Daily Express report on Court Hearing 11/12/09

Dimsie, you've demonstrated, throughout the whole circus show, a level of common-sense, I can't handle. Powerr to your finger tips, say I.

I get soooo...... angry about it all. All the time............

How do you manage to keep so calm ?

Unless at some stage the McCanns confess to throwing Madeleine"s body over a cliff into the sea, opening
the investigation will not shed any light on what happened to Madeleine.

On the 1st Anniversary of Madeleine"s disappearance, the McCanns did the rounds giving interviews etc and
visited the filming of "Missing" a BBC T.V. Programme. There they met a Woman whose little 3 yr old Sister
had disappeared 25 yrs previously from a Supermarket in Germany while her Mother"s back was turned for a
moment. Despite a massive search by the German Police and British Soldiers ( the Dad was serving in the
Army and the Family lived in Baracks) the toddler was never found. Her sister though never gave up hope that she was alive and they would meet one day.

Christine Markam

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2038433.stm

I didn't even live in this neck of the woods when it happened, but folks still talk about it, theorising, recalling etc.

Every now and again the "Press" give the case a Front page.

Will the "Mercury" be doing that in 30 years time ?

Laffin Assasin wrote:Christine Markam

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2038433.stm

I didn't even live in this neck of the woods when it happened, but folks still talk about it, theorising, recalling etc.

Every now and again the "Press" give the case a Front page.

Will the "Mercury" be doing that in 30 years time ?

LA
Interesting Article, first I"ve heard about these Murders, although South Wales is my neck of the woods,I
wasn"t living there then. Amazing that they were able to identify the DNA especially such a long time ago when
DNA tests were still in their infancy.

Beattie wrote:

Laffin Assasin wrote:Christine Markam

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2038433.stm

I didn't even live in this neck of the woods when it happened, but folks still talk about it, theorising, recalling etc.

Every now and again the "Press" give the case a Front page.

Will the "Mercury" be doing that in 30 years time ?

LA
Interesting Article, first I"ve heard about these Murders, although South Wales is my neck of the woods,I
wasn"t living there then. Amazing that they were able to identify the DNA especially such a long time ago when
DNA tests were still in their infancy.

It's believed here that Scots Law will change to remove the "double jeopardy" clause. The guy (I forget his name for the moment) who originally got tried for the World's End pub murders in 1978 could be retried, now that scientists can do better DNA tests.

I am sure this latest charade of the Mccans will have stoked up public interest a little bit .

And not favourably, I hope, especially coming so close on the heels of their dodgey and 'being invstigated' private investigator.

I don't believe they will turn up in court in January.

They will have a good 'reason', even if the press make up one of their own for them.

duvetduck wrote:I am sure this latest charade of the Mccans will have stoked up public interest a little bit .

And not favourably, I hope, especially coming so close on the heels of their dodgey and 'being invstigated' private investigator.

I don't believe they will turn up in court in January.

They will have a good 'reason', even if the press make up one of their own for them.

If anything the excuse will be that Kate has been so affected by her return to Portugal, her health has suffered.
It has been pointed out that if the McCanns withdraw their complaint, Amaral, the T.V. Company and Book
Publisher could sue them for loss of earnings etc and the claim could be substantial. Gerry is quite capable of
attending the Court Case and maybe his presence alone would be accepted by the Court Judges.

Beattie wrote:

duvetduck wrote:I am sure this latest charade of the Mccans will have stoked up public interest a little bit .

And not favourably, I hope, especially coming so close on the heels of their dodgey and 'being invstigated' private investigator.

I don't believe they will turn up in court in January.

They will have a good 'reason', even if the press make up one of their own for them.

If anything the excuse will be that Kate has been so affected by her return to Portugal, her health has suffered.
It has been pointed out that if the McCanns withdraw their complaint, Amaral, the T.V. Company and Book
Publisher could sue them for loss of earnings etc and the claim could be substantial. Gerry is quite capable of
attending the Court Case and maybe his presence alone would be accepted by the Court Judges.

Quite. They are damned if they do, and damned if they don't. Their greed has painted them into a corner, right bonny.

While Iv"e been writing out Christmas Cards I have been half listening to Sky news. Apparently Kate has been
very upset . Martin Brunt (pro McCann) standing by Apartment 5a says that are due to visit the Ocean Club
later today, quote "this is the place where Kate had always said she feels closest to Madeleine".......of course
she would, that is where she last saw Madeleine.

Pity she wouldn"t go back for the recon or take part in the Cutting Edge Docu, especially as her Friends Jane Tanner and Matthew Oldfield were there.

IMHO that's the place where they buried poor Madeleine.

The Famous Grouse wrote:IMHO that's the place where they buried poor Madeleine.

About six months after Madeleine disappeared I travelled to the Airport at the start of a holiday on a Coach.
Got chatting to the English lady sitting next to me, turns out she lives in Faro, a friend of hers is also a Friend of Mrs Fenn. Apparently the McCanns went out each evening much earlier than they say, the children were heard
crying on more than one night and the Portugese in the Area think Madeleine is dead and that her body was thrown from nearby cliffs into the Sea. Of course this is all hearsay and shouldn"t be taken as Gospel. It also
doesn"t explain where her body was stored before it was moved to the Scenic .

Just been looking at a rerun ofthe McCann saga on Sky. Noticed that as they came out of the Courthouse they
were given red carnation s by wellwishers, can"t all be anti then can they.!!

AnnaEsse wrote:The Express is getting a bit more outspoken there. The McCanns being booed and the Express mentioning that the McCanns friends in high places were said to have hampered the investigation? Let's hope there's good media coverage of the book launch now!

NICE ONE,
I ALSO MISSED SEEING THE PAIR AT THE AIRPORT,SUCH A SHAME,I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THEM SQUIRMING

Just been looking at a rerun ofthe McCann saga on Sky. Noticed that as they came out of the Courthouse they
were given red carnation s by wellwishers, can"t all be anti then can they.!!

Team Mccann planted in the crowd? The lady at the kiosk where I buy my daily paper, took a hell of a lot of convincing from me,that the parents were involved, so not everyone is of the same opinion as we all on here, even in Portugal.

Beattie wrote:

The Famous Grouse wrote:IMHO that's the place where they buried poor Madeleine.

About six months after Madeleine disappeared I travelled to the Airport at the start of a holiday on a Coach.
Got chatting to the English lady sitting next to me, turns out she lives in Faro, a friend of hers is also a Friend of Mrs Fenn. Apparently the McCanns went out each evening much earlier than they say, the children were heard
crying on more than one night and the Portugese in the Area think Madeleine is dead and that her body was thrown from nearby cliffs into the Sea. Of course this is all hearsay and shouldn"t be taken as Gospel. It also
doesn"t explain where her body was stored before it was moved to the Scenic .

Just been looking at a rerun ofthe McCann saga on Sky. Noticed that as they came out of the Courthouse they
were given red carnation s by wellwishers, can"t all be anti then can they.!!

The carnations were not given by well wishers and I think that the McCanns did not realise the significance of the flowers in Portugal. The red carnations are the symbol of the 25th of April 1974 when the fascist dictatorship was overthrown in a military coup. They stand for the values of the revolution: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, unions, political parties, free elections, equality for women, etc. The red carnations were brought by the supporters of Gonçalo Amaral and those fighting for freedom of expression.

Carolina wrote:

Beattie wrote:

The Famous Grouse wrote:IMHO that's the place where they buried poor Madeleine.

About six months after Madeleine disappeared I travelled to the Airport at the start of a holiday on a Coach.
Got chatting to the English lady sitting next to me, turns out she lives in Faro, a friend of hers is also a Friend of Mrs Fenn. Apparently the McCanns went out each evening much earlier than they say, the children were heard
crying on more than one night and the Portugese in the Area think Madeleine is dead and that her body was thrown from nearby cliffs into the Sea. Of course this is all hearsay and shouldn"t be taken as Gospel. It also
doesn"t explain where her body was stored before it was moved to the Scenic .

Just been looking at a rerun ofthe McCann saga on Sky. Noticed that as they came out of the Courthouse they
were given red carnation s by wellwishers, can"t all be anti then can they.!!

The carnations were not given by well wishers and I think that the McCanns did not realise the significance of the flowers in Portugal. The red carnations are the symbol of the 25th of April 1974 when the fascist dictatorship was overthrown in a military coup. They stand for the values of the revolution: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, unions, political parties, free elections, equality for women, etc. The red carnations were brought by the supporters of Gonçalo Amaral and those fighting for freedom of expression.

EXCELLENT I BET GERRY WILL BE WELL P_SSED WHEN HE HEARS THAT

fred wrote:

Just been looking at a rerun ofthe McCann saga on Sky. Noticed that as they came out of the Courthouse they
were given red carnation s by wellwishers, can"t all be anti then can they.!!

Team Mccann planted in the crowd? The lady at the kiosk where I buy my daily paper, took a hell of a lot of convincing from me,that the parents were involved, so not everyone is of the same opinion as we all on here, even in Portugal.

Hi Fred,

I think it"s because we have had the Files kindly translated for us so know far more than Joe Public about
this case. This McCann/Amaral case will determine one way or the other who is right and who is wrong.......
what are we going to do if there is no Trial????????

A Summary of what happened yesterday. Joana Morais.
http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/2009/12/summary-of-what-happened-yesterday.html

During the afternoon of the previous day, before the witnesses’ hearings, a friend told us that Dr. António Cabrita, Mr.Gonçalo Amaral's lawyer due to his illness and because his secretary caught the swine flu had to stay at home.

Another friend mentioned that Sandra Felgueiras interview would mention this fact at RTP 1 night news; the spreading of the news in the way that was divulged gave the wrong idea that nothing would happen in the next morning.

However all parts had to attend the session to hear the decision to postpone the hearings. So, the McCanns were going to be there, their lawyer Isabel Duarte, Gonçalo Amaral and the witnesses called by his defence lawyer to give statements on that day. 3 witnesses were called for yesterday’s hearing, two of them appeared.

At the PJGA a decision was made to change how and what we would do according to the last minute news.

The members started arriving at the courthouse from 9:00 am forwards. We took with us 100 red carnations and press kits, like the one available at the site, in two languages, in Portuguese and in English to be distributed among the media, and whomever else that could be interested in reading our manifesto.

We were about 11 people in total from the PJGA, there were also a few populars that were attending the event. No one was there to support the McCanns.

When we got there, at one of the entrances of Palácio da Justiça, photo journalists and cameramen surrounded the members to shoot what we were talking and doing, like taking out of the bags (the forbidden book, the red carnations and the media kits). We also dressed T-shirts that stated on the front: “Liberdade de Expressão” and the PJGA site link – www.pjga.blogspot.com, and on the back “Censura Nunca Mais” – “Freedom of Expression” and “Censorship Never Again”.

Mr.Gonçalo Amaral and the McCann couple were already inside the Courthouse. Meanwhile, outside there were several journalists, mainly from Portugal and from the UK. A few familiar faces from the UK media were there, from Martin Brunt to Keir Simmons, and a few others that have been following the McCanns case since Praia da Luz.

The atmosphere outside was of excitement, the journalists were frenetic, some were circling around the huge Courthouse building to see if the McCanns didn’t attempt to escape from the back doors, others were calling the editors, others preparing the satellite connections. Every time that a false hint that someone was coming out of the court room was made, the journalists gathered like vultures at the entrance door in a semi-circle, all on the top of each others, squeezing for a better space.

Our PJGA representative, Dr. Luís Arriaga, was giving several interviews to the media at that time. We, the rest of the members, were distributing the press kits and carnations, and talking about our views quietly with journalists from both countries.

Some press members came out from the court session, and a few minutes later so did Mr. Gonçalo Amaral, immediately the half-circle of journalists surrounded Gonçalo Amaral. Generally, because of the sheer amount of journalists one or two are appointed to make the questions, one of the questions was made by Sandra Felgueiras, she asked if: “Do you think the McCanns now have the sensation that you made everything for this trial to be postponed knowing that they were coming to Portugal?” to which Gonçalo answered that he was not the creator of the influenza virus, and that was not something the McCanns could pin on him.

On the half circle, while Mr Amaral answered the journalist’s questions there was an English journalist named Kier Simmons who was constantly and rudely interrupting Mr. Amaral, he said multiple times, “Why don’t you speak in English for our viewers? Can’t you give us an answer in English?” – the blatant imperialistic rudeness of that man, was amazing. I caught him up later and told him that he was very bad-mannered not for interrupting, but for demanding that Mr Amaral, a Portuguese man in Portugal spoke in English – a language that Mr. Amaral does not speak nor does he have the obligation to speak. Obviously, Kier did not know one word of Portuguese.

Moving on. Like a pack of wolves, the British journalists followed Gonçalo Amaral until he entered his car and left.

At the courthouse door, where the McCanns were supposed to appear, was Salvador da Cunha, the CEO of Lift Image Consulting, the new McCann’s PR man in Portugal.

According to what was leaked by a source Lift Consulting was the company that was hired to wash Fátima Felgueiras [Sandra’ mum] image, when she runned away from the Portuguese Justice to Brazil.

The McCanns are paying this firm with the Find Madeleine McCann Fund. According to a source the firm allegedly has two strategies to follow: one, to wash the McCanns image in Portugal and two, to attack Gonçalo Amaral using every possible means.

Like prima donnas, we had to wait for the McCanns to feel comfortable enough to get out, Mr. Salvador da Cunha, vociferated to the journalists to move two steps backwards otherwise the McCanns would leave from another door.

A member of the PJGA attempted to give this ‘gentleman’ two carnations in the name of freedom of expression only to be welcomed by a sentence, spitted with hatred between his teeth; “No, I don’t want it. What you’re doing is not defending the freedom of expression, but the freedom of distortion”- he also accused the PJGA members of being paid to support Gonçalo Amaral and a few other things that we caught on film but are too offensive to publish.

The McCanns came outside and answered 2 or 3 questions made by the journalists, one of them made by Sandra Felgueiras, who funnily enough made one of the most biased news piece for TV – we could think she was hired by UK’s Mirror or Sun's newspaper. But this is another matter that I’ll leave for later.

What was interesting to notice in their pre-prepared script was the new vocabulary, something that most will instantly recognize has being taken shamelessly from the PJGA’s Manifesto and Public Petitions. The McCanns, for the first time in two years, used the words: Justice, Freedom of Expression and Truth.

The McCanns, after the short media statement runned to a black expensive car with a hired driver, followed by journalists and a Portuguese lady that went there to support Mr. Amaral on her own. A member of the PJGA was able to approach Gerry McCann and offer him a bunch of Red Carnations as a sign of our fight for freedom of expression; another supporter gave a red carnation to Kate.

The McCanns went to Praia da Luz, with a few English journalists, in what could be their last time in Portugal. They rented an apartment in the Algarve, away from Praia da Luz and the population, and supposedly, they are going to stay there for the weekend.

The book “The English Gag – The Story of a Forbidden Book” by Gonçalo Amaral was launched at the LX Factory- Ler Devagar in the afternoon. Only one question remains, what on earth was Isabel Duarte doing there?

In Scotland, you don't give white and red flowers together. It signifies "blood and bandages".

"The McCanns are paying this firm with the Find Madeleine McCann Fund. According to a source the firm allegedly has two strategies to follow: one, to wash the McCanns image in Portugal and two, to attack Gonçalo Amaral using every possible means".

This couple are the absolute limit, truly disgusting that they have to yet again waste more Fund money. As I
said previously, they have used the children in their suit so they can charge Legal expenses to the Fund. I
hope all the


Directors and Chairman of No Stone Unturned go to Jail for knowingly allowing the McCanns to use
the Fund like it is their own money. The public have been well and truly conned but who will take up thneir
cause.

The Famous Grouse wrote:In Scotland, you don't give white and red flowers together. It signifies "blood and bandages".

so does a glasgow kiss FG

Carolina wrote:

Beattie wrote:

The Famous Grouse wrote:IMHO that's the place where they buried poor Madeleine.

Just been looking at a rerun ofthe McCann saga on Sky. Noticed that as they came out of the Courthouse they
were given red carnation s by wellwishers, can"t all be anti then can they.!!

The carnations were not given by well wishers and I think that the McCanns did not realise the significance of the flowers in Portugal. The red carnations are the symbol of the 25th of April 1974 when the fascist dictatorship was overthrown in a military coup. They stand for the values of the revolution: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, unions, political parties, free elections, equality for women, etc. The red carnations were brought by the supporters of Gonçalo Amaral and those fighting for freedom of expression.

That made me laugh, at a time when I thought I was past laughing at what these people have been allowed to do

the one and only big_l wrote:

The Famous Grouse wrote:In Scotland, you don't give white and red flowers together. It signifies "blood and bandages".

so does a glasgow kiss FG

Kazlux

Meant to thank you for posting that Report, I"m incensed that the McCanns are wasting yet more Fund money
on hiring a PR guy to create a good image of them so the Portugese would like them, he must have been the
big guy walking with them. However, if WE can be incensed at their greed and arrogance, think how the
Portugese must be feeling. Improve the McCanns image????? You know that old saying"you can"t make a silk purse out of a sow"s ear."

Beattie: ... what are we going to do if there is no Trial????????

There are two major reasons why the McCanns are fighting Dr. Amaral and his book so vindictively which have had very little or no previous consideration.

The first is that yes, they want to stop the book being published in the UK in order to keep the British public and media on side but, they must also always be conscious of the danger that somebody who has previously not been following this affair closely might just read the book and suddenly remember something. The apparent fixation of the McCanns with their constant repetition that "somebody out there knows something" is not coincidental or a public relations phrase and it doesn't have to be someone who knows something to their advantage; it could be something which helps to reveal their part in whatever happened. It is quite possible that someone from the UK may have been holidaying in Portugal that week; they may have been staying somewhere else and just driven through, or seen something which didn't register as being important at the time or even now. Imagine if they read Dr. Amaral's book and there was something in it which jogged their memory or a question which Dr. Amaral cannot resolve suddenly made something clear to them. These things can happen "out of the blue" so to speak. IMO this preys constantly on the McCanns' minds.

The second reason is that Mccanns cannot allow Madeleine to be pronounced dead for the simple reason that if she were to be pronounced dead a coroner's inquest in the UK would be mandatory and the whole thing would be examined in a court with witnesses under oath. This is something the McCanns wish to avoid at all costs. That is why IMO the body will never be found and they know it, but people can still be pronounced dead and others convicted of a crime, without a body. The problem for McCanns is Dr. Amaral possibly being able to prove that Madeleine died in the apartment. They must have got the shock of their lives when they found out who Dr. Amaral has lined up as witnesses.

"What are we going to do if there is no Trial???????? Oh there's going to be a trial one way or the other IMO. These people are not going to get away with whatever they've done, but initially perhaps it will be via an inquest in the UK followed by a criminal trial in Portugal.

T4Two

I think they have bitten off more than they can chew bringing this suit against Amaral and must be nervous now
they have seen the list of his Witnesses, surprised he has not included Stuart Prior who apparently said 15 of
19 markers would have been sufficient in the U.K. for a charge to be made. However, the PD Files show he was very friendly with the Tapas 9 .

It still seems fishy to me that Cabrita"s Secretary was diagnosed with Swine Flu the day before the Hearing and
suggest the postponement gives Amaral a chance to sell his new book which will fly off the shelves now. The
postponement gives the McCann Team more time to regroup and rethink their strategy knowing now that the
Trial, if it takes place will not be the walkover they thought. In the meantime the Fund is rapidly running out of
money and I suspect will be wound up soon after the next accounts to 31/1/10 are published, so where do they
get the money to pay for this Trial ?