I don't think there could be a more appropriate example to illustrate the reason the McCanns took legal action to safeguard their investigation and search for Madeleine.
As senior investigating officer Goncalo Amaral presided over a botched case in 2007 and showed his determination to interfere in today's German investigation.
This is surely one driven guy.
Gloating Portuguese cop says the McCanns 'are still suspects' in the disappearance of Madeleine hours after the family lose libel legal battle against his book- Kate and Gerry McCann lost latest round of legal battle with Goncalo Amaral
- Ex-police chief said the couple 'remain suspects' over Maddie's disappearance
- Pair had sued cop for libel after he published a book suggesting they were involved in the disappearance of daughter Madeleine in 2007
- Parents won the initial case but ruling was overturned by Portuguese judges in 2017, prompting them to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights
- European judges today ruled in Amaral's favour, opening door to another appeal
By NATALIA PENZA and NICK PISA FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 16:47, 20 September 2022
The Portuguese ex-police chief who probed the disappearance of Madeleine McCann said her parents are 'still suspects' as he gloated over his court win today.
Goncalo Amaral laid into Gerry and Kate in a radio interview in his native country after learning they had lost the latest round of their libel battle against his 2008 book.
The couple had taken him to the European Court of Human Rights after years of litigation in his homeland over Truth of the Lie, which accused them of covering up Madeleine's 'accidental' death in their Praia da Luz holiday apartment in May 2007.
The McCanns reacted to their court defeat by admitting they were 'naturally disappointed' at the decision but insisting they had no regrets about pursuing their long and arduous legal battle.
They said it meant the focus was now 'rightly' on the search for Madeleine and her abductors.
Hours later, Amaral was on Portuguese radio, insisting: 'Today the court referred once again to an important question.
'The couple are suspects, were suspects and remain suspects. Nothing else happened to the contrary.'
Referring to prime suspect Christian Brueckner who Amaral has claimed in the past is a scapegoat, he added in an interview on Radio Renascenca: 'Thousands even millions of euros have been invested in recent years to create a false suspect.'
Amaral's comments came despite the McCanns having their 'arguido' status lifted by the Portuguese authorities in July 2008.
Portugal's Supreme Court said in 2017 in a previous ruling on the Amaral book that did not mean they had been cleared and did not equate to 'proof of innocence.'
But all new lines of inquiry in recent years, both in Portugal and the UK as well as in Germany where Brueckner is serving a seven-year prison sentence for raping an American pensioner, have excluded any responsibility of the parents.
The German was recently made an 'arguido' or suspect in Portugal.
Amaral, removed as head of the initial Policia Judiciaria inquiry which led to the finger being pointed at the McCanns, crowed after learning the latest court decision over his book had gone against the couple: 'This is a victory for Portuguese justice against those who do not want the discovery of the truth of the realisation of justice.
'So many times Portugal is defeated in the ECHR and today it emerged victorious.'
The McCanns won their initial libel case against Amaral but he appealed and Portuguese judges reversed the decision - prompting the McCanns to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
European judges delivered their verdict today and rejected the appeal, giving the McCanns three months to decide whether to appeal again. A source close to the pair told MailOnline they are 'disappointed' and are reviewing their legal options.
CONTINUED
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11231591/Gloating-Portuguese-cop-says-McCanns-suspects-disappearance-Madeleine.htmlThe really odd thing about Amaral's obsessional vendetta to traduce the innocent parents of a missing child is his equally vehement defence of the convicted rapist and child molester suspect he has chosen to champion.
I've puzzled this, firm in the knowledge there has to be a reason behind that obduracy; maybe all will be revealed as time progresses.