Former Portuguese detective Gonçalo Amaral wins appeal in damages trial.

[Mr Gray]

sorry if already posted
http://portugalresident.com/amaral%E2%80%99s-libel-win-opens-pandora%E2%80%99s-box-on-national-television

A new ‘mood’ has emerged following the successful appeal by former PJ inspector Gonçalo Amaral against €500,000 libel damages awarded to the parents of missing Madeleine McCann.

For the first time “serious figures” formerly connected to the government and PJ are questioning the political pressures that effectively shut-down the original Portuguese investigation - allowing nothing to move forwards other than the abduction theory.

Without naming names or pointing fingers, it is clear that Amaral’s victorious return from the cold of litigation has paved the way for less-than-habitually-guarded discussion.

While here CMTV screened a four-way interview late on Saturday night which threw up the issue of ‘plausible leads’ nipped in the bud in the early days - as they simply did not fit with the abduction profile - in Edinburgh former ambassador and human rights activist Craig Murray has weighed onto the scene, outlining the sort of pressure with which Portugal had to contend.

“I am going to come straight out with this”, he wrote in a post following news of Amaral’s appeal court win. “British diplomatic staff were under direct instruction to support the McCanns far beyond the usual and to put pressure on the Portuguese authorities over the case.

“I have direct information that more than one of those diplomatic staff found the McCanns less than convincing and their stories inconsistent. Embassy staff were perturbed to be ordered that British authorities were to be present at every contact between the McCanns and Portuguese police.

“This again is absolutely not the norm. On a daily basis more British citizens have contact with foreign authorities than the total staff of the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office). It would be simply impossible to give that level of support to everybody”.

John Buck, Murray’s direct boss in the FCO when he was head of Cyprus Section, was the British ambassador in Portugal when three-year-old Madeleine went missing in May, 2007.

“He and his staff were concerned by contradictions in the McCann’s story”, Murray continues. “The Embassy warned, in writing, that being perceived as too close to the McCanns might not prove wise. They demanded the instruction from London be reconfirmed. It was.”

Murray’s post does not dwell on the reasons for this “far beyond usual” support, but he concedes “that it might have put some psychological pressure on the Portuguese investigators and prosecuting officers in their determinations”.

Talking on CMTV in the early hours of Sunday morning, former PJ director Manuel Rodrigues left little doubt that it had.

In a one-hour “special” which went out between 11.30 and 12.40, Rodrigues and former Minister for Internal Administration Rui Pereira both lamented British interference which, Rodrigues concedes, may ensure that “blame” in this apparently unsolvable nine-year-old mystery “dies a spinster”.

Why a faithful reconstruction of the night of Madeleine’s disappearance was never achieved he still does not know, he explained.

“Someone stopped it. Don’t ask me to name names. We have already talked about all the assistance the (McCann) couple received from people directly connected with the British government. We have talked about the British government and the British police. I can’t interpret it any other way”.

Rodrigues referred to the “pure ingenuousness” of Portuguese authorities, allowing forensic tests on evidence recovered to be allowed to take place in a British laboratory so that there was no whiff of uncertainty.

In the first report, 15 alleles out of 19 that made up Madeleine’s DNA appeared, he said.

Then, in a second report, all the alleles had “disappeared completely”.

Amaral too had his moment to outline some the ‘plausible hypotheses’ that emerged in the early days as his team shifted its focus from the likelihood of an abduction.

A late-night sighting of three figures entering Luz church with a large bag coincided with the existence of a coffin inside the church, he said, into which Madeleine’s body could have been placed.

The coffin - holding the remains of an elderly British resident - was taken the following day for cremation in the Alentejo.

Amaral stressed nonetheless that the book ‘Maddie: The Truth of the Lie’ that the McCanns have sought to ban is not ‘his truth’ - nor indeed factual truth - but the opinion of the PJ in September of 2007 when it became clear their efforts were about to be archived.

Since that time - and even when Scotland Yard became involved in 2011 and vowed to ‘peel back the layers’ of the mystery as if peeling an onion - none of those original lines of investigation have ever been revisited, resulting in the situation in which millions of pounds have been spent getting nowhere, or as Amaral put it: “going down a one-way street”.

That the four-way interview went out at such a late hour suggests CMTV is still being careful about how it presents this case, but Amaral’s ‘victory’ for freedom of expression would appear to have lifted the lid on a Pandora’s Box shut tight from mainstream media for almost nine years.

In UK, the Sun leaked a lurid colour page promising an exposé on “Maddie Cop’s Sick Secret” on Sunday morning.

It turned out to be nothing more than the rehash of an ‘Amaral-bashing’ story by the Express a year before in which British people donating to his legal expenses were tarnished as ‘online trolls’.

But it served to highlight that ‘pressure’ in Britain to stick to the abduction theory and demonise everything else could still be at work

so Craig Murray is being promoted as an ex ambassador to give the story some credibility...when in reality he is the disgraced sacked ex ambassador with no credibility...and then we have the claim that the 15 alleles disappeared...more lies from the amaral camp.....

why has amaral changed his tune and is now saying that the TOTL is actually NOT the factual truth

[stephen25000]

so Craig Murray is being promoted as an ex ambassador to give the story some credibility...when in reality he is the disgraced sacked ex ambassador with no credibility...and then we have the claim that the 15 alleles disappeared...more lies from the amaral camp

Dear oh dear.

Classic mccann supporter tactics.

Unfortunately dave, he's telling the truth.

[Mr Gray]

neither of you have been able to contradict any of the facts in my post and once again resort to personal comments...par for the course...

Of course the Mccanns had help from the embassy .....if anyone hasn't noticed this was a very unusual case...a 3 yr old missing abroad...how often does that happen.

One of the most interesting points in that interview is amaral now saying his book is NOT factual...that is quite an astonishing statement and something of a climb down

[stephen25000]

neither of you have been able to contradict any of the facts in my post and once again resort to personal comments...par for the course...

Of course the Mccanns had help from the embassy .....if anyone hasn't noticed this was a very unusual case...a 3 yr old missing abroad...how often does that happen.

One of the most interesting points in that interview is amaral now saying his book is NOT factual...that is quite an astonishing statement and something of a climb down

What is more important, is that you cannot prove that Murray is wrong in his assertions.

and you will say anything to counteract the statement he has made.

End of discussion.

[carlymichelle]

isnt  GA  book  comiming back on the shelf  today ??

[parapono]

isnt  GA  book  comiming back on the shelf  today ??

Shops will be closed today as it is April 25th.

[carlymichelle]

Shops will be closed today as it is April 25th.

are you   from australia like me?? it is  ANZAC   day today here but  GA   is in portugal  so  his  book  is coming out sometime  this  week

[parapono]

are you   from australia like me?? it is  ANZAC   day today here but  GA   is in portugal  so  his  book  is coming out sometime  this  week

Yep, sometime this week I hope. And nope, the Netherlands. We have our 'Kingsday' on Wednesday.
 Sending my regards.

[John]

To all members.

It is noticeable that the equilibrium of the forum has been somewhat disturbed since the McCann v Amaral appeal decision from Lisbon was announced.  This is to be expected and has left moderators with a substantial amount of work to do cleaning up the threads.  This will now STOP!

I am putting everyone on notice from this point on that continued disruption, goading, abuse or any conduct contrary to the forum rules will now be met with sanctions including temporary bans.  Please take heed of this warning.

[Brietta]

Yep, sometime this week I hope. And nope, the Netherlands. We have our 'Kingsday' on Wednesday.
 Sending my regards.

We are quite an international forum, Parapono.   

I am very familiar with ANZAC day but have never heard of 'Kingsday' ... I'll Google it and find out something about it.

[Brietta]

Absolutely nothing.

It is merely a personal attack on the man and nothing else.

Madeleine's case seems to attract an eclectic mix of people ... some more interesting than others.

If any one associated with the McCanns had such a documented colourful background or maybe even a parking ticket, I think there might have been more than a word or two said about it.

If someone sets themselves up as a pundit in a particular area of expertise ... they must expect their qualification to do so checked for suitability and credibility.

I was very impressed with his CV as detailed on his blog (all apparently true, by the way) but it seems some people did not progress beyond that and check not what was in his CV but rather what was omitted.

Glad he's on your side ... glad he's not on mine, personable and all as he seems to be.

[stephen25000]

Madeleine's case seems to attract an eclectic mix of people ... some more interesting than others.

If any one associated with the McCanns had such a documented colourful background or maybe even a parking ticket, I think there might have been more than a word or two said about it.

If someone sets themselves up as a pundit in a particular area of expertise ... they must expect their qualification to do so checked for suitability and credibility.

I was very impressed with his CV as detailed on his blog (all apparently true, by the way) but it seems some people did not progress beyond that and check not what was in his CV but rather what was omitted.

Glad he's on your side ... glad he's not on mine, personable and all as he seems to be.

You do realize Brietta, that the information he conveyed was largely already known ?

and almost needless to say, your views on the mccann case will bias your viewpoint.

[ferryman]

You do realize Brietta, that the information he conveyed was largely already known ?

and almost needless to say, your views on the mccann case will bias your viewpoint.

The dis-information he disseminated (in copious quantities) was unheard of (outside his book) until it was released for sale.

[stephen25000]

The dis-information he disseminated (in copious quantities) was unheard of (outside his book) until it was released for sale.

Incorrect.


Read earlier posts.

[misty]

One thing that puzzles me - perhaps the more learned amongst you know - is why was the book published in Spain? Was it deemed too libellous by Portuguese publishers?