Was the naming of the arguidos an unnecessary and dumb move?

[John]

Don't you think it would have advanced the investigation in a more meaningful direction if the Policia Judiciaria had under their new coordinator also taken a new course of action in preference to harking back to the mistakes of the previous investigation.

What information could they possibly have gained from bringing the McCann friends back to what by that time was an extremely suspicious and hostile environment in which apparently innocence is no guarantee of impunity?

Why not diversify from those who were already thoroughly investigated, phone records and all? 
Why not reconstruct those who had always been within their jurisdiction, who briefly attracted the interest of the first investigation but who were let off the hook by the preferred direction decided by the investigators.

A proper look at the phone records should have tipped them the wink that there were many other avenues still open for scrutiny and it shouldn't really have been too difficult for a modern police force to have found them.
After all Scotland Yard found plenty of investigative opportunities years after the event, including one which a member of this forum discovered from the limited information available to him in the internet files.
Was this part and parcel of the preference for a foreign perpetrator as it all seems to be unravelling as far as racist attitudes of the Portuguese police are presently being addressed.
http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=5764.msg416519#msg416519

Amaral now freely admits that mistakes were made early on.  Too much emphasis was placed on the abduction scenario despite a total lack of any credible evidence that one had taken place.  The parents and to a lesser degree some of their friends were allowed to call the shots to the detriment of the investigation.  The Press were allowed to prance around and turn the situation into a circus with performing clowns topping the bill.

The tapas group and other foreign witnesses should never have been allowed to leave the country until a proper reconstruction had been carried out. Suspects should have been identified and designated arguidos much earlier. Political interference by the British authorities however conspired to destroy the investigative process by denying the investigators the support they needed to check out suspects properly.  Background checks and other information requested by the Portuguese police were denied to them by their English counterparts.

Frankly, it isn't at all surprising that Amaral came to some of the conclusions he did.  He was acutely aware that there was in existence a conspiracy to discredit him and have him removed from the investigation the moment his detectives moved to rule out stranger abduction and started to consider parental involvement. 

[misty]

Amaral now freely admits that mistakes were made early on.  Too much emphasis was placed on the abduction scenario despite a total lack of any credible evidence that one had taken place.  The parents and to a lesser degree some of their friends were allowed to call the shots to the detriment of the investigation.  The Press were allowed to prance around and turn the situation into a circus with performing clowns topping the bill.

The tapas group and other foreign witnesses should never have been allowed to leave the country until a proper reconstruction had been carried out. Suspects should have been identified and designated arguidos much earlier. Political interference by the British authorities however conspired to destroy the investigative process by denying the investigators the support they needed to check out suspects properly.  Background checks and other information requested by the Portuguese police were denied to them by their English counterparts.

Does that mean that UK background checks on the first arguido could also have been withheld?

[John]

Does that mean that UK background checks on the first arguido could also have been withheld?

Very possibly.

[Brietta]

Amaral now freely admits that mistakes were made early on.  Too much emphasis was placed on the abduction scenario despite a total lack of any credible evidence that one had taken place.  The parents and to a lesser degree some of their friends were allowed to call the shots to the detriment of the investigation.  The Press were allowed to prance around and turn the situation into a circus with performing clowns topping the bill.

The tapas group and other foreign witnesses should never have been allowed to leave the country until a proper reconstruction had been carried out. Suspects should have been identified and designated arguidos much earlier. Political interference by the British authorities however conspired to destroy the investigative process by denying the investigators the support they needed to check out suspects properly.  Background checks and other information requested by the Portuguese police were denied to them by their English counterparts.

Frankly, it isn't at all surprising that Amaral came to some of the conclusions he did.  He was acutely aware that there was in existence a conspiracy to discredit him and have him removed from the investigation the moment his detectives moved to rule out stranger abduction and started to consider parental involvement.

Who was in charge of the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance?  The Policia Judiciaria under the command of Goncalo Amaral?

The parents and their friends were not responsible for who had access to the scene immediately the Portuguese police arrived to investigate. The police should have been and they had been ordered to do so.

Nor were the victims responsible if the forensic were unusable ... bearing in mind the contamination from cigarette ash and dogs emanating from police sources in attendance and the fact that the bedding was removed and washed and not preserved as evidence or sent for analysis. 

The police decide on what should be investigated when a crime has been committed ... following the evidence at the scene and in the case of a potential abduction eye witness evidence in particular. 
If Amaral claims the victims and witnesses called the shots and dictated the course of the investigation ... all he was doing was highlighting ineptitude and incompetence on the part of the police ... who were under his command.

They were in control and should have exercised it over the situation, yet the senior officer claims the victims took over his investigation and dictated the terms.
Think about it.

The claims Amaral made regarding foreign interference which became so embarrassing they eventually led to his dismissal ~ are risible.
The Portuguese are a proud sovereign nation whose prosecutors and politicians just would not have tolerated such a situation which equates to political suicide.

Neither am I at all surprised that Amaral came up with the lame excuses he did to cover the incompetence of his investigation. 

As far as reconstruction is concerned the decision against was taken by the PJ when it might have been of some use in finding Madeleine, or even witnesses coming forward, like the Smiths who hadn't at that time made the connection that they might be in possession of relevant information.

In chapter five Amaral writes ...
"The reconstruction was never to take place. The reasons put forward to justify that decision - in spite of opinions to the contrary - are multiple.

There are lots of holiday-makers at this time and sealing off the perimeter would ruin their stay;

the airspace would have to be closed;

the hotel complex would be overrun with hordes of journalists;

people might think that the parents and their friends were suspects and, of course, the field mustn't be left open for that kind of deliberation.
For all that, a more discreet reconstruction, even partial, with only the couple present, might provide useful information. No a priori judgment is implied, quite the contrary."
Goncalo Amaral

It is my opinion that Amaral should never have been allowed near the case of a missing child and I think that had he been allowed free rein it is highly probable we might have had a board on the forum arguing for the McCann release from a Portuguese jail.
With the added bonus for any perpetrator that no-one would have been looking for a "dead" child over the past few years with her parents safely discredited under lock and key and unable to help her.

[jassi]

Who was in charge of the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance?  The Policia Judiciaria under the command of Goncalo Amaral?

The parents and their friends were not responsible for who had access to the scene immediately the Portuguese police arrived to investigate. The police should have been and they had been ordered to do so.

Nor were the victims responsible if the forensic were unusable ... bearing in mind the contamination from cigarette ash and dogs emanating from police sources in attendance and the fact that the bedding was removed and washed and not preserved as evidence or sent for analysis. 

The police decide on what should be investigated when a crime has been committed ... following the evidence at the scene and in the case of a potential abduction eye witness evidence in particular. 
If Amaral claims the victims and witnesses called the shots and dictated the course of the investigation ... all he was doing was highlighting ineptitude and incompetence on the part of the police ... who were under his command.

They were in control and should have exercised it over the situation, yet the senior officer claims the victims took over his investigation and dictated the terms.
Think about it.

The claims Amaral made regarding foreign interference which became so embarrassing they eventually led to his dismissal ~ are risible.
The Portuguese are a proud sovereign nation whose prosecutors and politicians just would not have tolerated such a situation which equates to political suicide.

Neither am I at all surprised that Amaral came up with the lame excuses he did to cover the incompetence of his investigation. 

As far as reconstruction is concerned the decision against was taken by the PJ when it might have been of some use in finding Madeleine, or even witnesses coming forward, like the Smiths who hadn't at that time made the connection that they might be in possession of relevant information.

In chapter five Amaral writes ...
"The reconstruction was never to take place. The reasons put forward to justify that decision - in spite of opinions to the contrary - are multiple.

There are lots of holiday-makers at this time and sealing off the perimeter would ruin their stay;

the airspace would have to be closed;

the hotel complex would be overrun with hordes of journalists;

people might think that the parents and their friends were suspects and, of course, the field mustn't be left open for that kind of deliberation.
For all that, a more discreet reconstruction, even partial, with only the couple present, might provide useful information. No a priori judgment is implied, quite the contrary."
Goncalo Amaral

It is my opinion that Amaral should never have been allowed near the case of a missing child and I think that had he been allowed free rein it is highly probable we might have had a board on the forum arguing for the McCann release from a Portuguese jail.
With the added bonus for any perpetrator that no-one would have been looking for a "dead" child over the past few years with her parents safely discredited under lock and key and unable to help her.

If they had looked after their children properly, he wouldn't have become involved.  In my opinion, of course.   

[Brietta]

If they had looked after their children properly, he wouldn't have become involved.

That is your opinion.  Please adjust your post accordingly.

[Benice]

Amaral now freely admits that mistakes were made early on.  Too much emphasis was placed on the abduction scenario despite a total lack of any credible evidence that one had taken place.  The parents and to a lesser degree some of their friends were allowed to call the shots to the detriment of the investigation.  The Press were allowed to prance around and turn the situation into a circus with performing clowns topping the bill.

The tapas group and other foreign witnesses should never have been allowed to leave the country until a proper reconstruction had been carried out. Suspects should have been identified and designated arguidos much earlier. Political interference by the British authorities however conspired to destroy the investigative process by denying the investigators the support they needed to check out suspects properly.  Background checks and other information requested by the Portuguese police were denied to them by their English counterparts.

Frankly, it isn't at all surprising that Amaral came to some of the conclusions he did.  He was acutely aware that there was in existence a conspiracy to discredit him and have him removed from the investigation the moment his detectives moved to rule out stranger abduction and started to consider parental involvement.

What background checks and other info was denied the PJ by the UK police plz?    Just curious. - as I have never heard of any.

If you know of a way a reconstruction could have been carried out with the level accuracy that was absolutely vital for it to have any meaning - I would be glad to hear it.   Also -how could a recon demonstrate the innocence of the McCanns?   Their innocence of what?

It's noticeable that folk are quick to criticise the friends for not agreeing to the recon - but never explain how it could be successfully carried out. 

 IMO it couldn't be - and so all that would be proved would be the sheer impossibility of 10 people all having to  guess the times of their actions between the hours of 5.30 and 11.pm. from a day a year before and  all by some miracle actually getting them spot on!   

 The chances of that happening must be millions to one so not a chance IMO - and therefore a complete waste of everyone's time as the one thing that was imperative for a recon to succeed was a very accurate recall of the times when they did different things.    And apart from GM that is the one thing they couldn't provide.


AIMHO

[Alice Purjorick]

Who was in charge of the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance?  The Policia Judiciaria under the command of Goncalo Amaral?

The parents and their friends were not responsible for who had access to the scene immediately the Portuguese police arrived to investigate. The police should have been and they had been ordered to do so.

Nor were the victims responsible if the forensic were unusable ... bearing in mind the contamination from cigarette ash and dogs emanating from police sources in attendance and the fact that the bedding was removed and washed and not preserved as evidence or sent for analysis. 

The police decide on what should be investigated when a crime has been committed ... following the evidence at the scene and in the case of a potential abduction eye witness evidence in particular. 
If Amaral claims the victims and witnesses called the shots and dictated the course of the investigation ... all he was doing was highlighting ineptitude and incompetence on the part of the police ... who were under his command.

They were in control and should have exercised it over the situation, yet the senior officer claims the victims took over his investigation and dictated the terms.
Think about it.

The claims Amaral made regarding foreign interference which became so embarrassing they eventually led to his dismissal ~ are risible.
The Portuguese are a proud sovereign nation whose prosecutors and politicians just would not have tolerated such a situation which equates to political suicide.

Neither am I at all surprised that Amaral came up with the lame excuses he did to cover the incompetence of his investigation. 

As far as reconstruction is concerned the decision against was taken by the PJ when it might have been of some use in finding Madeleine, or even witnesses coming forward, like the Smiths who hadn't at that time made the connection that they might be in possession of relevant information.

In chapter five Amaral writes ...
"The reconstruction was never to take place. The reasons put forward to justify that decision - in spite of opinions to the contrary - are multiple.

There are lots of holiday-makers at this time and sealing off the perimeter would ruin their stay;

the airspace would have to be closed;

the hotel complex would be overrun with hordes of journalists;

people might think that the parents and their friends were suspects and, of course, the field mustn't be left open for that kind of deliberation.
For all that, a more discreet reconstruction, even partial, with only the couple present, might provide useful information. No a priori judgment is implied, quite the contrary."
Goncalo Amaral

It is my opinion that Amaral should never have been allowed near the case of a missing child and I think that had he been allowed free rein it is highly probable we might have had a board on the forum arguing for the McCann release from a Portuguese jail.
With the added bonus for any perpetrator that no-one would have been looking for a "dead" child over the past few years with her parents safely discredited under lock and key and unable to help her.

1. I believe you will find that under Portuguese law it is the Examining Magistrate who call the shots.

[Alice Purjorick]

Does that mean that UK background checks on the first arguido could also have been withheld?

I thought the press sorted all that out with their customary aplomb and flights of fancy.

[G-Unit]

Who was in charge of the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance? The Policia Judiciaria under the command of Goncalo Amaral?

The parents and their friends were not responsible for who had access to the scene immediately the Portuguese police arrived to investigate. The police should have been and they had been ordered to do so.

Nor were the victims responsible if the forensic were unusable ... bearing in mind the contamination from cigarette ash and dogs emanating from police sources in attendance and the fact that the bedding was removed and washed and not preserved as evidence or sent for analysis. 

The police decide on what should be investigated when a crime has been committed ... following the evidence at the scene and in the case of a potential abduction eye witness evidence in particular. 
If Amaral claims the victims and witnesses called the shots and dictated the course of the investigation ... all he was doing was highlighting ineptitude and incompetence on the part of the police ... who were under his command.

They were in control and should have exercised it over the situation, yet the senior officer claims the victims took over his investigation and dictated the terms.
Think about it.

The claims Amaral made regarding foreign interference which became so embarrassing they eventually led to his dismissal ~ are risible.
The Portuguese are a proud sovereign nation whose prosecutors and politicians just would not have tolerated such a situation which equates to political suicide.

Neither am I at all surprised that Amaral came up with the lame excuses he did to cover the incompetence of his investigation. 

As far as reconstruction is concerned the decision against was taken by the PJ when it might have been of some use in finding Madeleine, or even witnesses coming forward, like the Smiths who hadn't at that time made the connection that they might be in possession of relevant information.

In chapter five Amaral writes ...
"The reconstruction was never to take place. The reasons put forward to justify that decision - in spite of opinions to the contrary - are multiple.

There are lots of holiday-makers at this time and sealing off the perimeter would ruin their stay;

the airspace would have to be closed;

the hotel complex would be overrun with hordes of journalists;

people might think that the parents and their friends were suspects and, of course, the field mustn't be left open for that kind of deliberation.
For all that, a more discreet reconstruction, even partial, with only the couple present, might provide useful information. No a priori judgment is implied, quite the contrary."
Goncalo Amaral

It is my opinion that Amaral should never have been allowed near the case of a missing child and I think that had he been allowed free rein it is highly probable we might have had a board on the forum arguing for the McCann release from a Portuguese jail.
With the added bonus for any perpetrator that no-one would have been looking for a "dead" child over the past few years with her parents safely discredited under lock and key and unable to help her.

You give me the impression that you believe one man ran the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. His job was to coordinate, not direct. The PJ put Neves and Encarnacao in charge, but ultimately the prosecutors and judges decided what could and could not be done.

Isn't it time to abandon the idea that one man alone decided everything? It's a very naive view of how things work in the Portuguese system in my opinion.

[Benice]

You give me the impression that you believe one man ran the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. His job was to coordinate, not direct. The PJ put Neves and Encarnacao in charge, but ultimately the prosecutors and judges decided what could and could not be done.

Isn't it time to abandon the idea that one man alone decided everything? It's a very naive view of how things work in the Portuguese system in my opinion.

IIRC the judge at the original trial thought Amaral was in charge of running the investigation.  I believe she also described Tavares as his 2nd in command.

(from memory so am happy to be corrected if necessary)

[G-Unit]

IIRC the judge at the original trial thought Amaral was in charge of running the investigation.  I believe she also described Tavares as his 2nd in command.

(from memory so am happy to be corrected if necessary)

I don't know what she thought and have no intention of trawling through the material to find out. She seems to have made mistakes in her own area of expertise, though, so her beliefs about the PJ could easily be wrong too.

[misty]

I don't know what she thought and have no intention of trawling through the material to find out. She seems to have made mistakes in her own area of expertise, though, so her beliefs about the PJ could easily be wrong too.

Out of curiousity, what reference have you found to the names of Neves & Encarnacao in the files showing their role in the direction of the investigation? All reports appear to be addressed to the Coordinator of the Investigation.

[Brietta]

You give me the impression that you believe one man ran the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. His job was to coordinate, not direct. The PJ put Neves and Encarnacao in charge, but ultimately the prosecutors and judges decided what could and could not be done.

Isn't it time to abandon the idea that one man alone decided everything? It's a very naive view of how things work in the Portuguese system in my opinion.

That couldn't possibly be connected in any way to the high media profile he assumed as a result ... his claims in his book ... his claims in his video ... and his claims throughout the media career he built on Madeleine's disappearance?

Not to mention his campaign of vilification directed at her parents whose fault, as far as I can determine, seemed to be continuing their search for Madeleine and their insistence that her case be reopened ... in which they were ultimately successful.

[G-Unit]

Out of curiousity, what reference have you found to the names of Neves & Encarnacao in the files showing their role in the direction of the investigation? All reports appear to be addressed to the Coordinator of the Investigation.

we met Guilhermino Encarnação, the director of the Algarve Polícia Judiciária, based in Faro, who was overseeing the investigation.............

The officers we met on that occasion, and would continue to meet regularly, were the two men ultimately in charge of the investigation. Guilhermino Encarnação, chief of the Algarve PJ, based in Faro, we had encountered at the police station in Portimão on the day after Madeleine’s abduction. The other was Luís Neves, head of the DCCB....

Late that afternoon, we were notified by Liz Dow, the British consul in Lisbon, that Luís Neves and Guilhermino Encarnação had declared us ‘free’ to leave the country whenever we wished.
[Madeleine]