Was Gonçalo Amaral fair game given the content of his book?

[Montclair]

Amaral had every right to write the book and the mccanns have every right to sue him and the courts have every right to take every penny he earned from the book and give it to the mccanns

What you seem to forget is that everything he wrote in his book is corraborated by the police files which are also in the public domain. Also, the McCanns attempt to sue him was only accepted on their 3rd attempt and the book ban was eventually overturned. IMO, this libel case should never have come to the light of day.

[stephen25000]

That's because they are not..simple

I thought even you are aware of the principles of cause and effect.

[Mr Gray]

What you seem to forget is that everything he wrote in his book is corraborated by the police files which are also in the public domain. Also, the McCanns attempt to sue him was only accepted on their 3rd attempt and the book ban was eventually overturned. IMO, this libel case should never have come to the light of day.

I forget nothing but you show your complete ignorance of fair play..I defend amarals right to write the book and I defend the mccanns right to sue..you want to deny the mccanns their rights

[Mr Gray]

I thought even you are aware of the principles of cause and effect.

I am but you are obviously not...just because I get up in the morning doesn't mean its my fault that I am run over and killed by a drunk driver

[j.rob]

Amaral had every right to write the book and the mccanns have every right to sue him and the courts have every right to take every penny he earned from the book and give it to the mccanns

When are the McCanns going to start paying back people who contributed to the Fund which has so far failed entirely in its aim? And when are they going to be transparent about the accounts? How much has been spent actively searching for Madeleine and how much has been spent on legal fees and travelling around the world? Not to mention paying the mortgage.

Is it right to profit from the disappearance of your daughter?

[stephen25000]

I am but you are obviously not...just because I get up in the morning doesn't mean its my fault that I am run over and killed by a drunk driver

They left their children in an unlocked apartment and bereft of any guardian to watch over them, whilst they were engaged elsewhere.

Yes it's the parents fault.

[Mr Gray]

When are the McCanns going to start paying back people who contributed to the Fund which has so far failed entirely in its aim? And when are they going to be transparent about the accounts? How much has been spent actively searching for Madeleine and how much has been spent on legal fees and travelling around the world? Not to mention paying the mortgage.

Is it right to profit from the disappearance of your daughter?

I don't see that the fund has failed in its aims..

could you quote directly from the aim(s) it has failed..
I don't think the MccAnns have profited from the disappearance of their daughter

[j.rob]

That's because they are not..simple

They are, actually. Because it is a child protection issue to leave three children unattended on consecutive nights. On the night that Madeleine was allegedly abducted by a stranger, the checking system is (conveniently or perhaps not for the McCanns) shown as completely useless as Matt (allegedly) did not see the children. So they may not have been there. Which means the (alleged) abductor would have had even longer in which to take Madeleine and whoever else away.

But, as there is no evidence that an unknown abductor broke in or entered the apartment with the intention of stealing a child, I do not give credence to the McCann version of events. None of it makes any sense.

[j.rob]

I don't see that the fund has failed in its aims..

could you quote directly from the aim(s) it has failed..
I don't think the MccAnns have profited from the disappearance of their daughter

The Fund was set up to search for and hopefully find Madeleine, was it not? Why else would people contribute money to it? To pay the McCanns mortgage? 

In what ways has the Fund helped to find Madeleine?

[Mr Gray]

They left their children in an unlocked apartment and bereft of any guardian to watch over them, whilst they were engaged elsewhere.

Yes it's the parents fault.

in your opinion

[Carana]

Gonçalo Amaral was no longer working for the PJ when he wrote his book, he had already retired. Other ex-policemen have written books about cases, why can't he? He also wrote the book not only to defend his honour but that of the PJ and judicial system which had been maligned systematically in the British press.

If the British press can bring out retired police officers and other so-called experts to analyse the case, I don't see why someone who was actually involved in it can't give his view, especially when his views are based on the police files.

He could have a written a book to defend his honour against the press, his superiors, his subordinates, the judicial system, both governments, the NSA, KGB and Mossad if he'd wanted to, but there was no reason to insist that a little girl was dead and her parents were involved in criminal activity in order to do so. IMO.

[jassi]

He could have a written a book to defend his honour against the press, his superiors, his subordinates, the judicial system, both governments, the NSA, KGB and Mossad if he'd wanted to, but there was no reason to insist that a little girl was dead and her parents were involved in criminal activity in order to do so. IMO.

Presumably that wouldn't have expressed what he believes to the truth.

[Mr Gray]

I am happy to be corrected if I am wrong but didn't the investigation list a number of possibilities about what may have happened to Maddie. Amarals book, which he calls the truth, only deals with his accusation of the parents. Doesn't he go further and say that this is what in his opinion actually happened...not may have happened...there is a big difference

[Eleanor]

I am no Amaral fan,  and have frequently opined about the flaws and inadequecies of the Portuguese police investigation   

Nevertheless there is simply no  question  that there has been an  'orchestrated'  attack on  Amaral 

To what purpose though  ?

That's the real question

There was an orchestrated attack on The McCanns long before Amaral's dubious investigation methods came into question.

To what purpose though?

That is a far more interesting question.

[Carana]

It would have been impossible to write his book after he'd retired. It was published just after the case was shelved. We have a thread on this issue somewhere here.

IMO, it's not just his book, but also his promo tour, his column in CdaM and his "documentary", the latter - as an AV medium - may well have had a greater impact on public opinion.

But what was that impact intended to achieve? Why did his honour depend on attempting to seal a child's fate and the parents' involvement in public opinion in order to regain his "honour"?

Then tabloid press on both sides have been nationalistic, xenophobic and sensationalist and they copied each other's "outrageous" pieces as news in the absence of any other. If there had been a functional police press service, perhaps things might have been different. However, seasoned police officers should realise that. No one can be be expected to be treated as a hero all of the time.