Supreme Court rules against the McCanns in damages case.

[Robittybob1]

that is in a court of law ............

where they have not been yet ....

according to them ....maddie was abducted ...

accordion to G A she wasn't

GA .....won the right to say maddie was not abducted ......tdah

He can have this opinion but must not state it as a fact unless he has proof.  But he didn't have the proof.

[Erngath]

As a reminder, though I am sure this has done before, the status of arguida can be reactivated for up to 20 years after the initial declaration.

Does that mean twenty years of being officially neither guilty nor innocent?

[stephen25000]

He can have this opinion but must not state it as a fact unless he has proof.  But he didn't have the proof.

It was his thesis.

[Robittybob1]

No, that person is entitled to be presumed innocent.

The McCanns are entitled to be presumed innocent, whether they actually are or not.  The same goes for the other 5 arguidos, whether they are still arguidos or not.

And the same goes for anyone charged, until such time as a court of law tries them and finds them guilty.

And even then they have the right of appeal, right up to the Privy Council.
But from the time the court declares them guilty, they can be reported that they are guilty of the crime without fear of libel.

[stephen25000]

Does that mean twenty years of being officially neither guilty nor innocent?

I don't know.

For that we would need someone who knows Portuguese Law.

[Mr Gray]

The McCanns have been proven innocent

[Erngath]

I don't know.

For that we would need someone who knows Portuguese Law.

Dreadful state of affairs for anyone to have to live with.
Strange system of justice.

[Erngath]

The McCanns have been proven innocent

Yes I agree but it seems not to be the case in Portugal.
Is one allowed  to say thank goodness for our system of justice which may have its faults but would never result in this mess.......................

[Robittybob1]

Has anyone said it did?

I was just making a line in the sand "I think that can be accepted (that the McCanns are not cleared) but it doesn't prove them guilty either".  I'm not pointing the finger at anyone as yet.

[Brietta]

You seem to have omitted Brietta, that the crime, if any, of Mafeleine's disappearance, remains undetermined and unknown.

The McCann's initiated events in this case, so above all else they bear responsibility for their actions.

No waxing lyrical will change that.

The judges did mention that Amaral's honour and the freedom of speech to promulgate his theory is the paramount issue here.  His theory in which he put the horse before the cart seems to have been more important to him than the protocol of keeping all options open for Madeleine.  Including the one that she is alive..

The lack of knowledge regarding Madeleine might very well have had something to do with the fact that on his watch the mysterious disappearance of little girls was becoming endemic.

Your criticism is not one for the victims of the crime.  They were not responsible for determining operational strategy, that is the police job therefore the failure you criticise is theirs.

[Alice Purjorick]

Dreadful state of affairs for anyone to have to live with.
Strange system of justice.

70% of the countries in the world do not have a system based on English Common Law.
It is a weird world we live in that's for sure. They should count themselves lucky it was Portugal and not Sweden or the Czech Pub.
If you are squeamish it is best not go beyond the soggy bit at Dover without mummy as it can be frightening. Places filled with nasty foreigners who don't speak English all waiting to...........well they had dictatorships half a century ago and so on.

[Robittybob1]

Does that mean twenty years of being officially neither guilty nor innocent?

I think so, and also, if someone else is convicted of the crime your status doesn't change either!

[stephen25000]

The judges did mention that Amaral's honour and the freedom of speech to promulgate his theory is the paramount issue here.  His theory in which he put the horse before the cart seems to have been more important to him than the protocol of keeping all options open for Madeleine.  Including the one that she is alive..

The lack of knowledge regarding Madeleine might very well have had something to do with the fact that on his watch the mysterious disappearance of little girls was becoming endemic.

Your criticism is not one for the victims of the crime.  They were not responsible for determining operational strategy, that is the police job therefore the failure you criticise is theirs.

'The lack of knowledge regarding Madeleine might very well have had something to do with the fact that on his watch the mysterious disappearance of little girls was becoming endemic.'

What a load of tosh.

Perhaps you can provide a citation for that.

Then make a comparison, of how many little girls disappeared in this country during the same period.

Blaming Amaral for that is beyond ridicule.

[Robittybob1]

It was his thesis.

When does a theory become a fact?

[slartibartfast]

So what are we talking about here?  A teddy bear's picnic?

Since there hasn't been a legal action...