Surely if Smithman was innocent he would have come forward by now?

[Carana]

Crimewatch did make clips available at the time.

The foreign online media did pick up on it. I'm trying to remember if I saw embedded clips or stills with a summary translation of the main details. I have no idea whether the clips were copied for live broadcast in PT or not.

 The Crimewatch equivalent in at least one or two countries (Germany and Holland?) did feature it.
There doesn't appear to be an equivalent of Crimewatch in PT (or at least there wasn't).

One potential issue may have been the risk of the populist TV media (TVI or CMTV if that one existed at the time) using a UK police appeal followed by a panel chat involving Amaral slamming out against the UK police and Smithman = Gerry, with fridges, bags, dogs and DNA gibberish yet again.

[misty]

Quite why SY did not push to get the CrimeWatch onto Portuguese TV is a matter for conjecture.

All I can see on the Portuguese side is that this man is not referred to as someone who may be entirely innocent (as per Redwood/CrimeWatch), but became the main SUSPECT. It reminds me of the ducking stool concept.  If you drown you are innocent.  If you survive, we will burn you.

If you want the nearest equivalent, think of the pig farmer hauled in for questioning in Dec 14.  His criminal past was that the crime was committed in Luz, but otherwise has absolutely no connection to the McCann case, in time or MO.  But nonetheless he got flame roasted by the press in Portugal and the UK.

As to the PJ, judging by the James Watson/Rikki Neave news recently, I think they are quite happy to carry out actions that are requested and legal under European law.  I am not sure if that actually makes them interested though.

How heavily edited do you think a Portuguese offering would have been, bearing in mind that the investigation had not even been reopened there when Crimewatch was aired? Their judicial reluctance to release efits in criminal  investigations is well-known.

http://cmtv.sapo.pt/opiniao/detalhe/carlos-anjos-divulgacao-de-retrato-robo-e-muito-pouco-profissional.html

(see http://joana-morais.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/carlos-anjos-release-of-e-fits-is-very.html  for full interview translation)


*snipped*

CMTV October 14th 2013

News anchor Andreia Vale [AV]: In the studio with us is Carlos Anjos, CMTV commentator. Hello Carlos, good afternoon. Thank you for being here. This e-fit of an individual, this new "breath" of the [English police] investigation, does it have any credibility in your opinion?

Carlos Anjos [CA], President of the Committee for the Protection of Crime Victims/ former president of the Criminal Investigation Officers' Union of the PJ (ASFIC/PJ) - Good afternoon. Unfortunately, no. Unfortunately, no. It seems to me, from the way that this is being carried out, from the standpoint of the criminal investigation to be very unprofessional. We do have in fact two schools of thought. We have the school of thought of criminal investigation in Continental Europe that has a particular way of working, where the media is only used to divulge any information when it reaches a dead end and is unable to go further; and the Anglo-Saxon school that uses the media in every way possible...

[Brietta]

How heavily edited do you think a Portuguese offering would have been, bearing in mind that the investigation had not even been reopened there when Crimewatch was aired? Their judicial reluctance to release efits in criminal  investigations is well-known.

http://cmtv.sapo.pt/opiniao/detalhe/carlos-anjos-divulgacao-de-retrato-robo-e-muito-pouco-profissional.html

(see http://joana-morais.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/carlos-anjos-release-of-e-fits-is-very.html  for full interview translation)


*snipped*

CMTV October 14th 2013

News anchor Andreia Vale [AV]: In the studio with us is Carlos Anjos, CMTV commentator. Hello Carlos, good afternoon. Thank you for being here. This e-fit of an individual, this new "breath" of the [English police] investigation, does it have any credibility in your opinion?

Carlos Anjos [CA], President of the Committee for the Protection of Crime Victims/ former president of the Criminal Investigation Officers' Union of the PJ (ASFIC/PJ) - Good afternoon. Unfortunately, no. Unfortunately, no. It seems to me, from the way that this is being carried out, from the standpoint of the criminal investigation to be very unprofessional. We do have in fact two schools of thought. We have the school of thought of criminal investigation in Continental Europe that has a particular way of working, where the media is only used to divulge any information when it reaches a dead end and is unable to go further; and the Anglo-Saxon school that uses the media in every way possible...

The Polícia Judiciária were in the process of finalising their own review of Madeleine's case which had taken a different path from that carried out by Scotland Yard.

There was great sensitivity as far as reopening Madeleine's case was concerned.  The Scotland Yard review had realised sufficient investigative leads to justify reopening the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance.  The process was not at that stage in Portugal where the decision to proceed with a new Portuguese investigation had not been ratified when the Crimewatch programme was broadcast. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24655826

The very fine balance between Madeleine's case being reopened or not by the Portuguese might have been jeopardised by broadcasting the Crimewatch programme with content which was at variance with the evidence being followed by the PJ.
It is perfectly possible that the PJ in their independent inquiry had looked at the Smith sighting again and had their own reason for discounting it.  They had no interest in it first time round ... until Mr Smith's false memory moment in September.
 

[John]

Well let's see...how did Crecheman manage it I wonder...? &%+((£

Could it be that Crecheman is English while Smithman is Portuguese?

[John]

If Smithman was also tractor-man (and Madeleine's abductor) Madeleine's abductor may be dead.

If that were so (I fear) that may also bode ill for Madeleine.

Smithman wasn't black.

[John]

Finding Smithman and eliminating him is possible is crucial to this investigation.  Why have SY through the PJ not made attempts to do so, I find this extremely puzzling?

[mercury]

Well, there's no denying the similarities [?]

 

[Angelo222]

Find Smithman and at least half the mystery will be solved imo.  But it ain't gonna happen so ask yourselves WHY?

[pegasus]

Finding Smithman and eliminating him is possible is crucial to this investigation.  Why have SY through the PJ not made attempts to do so, I find this extremely puzzling?

Basically that Crimewatch program was completely inaccessible to the portuguese-speaking public in portugal.
Portuguese broadcasters wanted to show it but were refused permission.

[Robittybob1]

Basically that Crimewatch program was completely inaccessible to the portuguese-speaking public in portugal.
Portuguese broadcasters wanted to show it but were refused permission.

"Portuguese broadcasters wanted to show it but were refused permission", by whom?  PJ or government interference?

[John]

Find Smithman and at least half the mystery will be solved imo.  But it ain't gonna happen so ask yourselves WHY?

I agree, Smithman could very well be the key to this.  A concerted effort should have been made in Luz and the surrounding area to identify this man.  Even now some nine years on identifying him would establish once and for all if this sighting at 10pm has any prominence.

[pegasus]

"Portuguese broadcasters wanted to show it but were refused permission", by whom?  PJ or government interference?

See http://joana-morais.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/crimewatch-aired-in-uk-ireland.html Robbity

The Deputy Director of News at SIC Television was meanwhile reported to have exchanged e-mails with the BBC in the days running up to the Crimewatch programme in order to secure the rights to the full programme, but to no avail.

“The BBC said they are not selling the rights”, Martim Cabral told The Portugal News, “therefore we cannot show it.”

Another Portuguese news channel, TVI, told The Portugal News that it had contacted the British national broadcaster prior to the airing of the show, as it sought to “acquire the programme for Portugal, which was denied.”

[Robittybob1]

See http://joana-morais.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/crimewatch-aired-in-uk-ireland.html Robbity

Seems like a lot of lame excuses to me.

[pegasus]

@Shining would you agree that people from other parts of Portugal sometimes holiday in the Algarve?

[ShiningInLuz]

@Shining would you agree that people from other parts of Portugal sometimes holiday in the Algarve?

According to the folks here, August is the month they hate.

The folks from Lisbon swarm over the Algarve.  Rightly or wrongly, they are seen as stressed out and aggressive.  (Note - this view is from a local.)

The locals, if they can, head somewhere else for August.