, Leonor, and uncle, Joao Cipriano, were convicted of murdering her, although her body was never found.

They later claimed they were tortured into confessing but police said that Mrs Cipriano tried to commit suicide by throwing herself off a staircase.

Three inspectors – Leonel Marques, Pereira Cristovao and Paulo Marques Bom – were cleared of torture after a seven-month trial at Faro Court in the Algarve.

The jury nevertheless found Mr Amaral guilty of falsifying documents to help cover for them.

A fifth officer, Antonio Nunes Cardoso, was found guilty of falsifying documents and was given a two-and-a-half year suspended jail sentence.

Outside court, Mr Amaral said he was not surprised by the verdict and blamed "political pressure".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5370361/Madeleine-McCann-police-chief-found-guilty-of-falsifying-evidence.html

[John]

Feel free to make your points here and not on the secrecy thread. TY

[jassi]

I really can't see the relevancy any more, particularly that now the dynamic Ms Wall has taken up the reins today and will be striving for a result.

[Eleanor]

Sorry, sorry, I should have known better.  But then I do know how easy it is to go Off Topic.

My only real concern about this is that Goncalo Amaral must have known what was going on in his Police Station.

I would be interested to hear opinions on how this apparent Torture went unnoticed by him.

[DCI]

"The jury nevertheless found Mr Amaral guilty of falsifying documents to help cover for them"

So he must have known and been there. He knew Leonor had "thrown herself down the stairs". I notice he blamed Political Pressure in this case too.

Seems a lot of falsifying documents went on.

A fifth officer, Antonio Nunes Cardoso, was found guilty of falsifying documents and was given a two-and-a-half year suspended jail sentence.

[John]

Sorry, sorry, I should have known better.  But then I do know how easy it is to go Off Topic.

My only real concern about this is that Goncalo Amaral must have known what was going on in his Police Station.

I would be interested to hear opinions on how this apparent Torture went unnoticed by him.

My fault for continuing off topic.

We must always be careful to differentiate between proven fact and speculation.  According to Leonor, Dr Amaral was present but since she was convicted of perjury in the case...

[John]

"The jury nevertheless found Mr Amaral guilty of falsifying documents to help cover for them"

So he must have known and been there. He knew Leonor had "thrown herself down the stairs". I notice he blamed Political Pressure in this case too.

Seems a lot of falsifying documents went on.

A fifth officer, Antonio Nunes Cardoso, was found guilty of falsifying documents and was given a two-and-a-half year suspended jail sentence.

There is no evidence that he was there, according to some he was everywhere at once, quite the superman.

[Brietta]

"Mr Amaral has now been convicted of falsifying evidence ... "

This is a criminal conviction which carried with it a suspended jail sentence. I think it is a very big issue indeed as it proves he is a liar who is prepared to lie under oath in a court of law.

If he had not already resigned from the PJ before his guilt was determined ... would he have been compelled to? 

[stephen25000]

Some people for very obvious reasons want to hang various crimes on Amaral's back.

[jassi]

Some people for very obvious reasons want to hang various crimes on Amaral's back.

Futile waste of time - changes nothing

[stephen25000]

My fault for continuing off topic.

We must always be careful to differentiate between proven fact and speculation.  According to Leonor, Dr Amaral was present but since she was convicted of perjury in the case...

Cipriano has lied in this case, so her testimony has no value.

[Mr Gray]

There is no evidence that he was there, according to some he was everywhere at once, quite the superman.

So the three officers were cleared of torture...but amaral falsified the records....why would he falsify records if they were not guilty.

The court accepts that cipriano was tortured whilst in police custody but were unable to identify those responsible. the mere fact that amaral felt he needed to commit  a crime shows the PJ were as guilty as sin......the fact that amaral was not convicted of torture does not mean he was not involved.

[Carana]

There is no evidence that he was there, according to some he was everywhere at once, quite the superman.

Why is this topic in here when there is a sub-forum for Joana?

[ferryman]

I think most who have followed events carefully will be aware that Amaral was not, directly, implicated in torture, unlike his friend Tavares Almeidas, who was given a suspended sentence for the torture of bastindado (but not from the Madeleine investigation).

[DCI]

There is no evidence that he was there, according to some he was everywhere at once, quite the superman.

Ah so he wrote/made up his notes from hearsay. I wonder where and who he got such accurate info from.