What the papers say - Amaral V McCanns trial

http://www.publico.clix.pt/Sociedade/ka ... al_1417518

Casal britânico assistiu a audiência no Palácio da Justiça de Lisboa

Kate e Gerry McCann contra Gonçalo Amaral

12.01.2010 - 23:29 Por Paula Torres de Carvalho

Kate e Gerry McCann assistiram hoje, no Palácio da Justiça de Lisboa, à primeira audiência onde se vai decidir se se vai manter a providência cautelar requerida pelos McCann para retirar do mercado o livro do ex-inspector da Polícia Judiciária, Gonçalo Amaral, com o nome “A Verdade da Mentira”.

Ao defender que os McCann ocultaram o cadáver da filha que terá morrido no apartamento da Praia da Luz, na sequência de um acidente, este ex investigador da PJ que liderou a investigação em Portimão, ofende o seu bom nome, consideram os pais da menina inglesa que desapareceu, no Algarve, em 2007.

Por isso, exigiram que o livro fosse imediatamente retirado das livrarias e pedem a Amaral uma indemnização de 1,2 milhões de euros por declarações que consideram difamatórias. O procedimento cautelar inclui também um vídeo comercializado depois de um documentário exibido na TVI.

Chegados de Inglaterra assistiram, silenciosos, na primeira fila de bancos corridos, à audiência que se prolongou por todo o dia. De vez em quando, as pessoas a seu lado, pareciam esclarecê-los sobre o que se dizia, mas apesar da sessão decorrer sem tradutor, o casal aparentou estar a seguir tudo atentamente.

A audiência possibilita a Gonçalo Amaral defender-se, apresentando oposição relativamente aos argumentos utilizados por Kate e Gerry para requerer a proibição da comercialização do livro.

Mais de 20 jornalistas, muitos, britânicos, aguardaram à porta da sala de audiências da 7ª vara, no Palácio da Justiça. Como é proibida a recolha de imagens e de som no interior, dezenas de repórteres de imagem concentraram-se à porta principal do edifício, resguardando-se da chuva forte e protegendo câmaras e microfones. Um aparato que aguçou a curiosidade de quem entrava àquela hora da manhã.

“Mas o que é que se passa?” pergunta, surpreendida, uma funcionária do tribunal, enquanto ia entrando.

O início da audiência estava marcado para as 9h45 mas os jornalistas e os poucos elementos do público tiveram ainda de aguardar até às dez para entrar na sala, depois de revistados por dois polícias. A sessão só começa, porém, mais de meia hora depois, quase uma hora e meia após o previsto.

Ninguém, contudo, ficaria a saber porquê. Sorridente, a jovem juíza, Maria Gabriela Cunha Rodrigues, entrou na sala e deu início à audiência, sem explicações acerca do atraso. Face a um protesto entre dentes de um dos presentes, outro perguntou, admirado: “Mas os tribunais, não é sempre assim?”

Sete advogados representaram a editora Guerra & Paz, a produtora Valentim de Carvalho e a TVI, além do ex inspector. Depois de se pronunciarem sobre requerimentos e documentos, ditando para a acta, inicia-se a parte “penosa”, segundo a juíza, de ouvir, através de vídeo-conferência, directamente de Portimão, o procurador que foi titular do inquérito, Magalhães e Menezes.

“Não se importa de falar mais alto?” perguntou a juíza, percebendo-se porque se referiu como “penosa” à audição. “Eu estou a falar mesmo junto ao microfone”, respondeu o procurador.

Magalhães e Menezes não leu o livro de Gonçalo Amaral. Também não se lembra de alguns pormenores do processo, nomeadamente do conteúdo de despachos que assinou. Mas reafirmou as conclusões do despacho de arquivamento do Ministério Público, com que a advogada dos McCann, Isabel Duarte, o confrontou. Exibindo a capa do livro junto do monitor, a advogada pediu-lhe que analisasse o título e queria saber: “Este livro procura provar como verdade o que considera ser mentira no inquérito?”

O procurador concordou e lembrou também, tal como se afirma no despacho de arquivamento, que a verdade é que não se sabe o que aconteceu a Maddie e há um “conjunto de crimes”, entre os quais o rapto e o homicídio, que “permanecem em aberto”. Podem ser imputados a Kate e Gerry McCann?, pergunta Isabel Duarte. “Não”, considera Magalhães e Menezes.

Era então a vez de António Cabrita, advogado de Gonçalo Amaral, inquirir as testemunhas. Inspectores da PJ que trabalharam com Gonçalo Amaral no processo: Tavares de Almeida, Ricardo Paiva e o coordenador de investigação criminal, Luis Neves. “O facto de alguém opinar que a Maddie está morta impede o prosseguimento das investigações?” Todos acham que não. E acham também que as diligências relatadas no livro por Amaral “têm sustentáculo no processo”, nota Luis Neves. E mencionam ainda os motivos principais que levaram com que os McCann fossem considerados suspeitos e constituídos arguidos: O facto de os cães terem farejado odor a cadáver e a sangue no apartamento e o resultado de um relatório de análises realizadas a vestígios.

Foi altura para recordar momentos chave da investigação mencionados pelo ex inspector no seu livro: a acção dos cães transportados dos Estados Unidos e treinados a farejar sangue e odor a cadáver, as análises aos vestígios, a inspecção ao local do desaparecimento, a cooperação entre os elementos das polícias britânica e portuguesa. Momento também para confrontar diferentes pontos de vista e conclusões sobre os indícios e provas existentes.

Polémica que subsiste, meses após o caso ter sido encerrado e cuja possibilidade de reabertura dependerá agora da existência de novos dados suficientemente credíveis, uma ideia várias vezes repetida pelo procurador.

O dado mais objectivo, até agora, é que o processo foi arquivado por absoluta falta de elementos que apontem para o que realmente terá acontecido a Madeleine McCann.

A inquirição de mais testemunhas prossegue nas audiências marcadas para amanhã e depois.
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Poor translation but perhaps better than nothing.
Please, if you can do it better, please do.

British couple attended a hearing at the Court House in Lisbon

Kate and Gerry McCann contra Gonçalo Amaral

12/01/2010 - 23:29 By Paula Torres de Carvalho

Kate and Gerry McCann attended today at the Palace of Justice in Lisbon for the first hearing which will decide if it will keep the injunction requested by the McCanns to withdraw the book from the former Inspector of Judicial Police, Gonçalo Amaral, the name "True Lies."

In arguing that the McCanns hid the body of the daughter who have died in the apartment in Praia da Luz, in the aftermath of an accident, the former PJ researcher who led the investigation in Lagos, offends his good name, considering the parents of British girl who disappeared in the Algarve, in 2007.

Therefore demanded that the book was immediately withdrawn from the bookstores and ask Amaral compensation of 1.2 million euros for statements that they consider defamatory. The trial process also includes a video marketed after a documentary broadcast on TVI.

Arrived from England watched, silent, in the first row of benches, the audience that lasted throughout the day. Occasionally, people at his side, seemed to enlighten them about what was said, but despite the ongoing session without a translator, the couple appeared to be following it closely.

The hearing allows the Gonçalo Amaral to defend and display opposition to the arguments used by Kate and Gerry to seek a ban of the book.

More than 20 journalists, many British, waited at the door of the courtroom of the 7th pole at the Palace of Justice. How is prohibited the collection of images and sound inside, dozens of reporters focused image to the main door of the building, although it was heavy rain and protect cameras and microphones. An apparatus that piqued the curiosity of those who came early in the morning.

"But what is going on?" Asks, surprised, an official of the court, as he entered.

The beginning of the hearing was scheduled for 9:45 but journalists and the few members of the public still had to wait until ten to enter the room, after police searched for two. The session does not begin, however, more than half an hour later, almost an hour and a half after the set.

However, no one would know why. Smiling, the young judge, Maria Gabriela Cunha Rodrigues, entered the room and opened the hearing without explanation about the delay. Faced with a protest between the teeth of one of these, another asked, surprised: "But the courts is not always like that?"

Seven lawyers represented the publisher War & Peace, the producer Valentim de Carvalho and TVI, and the former inspector. After being heard on applications and documents, dictating to the minutes, starts with the "painful," the judge said, to hear, through video conferencing directly from Portimão, the attorney who started the investigation, and Magellan Menezes.

"He does not care to speak louder?" Asked the judge, perceiving themselves as they referred to as "painful" to the hearing. "I'm talking right next to the microphone," said the prosecutor.

Magalhães e Menezes did not read the book of Gonçalo Amaral. Also do not remember some details of the process, including the contents of the orders he signed. But it reaffirmed the conclusions of the decision to file the public prosecution, and that the lawyer for the McCanns, Isabel Duarte, confronted him. Viewing the book cover to the monitor, the lawyer asked him to examine the title and wondered, "This book seeks to prove as true what he considers to be untrue by the investigation?"

The prosecutor agreed and also noted, as stated in the order of filing, the truth is that no one knows what happened to Maddie and there is a "set of crimes, including kidnapping and murder, which" remain in open. Can be attributed to Kate and Gerry McCann? Asks Isabel Duarte. "No," believes Magalhães e Menezes.

It was then the turn of António Cabrita, Gonçalo Amaral's lawyer, examine witnesses. PJ inspectors who worked with Gonçalo Amaral in the process: Tavares de Almeida, Ricardo Paiva and coordinator of criminal investigation, Luis Neves. "The fact that someone opine that Maddie is dead prevents the continuation of the investigation?" Everyone thinks not. And think also that the steps reported in the book by Amaral "are mainstay in the" notes Luis Neves. And also mention the main reasons that led to the McCanns that they were considered suspects and defendants made: The fact that dogs have sniffed the body odor and blood in the apartment and the result of a report of tests on traces.

It was time to recall key moments of the research cited by the former inspector in his book: the action of the dogs carried the United States and trained to sniff blood and body odor, the analysis of traces, inspecting the site of the disappearance, cooperation between elements of the British and Portuguese police. Time also to compare different viewpoints and conclusions on the evidence and present evidence.

Controversy that lives on, months after the case has been closed and reopened the possibility of which now depend on the existence of new evidence sufficiently credible, an idea often repeated by the prosecutor.

The most objective, so far, is that the case was dismissed for lack of evidence pointing to what really happened to Madeleine McCann.

The hearing continues for more witnesses at hearings scheduled for tomorrow and after.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... hears.html

Police Inspector Ricardo Paiva, who acted as a liason between the McCanns and Portuguese police in the days following their daughter’s disappearance told the court he had received the phone call in late July 2007.
“Kate called me, she was alone as Gerry was away and she was crying,” he said. “She said she had dreamt that Madeleine was on a hill and that we should search for her there.
“She gave the impression that she thought she was dead – it was a turning point for us.”

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/vie ... by-police-

The McCanns' lawyer, Isabel Duarte, challenged this claim, arguing that the sniffer dog results did not constitute proof and were not allowed as evidence in the case.

Mr Amaral's lawyers are also seeking evidence from a British policeman, Metropolitan Police Detective Sergeant Jose De Freitas, who was seconded to Leicestershire Police to help with the British end of the investigation.

Love this bit in the Express.....

He said Portuguese police investigated whether they could launch a fraud inquiry to protect the £2million in the fund.

But they abandoned the idea after it became apparent they had no jurisdiction – as the fund was held in the UK.

He said: “There was a discussion with the British police about the fund because we couldn’t understand its purpose. We were concerned that there was a fraud being carried out. We asked our British colleagues about it and were told it would be very complicated.

Gonçalo Amaral in Court: Witnesses defend that book results from the Investigation
13 January 2010 | Posted by Joana Morais Leave a Comment

The defense witnesses sustained this Tuesday, at the trial about the prohibition of the book "Maddie - The Truth of the Lie" that the thesis of the former PJ Inspector Gonçalo Amaral regarding the McCann couple involvement in their daughter's disappearence resulted from the police investigation.

At the first trial of the action brought by the McCann family against Gonçalo Amaral, that took place at the Palácio of Justiça in Lisbon, the four witnesses argued that the theory of former agent does not affect nor prevent any investigation for the discovery of a live Madeleine.

The first to refute the arguments of Kate and Gerry McCann, who were present at the session, was the prosecutor of Portimão Magalhães e Menezes, who, via video conference, said that the thesis that the "child was dead was one of the options originally put forward by the PJ" which led to "the constitution of the English couple as arguidos".

The holder of the investigation to the disappearance of British child, on May 3 2007, stated that it "remained in open the thesis of the crime of homicide and cadaver concealment for not knowing what had happened to the child" and stressed that "nothing in the investigation evidenced that the McCann couple had committed any crime", which lead to the archival.

Inspector Tavares de Almeida, who participated in the investigation, reported the police work with the two dogs used to detect human blood and cadaver odour in the apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve, where the child had been on vacation with her twins and parents, and in the car rented by Kate and Gerry.

He stated that in the investigation they "always talked about accidental death". Tavares de Almeida stressed that "all the actions were recorded, with image and sound", and he added that at that time the suspicions of the crime of hiding a corpse and simulation of an abduction were fundamented.

These conclusions were reproduced in a book written by Gonçalo Amaral, whose prohibition of the sale was ordered temporarily on the 9 September 2009, in the scope of a main action claim for the protection of freedoms, rights and guarantees of the McCann family.

"Gonçalo Amaral does not usurp the investigation conclusions, because they come from investigation", said Tavares de Almeida.

In his turn, the PJ inspector Ricardo Paiva, the liaison police officer to the English police, and later on to the McCann family, said "The thesis of the book of Gonçalo Amaral is the investigation" and ensured that there was "no intention" of the book author "to harm the couple".

Finally, the top coordinator of the Criminal Investigation and PJ national director of the Unit for Combating Banditry assured that the contents described in the book "are facts that were filmed and described and that are in the process".

Nunes das Neves went on to say that the thesis of the Madeleine's death was "one of the hypothesis assumed by Kate".

However, he acknowledged that "There is no evidence to support" the death of the child, but emphasized "we know how things happened".

The prosecution, through the McCann couple's lawyer, Isabel Duarte, confronted the witnesses with alleged discrepancies in the book, like a walk during which an Irish couple reported seeing a man carrying a child in his arms, moving towards the beach, in the day of the disappearance.

"The book is full of inferences and deductions", said Isabel Duarte, at the end of the hearing, which continues on Wednesday with the questioning of defense witnesses.

In addition to Gonçalo Amaral, who led the initial investigation into the disappearance of the British child, in this trial are still concerned the publisher of the book Guerra & Paz, TVI, for having broadcast a documentary film based on the book and the producer Valentim de Carvalho, for having commercialized the DVD of that documentary.

in Lusa News Agency




New criticism of English authorities in the Maddie case

Magalhães e Menezes, the Public Ministry’s prosecutor who archived the Maddie case, said today, Tuesday, that the death thesis is the most likely one to explain Maddie McCann’s disappearance, which doesn’t mean it’s the right one.

The statement was made during the hearing of several members of the Polícia Judiciária, at the Civil Court of Lisbon, during the trial of the injunction that removed the book “The Truth of the Lie” from the market.

During the morning, the defence for the former investigator and author of the book, Gonçalo Amaral, expressed the wish for all witnesses to be questioned while facing a DVD containing the entire 15 to 16 volumes of the whole inquiry and archiving dispatch.

The judge asked the court services to provide for a computer where the DVD can be exhibited, for the witnesses to be confronted with the document.

On his turn, investigator Tavares de Almeida, who has also been summoned within this process, expressed some criticism towards the English authorities, namely concerning the good development of the investigation into the disappearance of the little British girl.

in Jornal de Notícias

Marky wrote:good report, this. god, how much they must want their 850k back.

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/151405

Woweeeeeeeeee

http://www.nu.nl/buitenland/2161053/madeleine-mccann-stierf-in-vakantiewoning.html

'Madeleine McCann stierf in vakantiewoning'
Uitgegeven: 12 januari 2010 21:51
Laatst gewijzigd: 12 januari 2010 21:51

LONDEN - De verdwenen Britse peuter Madeleine McCann is al in de vakantiewoning van haar ouders in het Portugese Praia da Luz in mei 2007 om het leven gekomen.
Dat beweert althans de oorspronkelijke onderzoeksrechter in de zaak, Jose Magalhaes e Menezes.

Dat zou in een rapport staan dat is ondertekend door de toenmalige hoofdinspecteur van de politie, Tavares de Almeide, meldden Britse media dinsdag.
Dat bleek dinsdag in Lissabon tijdens verklaringen in de eerste dag van het proces van de McCanns tegen rechercheur Goncarlo Amaral in Portugal.

Amaral schreef het boek 'A verdade da mentira' oftewel 'De waarheid over de leugen', waarin hij beweert dat het meisje dood is en dat haar ouders haar lichaam ergens hebben verborgen.


Schadevergoeding

Amaral leidde tot oktober 2007 het onderzoek naar de geruchtmakende zaak, die op 3 mei 2007 begon door de verdwijning van het toen 3-jarige meisje. Amaral werd van de zaak gehaald na zijn kritiek op de Britse politie in de media.

De ouders van 'Maddie' eisen 1,2 miljoen euro schadevergoeding en willen dat het boek definiteif wordt verboden. Het proces zal vermoedelijk drie of vier dagen duren.

In september vorig jaar oordeelde de rechtbank al dat het boek uit de handel moest worden genomen en dat Amaral zijn beschuldigingen niet in de openbaarheid mocht herhalen.

http://www.20minutes.fr/article/375858/ ... Maddie.php

actualités générales

La justice s'agite autour de Maddie
Créé le 13.01.10 à 04h18

Enième affaire dans l'affaire. Les époux McCann ont assisté hier à Lisbonne à l'ouverture du procès qui les oppose à Gonçalo Amaral. L'ex-chef de la police de Portimao, qui avait la charge de l'enquête concernant la disparition de leur fille Madeleine McCann, 4 ans, le 3 mai 2007, a depuis été limogé. Et la petite Maddie, dont le visage poupin et les grands yeux bleus ont fait le tour du monde, demeure introuvable.

Pourquoi ce procès ? Il a pour origine la mise en examen des parents de Maddie en septembre 2007. Alors que la fillette reste introuvable, les McCann sont soupçonnés par le responsable de l'enquête de l'avoir accidentellement tuée et d'avoir dissimulé son cadavre. Ils ont depuis été blanchis par la justice et l'enquête classée sans suite. Mais, partisans de la thèse d'un enlèvement, ils n'en éprouvent pas moins une haine tenace pour l'ex-chef de la police qui les a mis en cause dans son livre Maddie, L'enquête interdite (Bourin Editeur). Ils l'attaquent en diffamation et réclament une indemnisation de 1,2 million d'euros. Ils ont déjà obtenu que le livre soit retiré de la vente au Portugal. Aujourd'hui, le couple souhaite aussi que les recherches pour retrouver leur fille reprennent. W

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/58318,peo ... h-cover-up

Portuguese police accuse McCanns of cover-up

Officers support the sacked police chief Amaral, saying Madeleine's parents lied
By Sophie Taylor
LAST UPDATED 7:47 AM, JANUARY 13, 2010 Share



In a court in Lisbon, the parents of Madeleine McCann heard from Portuguese detectives yesterday why their account of their daughter Madeleine being abducted during a holiday on the Algarve in 2007 was never believed by local police officers and why they were declared formal suspects - arguidos - in the investigation.

"She [Madeleine] died in the apartment as a result of a tragic accident and the parents simulated an abduction after failing to care for their children," Tavares de Almeida, a former chief inspector told the court. "These were the conclusions of a police report signed by me on September 10 2007."

Kate and Gerry McCann are in court to challenge the publication of a book, The Truth of The Lie, written by another Algarve detective, Goncalo Amaral, after he was sacked from the Madeleine investigation. He also believes the couple covered up their daughter's death, knowing that they should never have left her alone while they dined with friends.

The book became a bestseller in Portugal when it was published in July 2008 but has been banned temporarily in Britain under a previous court order obtained by the McCanns. The couple are suing Amaral for £1m and seeking a permanent ban, not least because, they say, the claim that Madeleine is dead harms the chances of the public helping to find her.

They contiunue to insist that their daughter was abducted and are convinced that she is alive - somewhere - and that one day the family will be reunited.

But yesterday's hearing made it clear that many of the local police involved in the initial search for Madeleine disbelieved their story from early on.

Tavares de Almeida said: "We have always spoken of a tragic accidental death not homicide. The McCanns did not kill her but they concealed the body."

De Almeida worked under Goncalo Amaral, who was initially in charge of the case. Like Amaral, he was removed form the investigation in September 2007. He told the court that the theory that the McCanns had covered up their daughter's death "wasn't something invented by Amaral... It was a conclusion reached by the team of Portuguese investigators as well as British police."

As the McCanns sat in court, holding hands and occasionally whispering to one another, another police officer explained that a turning point in the investigation came in July 2007, two months after Madeleine's disappearance, when Kate McCann phoned to say she had had a dream and knew where the police should search for Madeleine.

Inspector Ricardo Paiva said: "Kate called me, she was alone as Gerry was away and she was crying. She said she had dreamt that Madeleine was on a hill and that we should search for her there.

"She gave the impression that she thought she was dead it was a turning point for us."

Paiva admitted that he and other officers had been suspicious of the McCanns from the start. "They disobeyed our request to keep quiet about the details of their daughter's disappearance while we conducted our investigation. Instead they turned it into a media circus and that gave rise to some suspicions."

Like Goncalo Amaral, Paiva believes the McCanns should have faced prosecution for leaving their children alone. "They should have been pursued for neglect. People have been arrested for far less even in the UK."

The hearing is expected to last another two days.

http://news.scotsman.com/uk/Madeleine39s-death-was--covered.5976281.jp


Madeleine's death was covered up by McCanns, Portuguese court told

Published Date: 13 January 2010
By Sam Marsden

PORTUGUESE police believed Madeleine McCann died in her family's holiday flat and that her parents faked her abduction, a court has heard.

Kate and Gerry McCann faced former detective Goncalo Amaral across a courtroom yesterday as he tried to overturn a ban on his book that claims their daughter is dead.

One senior detective told the hearing in Lisbon that police made the McCanns arguidos,
or suspects, in the case after concluding Madeleine died accidentally and her parents covered up the death by inventing a kidnapping.

Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida said he believed Madeleine died in her family's apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.

He told the court the main evidence for this was the findings of British police sniffer dogs sent to Portugal to examine the flat.

The McCanns' lawyer, Isabel Duarte, challenged this claim, arguing that the sniffer dog results did not constitute proof and were not allowed as evidence.

Mr and Mrs McCann, both 41, from Rothley, Leicestershire, flew to Portugal on Monday ahead of the trial at Lisbon's main civil court, which is listed for three days.

Mr Amaral is calling a series of senior Portuguese officials involved in the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance as witnesses to support his allegations.

His lawyers argue that the material in his book is contained in the official Portuguese police files for the case, many of which were made public in August 2008.

Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses, the local public prosecutor in the Madeleine investigation, gave evidence via video link.

Asked whether he believed that the little girl was dead, he said it was "50-50".

Mr Amaral's lawyers are also seeking evidence from Metropolitan Police detective Jose De Freitas, who was seconded to Leicestershire Police to help with the British end of the investigation.

Mr and Mrs McCann are not expected to give evidence.

Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing in Praia da Luz on 3 May, 2007 while her parents dined with friends nearby.

Mr and Mrs McCann were made arguidos four months later, but this was lifted when the investigation was shelved in July 2008.

Mr Amaral at first led the Madeleine inquiry, but he was taken off the case in October 2007 after criticising the British police in a newspaper interview.

A spokeswoman for the couple said sitting through the allegations made in yesterday's hearing was painful for them.

"They can feel hurt by these things being repeated," she said.

The McCanns are also seeking £1.08 million in compensation for defamation in separate legal proceedings against Mr Amaral.

Do NOT look at the one by the Daily Mail, it's full of 'disgraced cops' repeating 'lies, slurs and innuendo' oh and 'McCanns agony' complete with a picture the pair of them SMILING as they walk into court!

http://www.correiomanha.pt/noticia.aspx ... DB2468&h=3

13 Janeiro 2010 - 00h30
Justiça: Contestação à providência cautelar sobre ‘A Verdade da Mentira’
“Maddie morreu e pais ocultaram”
A investigação ao desaparecimento de Madeleine McCann, na Praia da Luz, em Maio de 2007, começou como se de um rapto se tratasse. Mas "Kate e Gerry McCann foram constituídos arguidos porque os elementos recolhidos durante a investigação apontavam para morte, simulação de rapto e ocultação do cadáver da criança", garantiu ontem em tribunal o inspector-chefe Tavares de Almeida, um dos investigadores da PJ que teve o caso em mãos até ser afastado – no início de Setembro de 2007 – quando pediu a alteração das medidas de coacção para prisão preventiva "para evitar a sua saída de Portugal".

'Sempre falámos em morte acidental. Até o procurador Magalhães Menezes [titular do processo] acreditava na morte de Maddie, tal como a própria Kate a determinada altura. Mas a PJ não tem poder de acusar e o processo foi arquivado', explicou Tavares de Almeida – perante o casal McCann – na primeira sessão de contestação à providência cautelar que proibiu a venda do livro do ex-inspector da PJ Gonçalo Amaral ‘A Verdade da Mentira’.

'Os cães detectaram sangue e odor a cadáver no apartamento e no carro alugado. E tudo o que foi recolhido foi em conjunto com elementos do laboratório de Birmingham para não haver discrepâncias. Mas, por incrível que pareça, depois de o primeiro resultado ter mostrado que 15 em 19 alelos da amostra de ADN de Madeleine coincidiam, vieram dizer que tinham contaminado as amostras', acusou Tavares de Almeida.

A tese de morte e ocultação do cadáver foi defendida também pelo inspector Ricardo Paiva, que foi oficial de ligação entre a PJ e a família britânica. 'Partilho da afirmação de Gonçalo Amaral no livro. Maddie morreu, provavelmente num acidente trágico, e todos os indícios apontam para que os pais tenham ocultado o cadáver', afirmou.

A tese foi defendida pelo director da Unidade Nacional de Contra-Terrorismo, Luís Neves – 'a simulação de rapto, ocultação de cadáver e morte acidental são hipóteses' – e pelo procurador Magalhães e Menezes – 'é mais provável que a criança esteja morta'.

Tanto Gonçalo Amaral como Isabel Duarte, advogada dos McCann, manifestaram satisfação à saída da 7.ª Vara Cível de Lisboa.

TESE DISCUTIDA

Em julgamento está a tese defendida por Gonçalo Amaral – que acusa Kate e Gerry de responsabilidade na morte, simulação de rapto e ocultação de cadáver. O casal acusa o ex-inspector de difamação e pede uma indemnização de 1,2 milhões de euros.

VIGILÂNCIA INGLESA ATRAPALHA INVESTIGAÇÃO

'Havia elementos ingleses cá, incógnitos. Fomos alvo de vigilância e altamente controlados pelas autoridades inglesas', acusou Tavares de Almeida. 'E a colaboração oficial era à medida das autoridades anglo-saxónicas. Por exemplo, quando solicitámos informação de Inglaterra, ainda durante a investigação à tese de rapto, ela nunca chegou', reforça. Já Ricardo Paiva explicou que estiveram envolvidas três agências britânicas – Polícia de Leicester, MPIA e Scotland Yard – e que muitas das diligências foram sugeridas por estas.


Translations (passages):

...The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, in Praia da Luz in May 2007, began as if it were a kidnapping. But "Kate and Gerry McCann were made defendants because the evidence gathered during the investigation pointed to death, simulated rape and concealment of the corpse of the child"...

... Even the prosecutor Magalhaes Menezes believed in the death of Maddie, as Kate's own at some point. But PJ has no power to impeach and the case was filed, "said Tavares de Almeida ...

...The dogs detected blood and body odor in the apartment and rental car.
And all that was collected was in conjunction with elements of the laboratory of Birmingham not to be discrepancies.
But oddly enough, after the first results have shown that 15 out of 19 alleles of the DNA sample from Madeleine coincidence came to tell who had contaminated the samples' accused Tavares de Almeida...

..."I share the statement Gonçalo Amaral in the book. Maddie died, probably in a tragic accident, and all signs point to which parents have hidden the body, "he said...

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home ... d-1.998247

Report found Madeleine died in holiday apartment, court told

Helen McArdle

Published on 13 Jan 2010

A report into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, signed off by a Portugese police chief, said she had died in the family’s holiday apartment, a court heard yesterday.

The revelation emerged on the first day of a £1 million libel case brought by the missing girl’s parents, Gerry and Kate McCann against a senior Portugese detective who publicly questioned the couple’s claim that their daughter was abducted by an intruder.

Glasgow-born cardiologist Mr McCann and his wife launched their legal action against Goncalo Amaral, who initially headed the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance, after he alleged in a book he wrote that the couple had concocted the kidnap story as part of an elaborate scam to cover-up the fact that the youngster had died inside the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

The claim in Maddie: The Truth of the Lie, published the following year, was at the centre of evidence led in a Lisbon court yesterday. It gives details of a report signed by former Algarve police chief Tavares De Almeida.

It revealed that Mr de Almeida had put his name to official police documents concluding that Madeleine, who would now be six years old, had died in the Praia da Luz flat.

No-one can be allowed to say that our daughter can’t be found without very good evidence
Gerry McCann

The decision to designate the McCanns “arguidos” – or suspects – in September 2007 was taken by police after sniffer dogs brought to Portugal from the UK had carried out their searches, it was heard.

Mr de Almeida told the court that the dogs identified blood and the smell of a human body inside the dining room of the holiday flat and in the car the McCanns were using. One of the dogs was in a nervous, excitable state, and wanted to get into the room, according to a report by British police, said Mr de Almeida.

The animals also found a scent on a piece of cloth in a flat rented by the McCanns after they left the apartment.

Mr de Almeida accused both the British authorities and British police of hindering the investigation by withholding information.

Earlier, the lawyer in charge of the original inquiry into Madeleine’s disappearance, Jose Magalhaes e Menezes, revealed that Portuguese police had intercepted text messages exchanged between Gerry and Kate McCann in the days following their daughter’s disappearance in a bid to determine whether the parents’ were involved. Their arguido status was lifted when the investigation was shelved in July 2008.

Mr McCann and Kate McCann, a GP, both 41, are seeking €1.2m (£1.08m) in damages from Mr Amaral and a ban on the book.

A Portuguese judge granted an injunction in September last year preventing further sale or

publication of the book, and prohibited the former policeman from repeating his claims about Madeleine or her parents.

The couple flew to Lisbon on Monday ahead of the trial at the main civil court in the Portuguese capital. Proceedings are expected to last at least three days.

Mr McCann said: “No-one can be allowed to say that our daughter can’t be found without very good evidence. That’s what this court case is about.”

Mr Amaral first led the inquiry into Madeleine’s disappearance for Portugal’s CID, the Policia Judiciaria (PJ), but came in for criticism over his handling of the investigation.

He was taken off the case in October 2007 after launching attacks against the British police in a newspaper interview.

The former detective’s legal team is expected to argue that the material in his controversial book is already contained in

the official Portuguese police files for the case, many of which were made public in August 2008.

Reports in Portugal suggested Mr Amaral plans to call a number of senior figures involved in the Madeleine investigation as witnesses.

They could include Guilhermino Encarnacao, director of the PJ in the Algarve when the child vanished, and the British policeman who was seconded to Leicestershire Police to help with the British end of the investigation, Detective Sergeant Jose De Freitas,

http://www.anorak.co.uk/236068/madelein ... ories.html

Madeleine McCann: Amaral’s Diamond, Dead In A Dream And Four Theories


MADDIE WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann, Kate McCann and Gerry McCann: Maddie ‘died’ in the family apartment; Maddy was lying on a hillside, Kate McCann’s “agony” and Amaral’s wearing a diamond earring…

Goncalo Amaral says any ban on his book, Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie, is against his freedom of speech. The book says Madeleine McCann died in the family apartment. The McCanns says this is not so - she was abducted. She want libel damages.

The news:

Daily Express (front page): “MADDIE ‘DIED’ IN APARTMENT”

Portuguese police chief’s amazing claim to court ion £1m McCann libel case

Claim. Not fact. Do the police deal in claims? Do the courts?

MADELEINE McCann died in her family’s holiday apartment as the result of a tragic accident and her parents concealed her body, a police chief told a court in Portugal yesterday.

So they were made “arguidos”. But the McCanns are no longer arguidos. Because – get this – the above was a theory. No fact.

One officer even claimed that Portuguese police changed their inquiry from a missing person search to a murder investigation after Kate told him she had a nightmare and had seen Madeleine’s body lying on a hillside.

Can a dream be a fact?

The Sun calls it a “sick claim” delivered in a “courtroom outburst”. Back in the Express:

He said: “The conclusion that was arrived at was that Madeleine McCann died at the apartment and the McCann couple simulated the abduction to hide the fact that they had not taken care of their children.

Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida told the court that he believed the couple, from Rothley, Leicestershire, were directly involved in Madeleine’s disappearance – a theory he said was shared by Portuguese and British officers working on the case.

“There was a tragic accident in the apartment that night and they neglected the care of their children. It was the conclusion of both Portuguese and British police. We have always spoken of a tragic accidental death. There was no homicide.”

Adding:

Asked if he thought Madeleine was dead, Mr de Almeida replied: “Yes. She is dead. It was not only the police who believed this but the public prosecutor. The McCanns did not kill her but they concealed the body.”

The Scotsman:

(He told the court the main evidence for this was the findings of British police sniffer dogs sent to Portugal to examine the flat. The McCanns’ lawyer, Isabel Duarte, challenged this claim, arguing that the sniffer dog results did not constitute proof and were not allowed as evidence.)

Let’s stick to the facts:

After a tense opening, their spokeswoman confirmed that the couple found listening to the allegations very painful. She said: “I think it is hurting them. They can feel hurt by these things being repeated again and again and again. However, they know what really happened so they are confident. They just want to find their daughter.”

Daily Mirror (front page): “MADDY DREAM MAKE KATE A SUSPECT”

Just weeks after Madeleine McCann vanished, sobbing mum Kate rang the Portuguese detective appointed to look after her to tell of a horrific dream in which she had seen her daughter’s dead body.

Distraught Kate said Madeleine had been lying on a hillside overlooking the beach at Praia da Luz. She begged Inspector Ricardo Paiva to search the spot.
And..?

Astonishingly, rather than inspiring pity at a desperate mother’s plight, the incident sparked only suspicion in the minds of the officers who were supposed to be hunting Madeleine and her abductor.

Is that astonishing? The Sun is astonished:

KATE McCann had a dream in which she saw the body of missing daughter Madeleine on a hillside above their holiday resort, a court heard yesterday.

And after she told Portuguese cops of the nightmare, they became convinced the little girl had been KILLED rather than abducted.

That might be because Kate McCann “had seen her daughter’s dead body.”

The McCanns’ Portuguese police liaison officer Inspector Ricardo Paiva is on the stand:

But the detective admitted the police had been suspicious of the McCanns from the start - simply because they had tried to give the stalled hunt for Madeleine some much-needed momentum.

So it wasn’t the dream that make Kate McCann a person of interest to the Portuguese police – it was the fact that she was the moth of the missing child.

He added: “They disobeyed our request to keep quiet about the details of their daughter’s disappearance while we conducted our investigation. Instead, they turned it into a media circus.”

They didn’t do that alone - someone who worked on the case actually wrote a book.

Let’s stick to the facts:

Kate regularly shook her head in frustration. Gerry remained grim-faced.

Kate. Gerry. Not Mr and Mrs McCann. We are not looking at a trial in a foreign country – a trial that investigates whether freedom of speech has its limits. We are just watching the parents of the missing girl.

The Sun (front page): Maddie is dead and you hid her

Antonella Lazzeri delivers “His smiles, their pain”, telling readers that Kate McCann is

“Stroking a photo of Maddie tied to her handbag, Kate McCann”. She looks “tearfully down to the floor, horror-stricken… she flinched when the cop said of Madeleine in a loud and stark voice ‘She is dead’

Goncalo Amaral “smiled”.., “he diamond in his left ear glittering in the courtroom’s lights.”

Daily Star (front page): “Madeleine died inside apartment’”

Kate inched closer to her husband in the public gallery of the Palace of Justice in Lisbon as the officer gave his verdict.

A verdict? It was a claim not long ago.

District Attorney Jose Menezes, who handled the case, said there had been no evidence to charge the McCanns with any crime.

But he believed they neglected their children, and lied about how often they checked on them during a meal with pals at a tapas bar the night Madeleine disappeared. He said four possibilities of what happened to the youngster remain – kidnap, child-trafficking, homicide or her body was hidden after an accidental death.

Now we’re getting somrwhere. Only four theories.

Meanwhile in court:

Mrs McCann wearing a dark coloured floral dress sat impassively in the front row of the court room beside her husband. The pair held hands and exchanged occasional whispers and nods as they were passed notes by interpreters informing them of court proceedings, which were carried out in Portuguese.

Mr Amaral, dressed in a dark suit and purple tie, was seated at the bench beside his legal team, fifteen feet away from the couple. He spent much of the proceedings with his eyes closed avoiding the direct gaze of the McCanns.

More fact sin the Mail, where Kate’s “agony” is headline news. And we learn that, “Mr and Mrs McCann [are] both doctors”.

A child is missing. One fact.

http://sic.sapo.pt/online/noticias/pais ... amento.htm

Publicação: 13-01-2010 08:18 | Última actualização: 13-01-2010 08:18

Prossegue julgamento do livro de Gonçalo Amaral sobre o caso Maddie

A segunda sessão do julgamento da providência cautelar sobre a proibição de venda do livro de Gonçalo Amaral "Maddie - A Verdade da Mentira" realiza-se hoje, com a audição de mais quatro testemunhas de defesa.

Madeleine McCann
A menina britânica desapareceu na Praia da Luz, em Lagos, na noite de 3 de Maio de 2007 Na audiência, com início previsto para as 9h30 no Palácio da Justiça, em Lisboa, serão ouvidos o ex-inspector da PJ Moita Flores, o criminalista José Manuel Anes, o jornalista Eduardo Dâmaso, Luís Barreiros Sintra, Mário Sena Lopes, ex-funcionário da Guerra & Paz, também visada no processo, e Tânia Raposo, responsável pela editora.

Estas testemunhas juntam-se às quatro ouvidas na terça-feira, na primeira sessão do julgamento, em que a defesa de Gonçalo Amaral, ex-inspector da Polícia Judiciária (PJ), apresentou oposição à argumentação de Kate e Gerry McCann.

O casal britânico está desde segunda-feira em Portugal, depois de a 11 de Dezembro passado ter comparecido no Palácio da Justiça para a primeira sessão do julgamento, adiada para 12 de Janeiro por doença do advogado de Gonçalo Amaral, António Cabrita.

Fonte da família inglesa disse à agência Lusa que Gerry assiste às sessões do julgamento de hoje e de quarta-feira, viajando depois para Inglaterra, enquanto a mulher ficará em Lisboa, para comparecer à audiência de quinta-feira.

No processo, a família McCann alega que o livro "Maddie - A Verdade da Mentira" e o vídeo com o mesmo título, baseado no documentário exibido na TVI, divulgam a tese de Gonçalo Amaral, considerada por eles insustentável, de envolvimento dos pais de Madeleine no seu desaparecimento.

A seu pedido, a advogada do casal, Isabel Duarte, requereu ao tribunal a retirada do mercado, embora com carácter provisório, do livro e do vídeo, decisão decretada a 09 de Setembro de 2009.

A este processo, em que além do ex-agente da PJ são visadas a editora "Guerra & Paz", a produtora Valentim de Carvalho e a TVI, por divulgação da tese de Gonçalo Amaral, está anexa a acção principal, em que a família McCann reclama protecção de direitos, liberdades e garantias.

Os pais da criança inglesa desaparecida em 03 de Maio de 2007 do quarto de um apartamento num aldeamento turístico na Praia da Luz, no Algarve, apresentaram outra acção contra Gonçalo Amaral, com a acusação de declarações consideradas difamatórias, na qual pedem uma indemnização de, pelo menos, 1,2 milhões de euros.

No âmbito deste processo, foi pedida uma medida cautelar de arresto de bens, concretizada parcialmente e a aguardar cumprimento de diligências para a sua conclusão.

O livro "Maddie - A Verdade da Mentira" foi publicado em 2008 e lança a suspeita de que os pais da criança inglesa, que se encontrava de férias com os pais e os irmãos na Praia da Luz, terão participado na ocultação do cadáver.

Na qualidade de coordenador do Departamento de Investigação Criminal da PJ de Portimão, Gonçalo Amaral integrou a equipa de investigadores que tentou apurar o que aconteceu a Madeleine.

Kate e Kerry McCann, que sempre mantiveram a posição de que Maddie foi raptada, foram constituídos arguidos em Setembro de 2007, mas acabaram por ser ilibados em Julho de 2008 por falta de provas para sustentar a hipótese avançada pelo inquérito de morte acidental da menina.

O Ministério Público arquivou o processo, que poderá ser sempre reaberto se surgirem novos dados considerados consistentes sobre o desaparecimento da criança.

Lusa

Translation (only parts of the text)

...At the hearing, scheduled to start about 9:30 in the Courthouse in Lisbon, will be heard the former PJ inspector Moita Flores, the investigator José Manuel Anes, journalist Eduardo Damasus, Luis Barreiros Sintra, Mario Sena Lopes, a former official of the War & Peace, also referred to the process, and Tania Raposo, responsible publisher...

...A source told the Lusa that Gerry attends the trial today and Wednesday, then traveling to England, while his wife will be in Lisbon to attend the hearing on Thursday...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... hears.html

Madeleine McCann's death 'covered up by parents who faked kidnap', court hears

Madeleine McCann died in an accident in her family's Algarve holiday apartment and her death was covered up by her parents who then concocted a tale of kidnap, a Portuguese court was told.

Published: 10:30PM GMT 12 Jan 2010

Kate and Gerry McCann, both 41, were in court to hear how the detectives leading the investigation into their daughter’s disappearance believed they had lied to hide the truth.

“She died in the apartment as a result of a tragic accident and the parents simulated an abduction after failing to care of their children,” Tavares de Almeida, former chief inspector at Portimao police station during the initial months of the investigation, told the court in Lisbon.

“These were the conclusions of a police report signed by me on September 10 2007,” he added.

The allegations against Kate and Gerry McCann, both 41, were presented in court on the first day of a hearing to challenge the publication of a book written by Algarve detective Goncalo Amaral.

Lawyers for the detective, who led the team that made the McCanns arguidos – suspects – in their daughter’s disappearance, called witnesses to support the claims outlined in his book. The McCanns arguido status was lifted after ten months in July 2008 when the Attorney General ruled there was no evidence against them.

The pair, from Rothley, Leics, came face to face with their detractor for the first time since they were officially made argiuidos in September 2007, four months after they daughter vanished days before her fourth birthday.

Mr Amaral, 50, led the initial investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3 2007 while her parents dined with friends at a tapas bar nearby. He was sacked from the case, which remains unsolved.

His book, entitled “The Truth of The Lie”, published in July 2008 claims that Madeleine died in the apartment and questions her parents’ account of events that evening.

It became a bestseller in Portugal selling more than 200,000 copies and went on to be published in six languages and made into a documentary film.

After a year long campaign the McCanns succeeded in getting a temporary injunction banning further sales and it was withdrawn from shelves last September. The couple are suing for libel becuase they believe that the book is damaging the search for their daughter by asserting that she is already dead.

They are expected to ask a judge for around £1million in damages which they will use to pay for their own continuing hunt for their daughter, who they believe was kidnapped and could still be alive and being held somewhere.

Mr de Almeida told the court: “We have always spoken of a tragic accidental death – not homicide. The McCanns did not kill her but they concealed the body,”

Mr de Almeida, who worked under Amaral and was also taken off the case in September 2007, said the decision to designate the McCanns 'arguidos' was made by police after sniffer dogs brought to Portugal from England had carried out their searches.

Giving evidence, Mr de Almeida said that the dogs had identified blood and the scent of a human corpse inside the childrens’ bedroom and the dining room of the McCanns’ holiday flat.

The animals also reacted to traces on a piece of cloth in a villa rented by the McCanns after they left the apartment and in the boot of a rental car hired by the family several weeks after Madeleine disappeared.

Mr de Almeida also complained that Portuguese police efforts to investigate the McCanns had been frustrated by their British counterparts. “We were told that the UK would not accept any investigation of the McCanns – there was a lack of cooperation,” he said.

But later he said that the theory that the parents had covered up Madeleine’s death as outlined in Amaral’s book was one reached by British police on the ground in Portugal too.

“This wasn’t something invented by Amaral,” he insisted. “It was a conclusion reached by the team of Portuguese investigators as well as British police.”

Mrs McCann wearing a dark coloured floral dress sat impassively in the front row of the court room beside her husband. The pair held hands and exchanged occasional whispers and nods as they were passed notes by interpreters informing them of court proceedings, which were carried out in Portuguese.

Mr Amaral, dressed in a dark suit and purple tie, was seated at the bench beside his legal team, fifteen feet away from the couple. He spent much of the proceedings with his eyes closed avoiding the direct gaze of the McCanns.

Tuesday’s court hearing in the Portuguese capital was an opportunity by Mr Amaral to have the temporary injunction against publication of his book overturned. Neither he nor the McCanns will be called to give evidence in the hearing which is expected to last a minimum of three days.

A third witness said the turning point of the investigation came following a tearful call from Mrs McCann who, after a dream, told police where to search for her daughter’s body.

Police Inspector Ricardo Paiva, who acted as a liason between the McCanns and Portuguese police in the days following their daughter’s disappearance told the court he had received the phone call in late July 2007.

“Kate called me, she was alone as Gerry was away and she was crying,” he said. “She said she had dreamt that Madeleine was on a hill and that we should search for her there.

“She gave the impression that she thought she was dead – it was a turning point for us.”

The senior detective said the land was searched but nothing was found. “That is when we decided to send the specialist dogs in. British police informed us about how they could detect the scent of death.”

He admitted that the police had been suspicious of the McCanns from the start of the investigation. “They disobeyed our request to keep quiet about the details of their daughter’s disappearance while we conducted our investigation. Instead they turned it into a media circus and that gave rise to some suspicions.”

He said that the McCanns should have faced prosecution for leaving their children alone. “They should have been pursued for neglect. People have been arrested for far less – even in the UK.”

The case continues.

http://blogs.news.sky.com/lifeofcrime/P ... 25#comment


The Soft Side of Goncalo Amaral?

Martin Brunt January 13, 2010 8:15 AM

* Recommend post (0)

There's a grim mural above the bench which shows a child about to be butchered in the biblical Judgement of Solomon.

Apart from that it's a dull court that offered little relief for those who had to sit there for nearly 10 hours of the opening day of the Amaral v McCann case.

The surly ex-cop Goncalo Amaral treats me and most of the British media like something he's trodden in, but he's a cool operator.

When his mobile went off halfway through the hearing he very slowly reached for his coat and fumbled for the phone until he eventually found it and switched it off.

At least it woke him up. as he had clearly been in danger of dropping off.

I thought his ringtone was a bit of local Fado music, but my Portuguese fixer assures me it was a song that is common enough here.

And it was in English...maybe old grumpy is warming to us after all.

http://www.telecinco.es/informativos/in ... +Madeleine

"Los McCann encubrieron el crimen de la pequeña Madeleine"
Los padres de Maddie y ex inspector luso Amaral vuelven a los tribunales
Gerry y Kate McCann quieren retirar del mercado el libro "La verdad de la mentira"
Goncalo Amaral relaciona a los progenitores con la muerte de la menor en El Algalve
Este miércoles comparece ante el Palacio de Justicia Lisboa el padre de Madeleine
13.01.10 | 10:06 h. INFORMATIVOS TELECINCO / AGENCIAS

Los padres de Madeleine McCann y el que fuera inspector en Portugal cuando desapareció la pequeña en El Algarve, Goncalo Amaral, vuelven a enfrentarse en los tribunales. El martes comenzó en el Palacio de Justicia luso, el juicio por la publicación del libro "Maddie, la verdad de la mentira". En la obra, el mando policial, apartado del caso por la presión, acusaba a los progenitores de la menor de estar detrás de su muerte. Durante la primera sesión de la vista, otros miembros de la policía han sustentado las teorías de Amaral. "Murió en el apartamento tras un trágico accidente, tras ello, los padres simularon un secuestro y encubrieron el crimen". Este miércoles prosigue el proceso con la declaración de Gerry McCann.

Kate y Gerry Mc Cann han retomado el proceso interpuesto contra Amaral con el objetivo de retirar definitivamente del mercado el libro "Maddie, la verdad de la mentira" (2008), después de que un tribunal luso ordenara el pasado septiembre la retirada cautelar de la obra, donde se involucra a los progenitores en el caso.

En la primera sesión del juicio, han estado presenten el matrimonio británico y Amaral, quien ha presentado su defensa a través de la comparecencia de varios testigos, quienes apoyaron las tesis del ex inspector luso.

Algunos antiguos oficiales implicados en el caso, entre ellos el Director Adjunto de la Policía Judiciaria (PJ), Luis Neves, han confirmado estar convencidos de que la niña falleció y que el matrimonio ocultó el cadáver.

Murió en el apartamento tras un trágico accidente, tras ello, los padres simularon un secuestro y encubrieron el crimen", ha asegurado Tavares de Almeida, ex inspector de la comisaría de Portimao.

"Falta de coraje político"

Amaral, en declaraciones a los periodistas después del juicio, ha mostrado su desilusión con el testimonio del fiscal del Ministerio Público que cerró el caso en 2008, ya que declaró que la muerte de la pequeña nunca fue probada.

"Quizá hay falta de coraje político digamos así (...) Hay un proceso con decenas de indicios de hechos, de coincidencias, de diferencias de testimonios", ha argumentado Amaral.

Por su parte, la aboga de los Mc Cann, Isabel Duarte, ha desvelado que los padres de Madeleine están "muy contentos" en cómo se ha desarrollado la primera jornada del juicio al tiempo que ha calificado el libro como una obra "lleno de interferencias y deducciones".

El proceso contra el antiguo policía portugués continua este miércoles con la presencia de Gerry McCann, mientras que Kate, su mujer, se quedará en Lisboa acompañada de una amiga para comparecer en la audiencia del jueves. EPF

http://www.comparecarrentals.com/news/l ... ine-mccann’s-parents-covered-up-her-death-53829791.html

Lisbon court hears how Madeleine McCann’s parents covered up her death

Posted on: January 13th, 2010 by Trevor Lloyd

The parents of Madeleine McCann attended a court hearing yesterday in Lisbon where they heard claims that they had failed to take responsibility for their daughter’s welfare and that after she had died in the couple’s rented apartment they had tried to cover up the accident by fabricating a story about her being abducted. Witnesses were called by the lawyers representing Goncalo Amaral, the inspector leading the investigation into Madeleine’s alleged disappearance, to defend accusations against the couple he makes in a book.

Former chief inspector Tavares de Almeida claims that the investigation into the McCann case led him to believe that Madeleine died after an accident and that her parents then tried to cover up her death. He went on to explain how police sniffer dogs had managed to identify traces of blood in the apartment as well as in the boot of the family’s rental car. He also claimed that the British authorities had hampered the Portuguese investigations by not cooperating. Mr. de Almeida went on to point out that the accidental death and cover up conclusions were not just reached by Portuguese investigators but also by the British police.

The McCanns managed to get Mr. Amaral’s book entitled Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie withdrawn from shelves last September after it had become a best-seller in Portugal. They say they did so because declaring that their daughter was dead was irresponsible and would result in people not continuing to search for her. The pair intend to sue for £1 million in damages. The hearing continues.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... olice.html

Update

Court agony for McCanns: Couple listen in disbelief as Portuguese police say Maddie is dead and abduction was faked

By Vanessa Allen
Last updated at 9:19 AM on 13th January 2010

Comments (13)

Portuguese police convinced themselves Madeleine McCann's parents faked her abduction, despite having no evidence against them, a court was told yesterday.

Officers leading the investigation into the three-year-old's disappearance believed she died in a 'tragic accident' and that her parents hid her body, a senior detective admitted yesterday.

The dramatic confession was made during a tense legal battle in a Portuguese courtroom, played out in front of Kate and Gerry McCann.

After almost three years of leaks, slurs and innuendo, Inspector Tavares Almeida laid bare unsubstantiated police suspicions against the couple.

It was the first time any Portuguese police officer has spoken publicly about the decision to name the McCanns as arguidos, or official suspects.

Mr Almeida said the decision was taken after he filed a damning report to the Portuguese prosecutor in September 2007, four months after Madeleine's disappearance.

'The conclusion arrived at in the report was that Madeleine McCann died in the apartment and that the McCanns simulated the abduction,' he said.

Portuguese police believe Madeleine McCann died in a 'tragic accident' and that her parents hid her body

'So they are suspects. It was a tragic accident in the apartment that night.'

Mr McCann shook his head in disbelief as Mr Almeida gave his evidence on behalf of his former senior officer, disgraced detective Goncalo Amaral.

He put his arm around his wife as they sat in the public gallery of the court.

The couple, both 41, have accused Mr Amaral of libel after he wrote a book accusing them of covering up their daughter's death.

Yesterday's hearing was part of that £1million libel case.

Mr Almeida claimed that British police had also believed the McCanns were involved after Madeleine vanished from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

'We all believe she is dead,' he declared defiantly. 'It was our conclusion as police professionals, both Portuguese and British police. The McCanns didn't kill her but they concealed the body.'

Madeleine vanished from a holiday apartment while her parents ate dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant on May 3, 2007.

The McCanns led a worldwide campaign to find her, but there have been no confirmed sightings.

A second officer, Ricardo Paiva, said Portuguese police were suspicious of the couple's 'merchandising' operation in the months after Maddie disappeared. The Madeleine Fund they set up sold wristbands and T-shirts publicising the case and used the money to support the search.

Mr Paiva said they should have faced prosecution for leaving their children alone, saying: 'People have been arrested for far less - even in the UK.'

Former Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral wrote a book accusing the McCanns of covering up their daughter's death

He admitted that Mr Amaral's conviction about the McCanns' involvement had stopped police from investigating other theories.

But the only evidence the Portuguese police could amass against the McCanns was the reaction of sniffer dogs sent into the couple's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, which smelled 'the scent of death'.

The performance of the dogs has been called into question after they also reacted to remains at Haut de la Garenne orphanage in Jersey, which were later found to be animal bones.

Mr and Mrs McCann, both doctors, were finally cleared when the police investigation was officially shelved because of a lack of evidence.

Mr Amaral, 49, was sacked from the investigation after launching an outspoken attack against British police.

Speaking after the hearing, McCann family spokesman Claudia Nogueira said the couple, of Rothley, Leicestershire, had been 'hurt' by the day's allegations.

She said: 'However, they know what really happened, so they're confident. They just want to find their daughter.'

The case continues.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/1 ... ation-book

McCanns in court to fight book ban appealMadeleine died in family's flat, claims ex-detective as her parents seek €1.2m for defamation in second case
Press Association

Portuguese police believed Madeleine McCann died in her family's holiday flat and that her parents faked her abduction, a court heard today.

Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, faced the former detective Gonçalo Amaral across a courtroom as he tried to overturn a ban on his book, which claims their daughter is dead.

One senior detective told the hearing, in Lisbon, that police made the McCanns "arguidos", or suspects, in the case, after concluding that Madeleine had died accidentally and that her parents covered up her death by inventing a kidnapping.

Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida said he believed the British child had died in her family's apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on the day she went missing. He told the court the main evidence for this was the findings of British police sniffer dogs sent to Portugal to examine the flat. The McCanns' lawyer, Isabel Duarte, challenged this claim, arguing that the results from sniffer dogs did not constitute proof and were not allowed as evidence in the case.

The McCanns, both 41, from Rothley, Leicestershire, flew to Portugal ahead of the trial at Lisbon's main civil court, which is listed for three days.

Amaral is calling a series of senior Portuguese officials involved in the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance as witnesses to support his allegations. His lawyers argue that the material in his book is contained in the official Portuguese police files for the case, many of which were made public in August 2008.

José Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses, the local public prosecutor in the Madeleine investigation, gave evidence via video link. Asked whether he believed the little girl was dead, he said it was "50-50".

Amaral's lawyers were also seeking evidence from a British police officer, Detective Sergeant Jose De Freitas, of the Met, who was seconded to Leicestershire police to help with the British end of the investigation. The McCanns are not expected to give evidence.

Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's rented apartment on 3 May 2007 while her parents dined nearby. Her mother and father were made suspects four months later, but this status was lifted when the investigation was shelved in July 2008. The couple have always strenuously denied involvement in the disappearance of their daughter, whom they believe was abducted.

Amaral initially led the Madeleine inquiry for Portugal's CID, the policia judiciaria (PJ). But he was taken off the case in October 2007 after criticising the British police. In his book Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie, published in July 2008, Amaral claimed Madeleine died in the flat on the night she vanished and questioned the McCanns' account. A Portuguese judge granted the McCanns an injunction in September last year banning further sale or publication of the book. The former police officer was prohibited from repeating his claims about Madeleine or her parents.

The McCanns are also seeking €1.2m (£1.1m) in compensation for defamation in separate legal proceedings against Amaral in Portugal. They have said any damages would go towards paying for private investigators to look for Madeleine.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/01/13/kate-mccann-made-a-suspect-in-maddy-disappearance-after-a-nightmare-115875-21962594/

Kate McCann made a suspect in Maddy disappearance after a nightmare


By Martin Fricker in Lisbon 13/01/2010


Kate McCann was made a suspect over daughter Madeleine’s disappearance simply because she had a nightmare, it was revealed yesterday.

A court in Portugal heard how Kate rang a detective in tears just weeks after Madeleine went missing to tell of a dream in which she saw the little girl’s body lying on a hillside in Praia da Luz.

Inspector Ricardo Paiva said: “It gave the impression she thought Madeleine was dead – it was a turning point for us.” The astonishing revelation came during the McCanns’ libel action against disgraced detective Goncalo Amaral.

He has written a book cruelly accusing them of faking Madeleine’s abduction after she died in a tragic accident in their flat.

The McCanns were in court yesterday and had to endure shameful claims from Amaral’s cronies.

A spokeswoman said afterwards: “It is hurting them, these things repeated again and again.”

‘I dreamed I saw body on hillside’

Just weeks after Madeleine McCann vanished, sobbing mum Kate rang the Portuguese detective appointed to look after her to tell of a horrific dream in which she had seen her daughter’s dead body.

Distraught Kate said Madeleine had been lying on a hillside overlooking the beach at Praia da Luz. She begged Inspector Ricardo Paiva to search the spot.

Astonishingly, rather than inspiring pity at a desperate mother’s plight, the incident sparked only suspicion in the minds of the officers who were supposed to be hunting Madeleine and her abductor.

And yesterday Paiva told a Portuguese court the frantic phone call was the crucial episode that led to both Kate and Gerry becoming suspects. Kate and Gerry sat just yards from Paiva as he gave evidence in their libel trial against disgraced ex-detective Goncalo Amaral.

He said: “The turning point of the investigation came after I received a phone call from Kate. She was alone as Gerry was away and she was crying.

“She said she had had a nightmare and saw Madeleine's body lying on a hillside and we should search for her there. She gave the impression that she thought she was dead.”

Paiva, a family liaison officer, said he took the call at the end of July 2007. Madeleine had vanished on May 3.

Police duly searched the hillside but found no clues.

But Paiva said the call was the catalyst that persuaded Portuguese police to ask their British counterparts to bring in sniffer dogs to examine the McCanns’ flat.

He told the Lisbon court: “We decided to send the specialist dogs in. British police informed us about how they could detect the scent of death.”

But the detective admitted the police had been suspicious of the McCanns from the start – simply because they had tried to give the stalled hunt for Madeleine some much-needed momentum.

He added: “They disobeyed our request to keep quiet about the details of their daughter’s disappearance while we conducted our investigation. Instead, they turned it into a media circus.”

Paiva cruelly even insisted the McCanns should have faced prosecution for leaving their three children alone in the holiday flat while they dined with friends.

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He added: “They should have been pursued for neglect. People have been arrested for far less, even in the UK.”

Kate and Gerry are suing Amaral, who led the early stages of the Madeleine inquiry until he was sacked for criticising British police. They have a worldwide injunction stopping publication of his book Maddie: The Truth of the Lie, which accuses them of faking their daughter’s abduction after she died in their Praia da Luz holiday flat in a tragic accident.

The couple, from Rothley, Leics, listened intently yesterday as more Portuguese officers gave evidence in support of the disgraced ex-policeman.

Kate regularly shook her head in frustration. Gerry remained grim-faced.

But at times it was hard to avoid the feeling that the hearing was more like a trial of the couple than an examination of Amaral’s vicious claims.

At one stage during one outrageous allegation, Gerry put a comforting arm around Kate’s shoulders.

Inspector Tavares De Almeida, who worked under Amaral, bluntly accused the couple of covering up Madeleine’s death. He said: “The conclusion arrived at was Madeleine died in the apartment.

“The McCann couple simulated the abduction to hide the fact they had not taken care of their children.

“They were suspected of concealing the body and simulating the kidnap.

“We have always spoken of a tragic accidental death. There was no homicide.

“They did not kill but they concealed the body.” De Almeida insisted Amaral’s book was “a true history.”

Asked if he believed Madeleine had died on the night she vanished, he replied: “Yes, she is dead.”

He claimed British police agreed. He added: “We all believe she died. It was the conclusion of both Portuguese and British police.”

District attorney Jose Menezes, who gave the go-ahead for the McCanns to be made official suspects, said his officers eventually reached the conclusion Kate and Gerry concealed Madeleine’s body.

He also accused the McCanns of lying about checking on Madeleine and her twin brother and sister every 30 minutes the night she vanished.

Mr Menezes added: “It was longer, like every 45 or 50 minutes. It seems there was a lie in the investigation.” But he also admitted there was no evidence to charge the McCanns conceded it was “Fifty-fifty” whether Madeleine was still alive.

Luis Neves, ex-head of Portugal’s serious crime squad, said a British profiler employed by Portuguese police had given him impression the McCanns were involved in the disappearance.

Another investigator claimed police had evidence of text messages between the couple following Madeleine's disappearance. But they were denied permission to read the contents of the messages by the judge under privacy law.

After yesterday’s session the McCann’s spokeswoman Claudia Nogueira said hearing the allegations had been painful.

She added: “I think it is hurting them. They can feel hurt by these things being repeated again and again and again.

“However, they know what really happened so they are confident. They just want to find their daughter.”

http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/2010/01/maddie-died-and-parents-concealed.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JoanaMorais+%28Joana+Morais%29

13 January 2010 | Posted by astro Leave a Comment



by João C. Rodrigues

The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, in Praia da Luz, in May 2007, started as if it was an abduction. But “Kate and Gerry McCann were made arguidos because the elements that were collected during the investigation pointed towards death, simulation of abduction and concealment of the child’s cadaver”, chief inspector Tavares de Almeida, one of the PJ investigators who held the case until he was removed from it – in early September 2007 – when he requested the change of the coercion measures into preventive custody “to prevent them from leaving Portugal”, said in court yesterday.

“We always spoke about an accidental death. Even prosecutor Magalhães Menezes [holder of the process] believed in Maddie’s death, just like Kate herself, at a given point in time. But the PJ does not have the power to accuse and the process was archived”, Tavares de Almeida explained – in front of the McCann couple – during the first session of the opposition to the injunction that prohibited the sale of former PJ inspector Gonçalo Amaral’s book ‘The Truth of the Lie’.

“The dogs detected blood and cadaver odour in the apartment and in the rented car. And all that was collected was [done] jointly with members of the Birmingham laboratory, in order to avoid any discrepancies. But, as incredible as this may sound, after the first result showed that 15 out of 19 alleles from the sample of Madeleine’s DNA coincided, they came and said that they had contaminated the samples”, Tavares de Almeida accused.

The thesis of death and cadaver concealment was also defended by inspector Ricardo Paiva, who served as the liaison officer between the PJ and the British family. “I share Gonçalo Amaral’s statement in the book. Maddie dies, probably in a tragic accident, and all indications point towards the parents concealing the cadaver”, he stated.

The thesis was defended by the director of the National Counter-Terrorism Unit, Luís Neves – ‘the simulation of abduction, concealment of cadaver and accidental death are possibilities’ – and by prosecutor Magalhães e Menezes – ‘it is more likely that the child is dead’.

English surveillance hampers investigation

“There were English elements here, incognito. We were targeted by surveillance and highly controlled by the English authorities”, Tavares de Almeida accused. “And official cooperation was done at the measure of the Anglo-Saxon authorities. For example, when we requested information from England, still during the investigation into the abduction thesis, it never arrived”, he stresses. Ricardo Paiva explained that three British agencies were involved – Leicester Police, MPIA and Scotland Yard – and that many of the diligences were suggested by them.


source: Correio da Manhã, 13.01.2010

Thanks jjp, very interesting........that"s what you get for putting your head in the Lion"s mouth.

I"m just wondering what Frios, the McCanns Witness will come up with. Apparently he is a Telecommunications
expert, maybe the illegal bugging of the McCanns mobiles.

Beattie wrote:Thanks jjp, very interesting........that"s what you get for putting your head in the Lion"s mouth.

I"m just wondering what Frios, the McCanns Witness will come up with. Apparently he is a Telecommunications
expert, maybe the illegal bugging of the McCanns mobiles.

If that's the best they can come up with........ they'd be better off submitting the details of their calls to prove there was nothing untoward going on.