Author Topic: Gonçalo Amaral confirms he will appeal the damages decision to higher Court.  (Read 843790 times)

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Offline John

Portugal Newswatch

Reflections on current affairs in Portugal by journalist and author Len Port.
Thursday, April 30, 2015

Amaral to appeal McCanns' libel action

The McCanns partially won their libel action against the author and former lead detective Gonçalo Amaral, but the matter is far from over.



Amaral intends to appeal. In his first comment on the verdict he said: “I find that the court’s decision is unfair and questions my right and every Portuguese citizen's right to freedom of expression and of opinion. For that reason, I do not resign myself to the decision and I will appeal it until the very last judicial instance.”

Apart from Amaral’s assertion on the “unfairness” of the court’s decision, there were two remarkable features about the verdict and the way in which it was announced that got little or no mention in the mainstream media coverage.

The first unusual aspect was the huge sum awarded. It may be normal in the UK, but not here. Amaral was ordered to pay the parents of Madeleine McCann half a million euros in damages, plus interest, currently calculated at €106,000 and rising.

Kate and Gerry McCann had sought a total of €1.2 million. In addition to €250,000 each, they claimed €500,000 for Madeleine and €100,000 for each of their twins. The judge ruled against the claims on behalf of the children.

The McCanns successfully claimed that Amaral’s book, Maddie, the Truth of the Lie,  caused them great personal distress. The judge did not agree, however, that the book had hindered the search for Madeleine or had caused damages to the twins.

 Should Amaral on appeal get the verdict overturned, or the compensation figure greatly reduced, the McCanns may lodge a counter appeal. The deadline for appeals is 40 days. The legal battle that has been going on for more than five years looks like continuing for some time yet.

A defiant Amaral supporter noted that, “a decision from a Portuguese court can only be enforced after all appeals are exhausted. No money will change hands until a final decision is reached by the very last appeals court.” With this in mind, other well-wishers are being urged to make donations to a Gonçalo Amaral defence fund.

The second oddity was the way in which the announcement of the verdict was handled. The judge’s ruling was not read out in court. It was contained in a 52-page report, which was received by the McCann’s Lisbon lawyer Isabel Duarte who swiftly passed it on to media organisations in Portugal and abroad.

Soon after the news appeared on media websites on Tuesday, Kate and Gerry McCann said they were “delighted” with the outcome.  In a statement issued by their spokesman Clarence Mitchell, they said the case had never been about money. “It was entirely focused on the effect of the libels on our other children and the damage that was done to the search for Madeleine.”

When contacted by journalists the same day, Gonçalo Amaral chose not to comment because neither he nor his lawyer, Miguel Cruz Rodrigues, had received a copy of the ruling. They only received it the following day, by which time to many in the mainstream media it was old news.
       
Madeleine went missing on 3rd May 2007.

www.algarvenewswatch.blogspot.co.uk/

3454
« Last Edit: December 14, 2015, 01:39:22 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 carlymichelle

whooooo john not a good day for mcann supporters dossier   was  found to be   NOT  illegal and now  this *&*%£

Offline Carana

I'd agree that the amount seems huge by PT standards, but so were Amaral's gains. From what could be legally established, he made €382k in around two years. Is that not an above average income for most Portuguese? Strangely, that fact isn't often mentioned, either.

Re: The judge did not agree, however, that the book had hindered the search for Madeleine


I accept that as a loose formulation, but the issue (IMO) is not that she disagreed, but there as no supporting evidence to the contrary.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2015, 04:27:30 PM by Carana »

Offline carlymichelle

john  does this mean  the mcanns   wont see   any  of the money for a long  time??

Offline John

john  does this mean  the mcanns   wont see   any  of the money for a long  time??

Given the bottleneck in the Portuguese justice system this will undoubtedly take years to come to a conclusion.  Hopefully by then the truth relating to Madeleine will be known.
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 carlymichelle

Given the bottleneck in the Portuguese justice system this will undoubtedly take years to come to a conclusion.  Hopefully by then the truth relating to Madeleine will be known.


good  for  GA 8(0(*

OxfordBloo

  • Guest
I'd agree that the amount seems huge by PT standards, but so were Amaral's earnings. From what could be legally established, he earned €382k in around two years. Is that not an above average income for most Portuguese? Strangely, that fact isn't often mentioned, either.

Re: The judge did not agree, however, that the book had hindered the search for Madeleine


I accept that as a loose formulation, but the issue (IMO) is not that she disagreed, but there as no supporting evidence to the contrary.

The Judgement implies that the damages were set at a level close to the potential profits made by Amaral. It is not specifically stated but the supporting cases and other cites suggests that that was her intent.

OxfordBloo

  • Guest
john  does this mean  the mcanns   wont see   any  of the money for a long  time??

Yes, but Amaral's sequestered money and property will remain unavailable to him also. What is being fought over is Amaral's wealth held in escrow by the state.

Offline Carana

The Judgement implies that the damages were set at a level close to the potential profits made by Amaral. It is not specifically stated but the supporting cases and other cites suggests that that was her intent.

That's what I gather as well.

OxfordBloo

  • Guest
His statement that

 “I find that the court’s decision is unfair and questions my right and every Portuguese citizen's right to freedom of expression and of opinion."

It certainly questions HIS right to do what he has done but does not impact on any other citizen not in possession of privileged information through their employment or otherwise breaking proferssional boundaries.

The facts on which the case is based will be difficult to overturn. He did accuse the Mccanns as guilty and he did use information gained from his privileged access.

In order to appeal he will have to show that reired police officers are allowed to call innocent people guilty and are allowed to use privileged information.

I doubt he will reach the bar to hearing vexatious cases.

Offline pathfinder73

TRANSCRIPT DR AMARALS DOCUMENTARY

ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS FROM ASTRO

«The following programme is a documentary that is based on the book by Gonçalo Amaral, the former PJ inspector who investigated the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, in the Algarve. His version of the events is repudiated by Maddie’s parents, who continue to defend that this is an abduction case. The criminal process that was conducted by the Portuguese authorities ended with the archiving of the inquiry, a decision that was contested by Gonçalo Amaral. More than pointing out culprits, a task that belongs to justice, the broadcast of this documentary is destined to contribute for light to be shed on a case that remains an unsolved mystery, for almost two years, and that elements are given to help the public opinion to understand it

http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/AMARAL_DOC_13_04_09.htm
Smithman carrying a child in his arms checked his watch after passing the Smith family and the time was 10:03. Both are still unidentified 10 years later.

Offline Mr Gray

His statement that

 “I find that the court’s decision is unfair and questions my right and every Portuguese citizen's right to freedom of expression and of opinion."

It certainly questions HIS right to do what he has done but does not impact on any other citizen not in possession of privileged information through their employment or otherwise breaking proferssional boundaries.

The facts on which the case is based will be difficult to overturn. He did accuse the Mccanns as guilty and he did use information gained from his privileged access.

In order to appeal he will have to show that reired police officers are allowed to call innocent people guilty and are allowed to use privileged information.

I doubt he will reach the bar to hearing vexatious cases.

so you think his request for appeal will be refused

OxfordBloo

  • Guest
so you think his request for appeal will be refused

I cannot see what his grounds for appeal could possibly be.

stephen25000

  • Guest
I cannot see what his grounds for appeal could possibly be.

Lets see what happens.

and if he is successful in being granted an appeal, this will go on for years to come.

« Last Edit: May 01, 2015, 02:11:23 PM by stephen25000 »

Offline Carana

I cannot see what his grounds for appeal could possibly be.

Couldn't he present countering jurisprudence as to the amount?