Author Topic: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral Libel Trial in Lisbon - Day 13 Closing speeches.  (Read 4682 times)

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Offline John

Libel trial in Lisbon - Day 13 Closing speeches

Introduction

Wednesday 10 December 2014

What follows is a summary of today's proceedings at the Palace of Justice in Lisbon.

The hearing was held in a different room today, above the judge the words, 'A injustica feita a um é ameaca para todos' or in English, 'Injustice done to one is a threat to everyone'.

Judge Maria Emília de Melo e Castro presided as per usual.  Kate and Gerry McCann's lawyer Isabel Duarte was noticeably absent from the proceedings, however, substitute Ricardo Afonso was in attendance and kicked off proceedings with his closing speech.  He spoke for almost two hours and eventually ran out of time and was interrupted by the Judge.


Important Notice
Readers are warned that this court Report is not a verbatim account of events but is merely a summary. 
As content is sourced via third parties and although checks are made, the forum cannot guarantee
its veracity.  All reports are made in good faith.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2015, 03:56:14 PM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline John

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral Libel Trial in Lisbon - Day 13 Closing speeches.
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2014, 12:44:14 PM »
Ricardo Afonso, deputy lawyer for the McCanns.

Ricardo Afonso spent almost two hours talking about numbers, comparing the Gonçalo Amaral book with selected bits of the case files and trying to discredit the author, the PJ and the dogs, while insisting that the British police didn't agree with the PJ's conclusions that led to the McCanns being made arguidos.

One example of his reasoning: the book starts with a mention of hunters hunting rabbits, which allegedly is out of season. So if the reference to the rabbit hunting season is wrong, everything else in the book is wrong, too.
 
He tried to dispute the dogs, the DNA tests, Mark Harrison's report which he said was only focused on the death possibility. The PJ, he alleged, was hell bent on accusing the McCanns and made the evidence fit the accusations.

In short, he was reviewing material which was never subject to previous discussion; large parts of his allegations were focused on discussing the investigation and the McCanns' arguido status, with several references to Alipio Ribeiro and his "precipitation" quote.

He also attacked the Smiths' credibility and questioned why they were seen as credible by the investigation while Jane Tanner was discredited. He said that Tanner's sighting corroborated the Smiths' sighting, but that the coordinator, Gonçalo Amaral, and his team simply wouldn't investigate anything except the death thesis and the McCanns.

The defendant, he said, just wanted to "sell blood, sweat and tears".

He added that the investigation deviated from any objectivity and that the British police, Martin Grime and Mark Harrison realised this and feared that the McCanns were going to be subject to an impulsive, unfounded making of arguidos.

He also recalled that Stuart Prior was "very worried" when he met with the PJ on the 4th September, just days before the McCanns were made arguidos. And that he was worried because he knew it was wrong to accuse them of anything because there was no evidence and the DNA reports were being misread, for the PJ's convenience.

Little if any reference was made addressing his own witnesses' testimonies.

In the end he was interrupted by the judge as he had surpassed his allotted 90 minutes.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2015, 02:23:04 PM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline John

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral Libel Trial in Lisbon - Day 13 Closing speeches.
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2014, 01:18:07 PM »
Isabel Duarte, lead lawyer for the McCanns

Isabel Duarte was busy today, presumably another trial. She tried to get the session postponed but did not succeed. She missed her chance but will be allowed to present her written Allegations of Law (alegações de direito), as will the other lawyers after the 30-day suspension runs out.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2015, 02:22:23 PM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline John

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral Libel Trial in Lisbon - Day 13 Closing speeches.
« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2014, 01:25:52 PM »
Miguel Cruz Rodrigues, lawyer for Gonçalo Amaral

Miguel Rodrigues suggested that the court case was simply an exercise to try and rid the couple from guilt. Guilt of being neglectful on the night of the disappearance, and then guilt of not having cooperated with the investigation.

The lack of cooperation by the couple and their friends led to the shelving of the case, a shelving that they never opposed, as they could have done.
 
He added that it would be very strange if they didn't feel depressed, anxious, sad; if they didn't feel a lack of appetite and sleep deprivation. But where is the causal link to the book? It was not proved. Their anxiety could be due to any other cause, like for example the guilt that they must feel about their lack of surveillance of their children and their behaviour during the investigation.

In summary: vague allegations from the couple and no evidence of any effect being caused by the book.
« Last Edit: December 11, 2014, 01:37:27 PM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline John

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral Libel Trial in Lisbon - Day 13 Closing speeches.
« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2014, 01:26:20 PM »
Fatima Esteves, lawyer for Guerra e Paz

Fatima Esteves used highly emotional language in her allegations.  She pointed out the almost absence of journalists in the room today, in contrast with full audiences whenever the McCanns attended the trial, suggesting that the McCanns are the motor behind the media interest and that they define the media agenda.

She suggested that the parents should have been made arguidos from the very start of the investigation, as is customary in cases of missing minors.

She pointed out that the accusers witnesses made vague depositions, and that two of them even added reports afterwards, without being subject to questions from the defence (Reports were handed in by Pike and Trickey long after their witness statements; these Reports were correctly refused by the judge because this is highly irregular; the accusation appealed to a higher court which overturned the Judge's decision and allowed both Reports to be included in the case)
 
She added that the alleged damages were not proved to result from the book.

That Scotland Yard appears, coincidentally, whenever there is a trial session in Lisbon.

She pointed out that the McCanns sued Gonçalo Amaral to protect the twins from a book which they cannot read (because it is in Portuguese) but failed to sue the websites that published the English translation, which the twins can read.

That the McCanns never requested the case to be reopened in Portugal.

She claimed that copies of the fund's accounts were requested by the defence but refused by the McCanns.
« Last Edit: December 11, 2014, 01:52:51 PM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline John

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral Libel Trial in Lisbon - Day 13 Closing speeches.
« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2014, 01:26:31 PM »
Miguel Coroadinha, representing TVI

Miguel Coroadinha started his allegations with a copy of today's Correio da Manhã (Morning Post) and an article about the Faro questioning sessions, using it to make the following points:

He suggested that the sporadic timed visits by Scotland Yard deviate attention from the trial, repeatedly and conveniently.

That the case has already been subject to studies about its exceptional media exposure.

He claimed that the McCanns have pushed the case into the media spotlight and do everything they can to keep it there. That the media attention has never diminished and that the book had no impact on media attention or on the investigation.  He pointed out that witnesses for the McCanns had stated that media attention increased with the book's publication.

He stated that TVI did not broadcast the McCanns' documentary because the couple did not want that (the channel had already negotiated the broadcast when the couple backtracked).

In relation to the alleged damages, he pointed out that it is impossible to prove a causal link to the book.

He suggested that this court is not the place to discuss the investigation's mistakes but if one major mistake can be pointed out it's the mistake of not making the McCanns arguidos on the very next day after the disappearance, and if that had been done, we might not be here in this court room today.

He added that the witnesses brought by the McCanns were too emotionally involved and too close to the couple to be credible. 

The two "expert" Reports were used for their authors to evade any questioning about said reports.

He concluded by suggesting that the couple are trying to rewrite history, making everyone believe the only theory is their own, but the book is already part of the case history.
« Last Edit: December 11, 2014, 02:04:47 PM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline John

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral Libel Trial in Lisbon - Day 13 Closing speeches.
« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2014, 01:53:49 PM »
Henrique Costa Pinto, lawyer for VCI Filmes

Henrique Costa Pinto was the last lawyer to address the court.

He stressed that the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann ended the way it did (archived in July 2008) because of the lack of cooperation from the parents and their friends. The parents then tried to make it look like they had been acquitted, which they were not. The archiving dispatch mentions the death theory as the most likely.

Concerning the alleged damages, he stated that no evidence had been produced by the accusation.

He closed by concluding that the McCanns sued over the book merely because they were enraged and irritated by Gonçalo Amaral's thesis.

Session ends.



The next session takes place on the 21st of January 2015.

It will serve the purpose of the judge reading out what has been established as "matéria de facto" by the court. So potentially we may sense from what she will see as proved, or not, where the verdict may be going.

The McCanns then have 30 days to produce the document from the High Court in London certifying that they are authorised to represent Madeleine. If the McCanns fail to provide authorisation from the English High Court which enables them to represent Madeleine, only the part of the case that relates to her is thrown out. Everything else goes on.

Thereafter, all lawyers have 10 days to hand in their "alegacões de direito" which are written allegations about specific aspects of the law, as for example if the book's existence is illegal or not. This potentially brings us to early March so quite possibly we may have a verdict in March... or later.


Important Notice
Readers are warned that this court Report is not a verbatim account of events but is merely a summary. 
As content is sourced via third parties and although checks are made, the forum cannot guarantee
its veracity.  All reports are made in good faith.



Thanks to ASTRO for original copy.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2015, 03:56:49 PM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline Wonderfulspam

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral Libel Trial in Lisbon - Day 13 Closing speeches.
« Reply #7 on: December 11, 2014, 01:55:08 PM »
'He tried to dispute the dogs, the DNA tests, Mark Harrison's report which he said was only focused on the death possibility. The PJ, he alleged, was hell bent on accusing the McCanns and made the evidence fit the accusations.'

'He also attacked the Smiths' credibility.'



Sounds familiar.


'He said that Tanner's sighting corroborated the Smiths' sighting'

 @)(++(*

I stand with Putin. Glory to Mother Putin.

Offline John

Re: McCann v Gonçalo Amaral Libel Trial in Lisbon - Day 13 Closing speeches.
« Reply #8 on: December 11, 2014, 02:20:27 PM »
So looks like a Spring decision at earliest with an appeal to follow whatever happens.
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.