Tuesday 7 February 2017

McCanns NOT cleared


The sentence of the Supreme Justice Court of the McCann v Amaral Lisbon Trial has today been published on Projecto Justiça Gonçalo Amaral (PGJA) here.

We are waiting for the translation of the document that is being done there, which we here would like to immediately show our gratitude for.

However, we would like to share with our readers something in the sentence that was invoked by the plaintiffs:


“And this because, as the appellants say in the conclusions of the allegations of the appeal, besides being absolutely innocent and cleared, by the archival dispatch of the crime-process, also have the right to benefit from the principle of innocence?” (page 68 of sentence)

The Supreme Justice Court had this to say about that:


“It should be added that we are before an archival decision by the Public Ministry, which is liable of change by many ways.

As such, besides appealing via jurisdiction, through the opening of an instruction (CPP art.287º), and to making a claim to the higher hierarchy (CPP art. 378º), the inquiry can be reponed if new elements of proof appear that invalidate the grounds invoked by the Public Ministry in the archival dispatch (CPP art. 279º)-

Besides, that is said in the “Note to the Media” disclosed by the PGR on 21/7/08 in which was announced that it had been determined the archival of the inquiry and informed that the “same could be reopened, by initiative of the Public Ministry ou by request of an interested party, if new elements of proof would appear that originated serious, pertinent and consequent diligences” (#14 of proven facts).

In this way, not being the alluded archival dispatch a written decision on a strict sense, nor assuming definitive aspect, much less would be justified the invoking of the principle of presumption of innocence to restrict freedom of expression.”
(page 69 of sentence)

And:


And let it not be said, also, that the appellants were cleared by the archival dispatch of the crime-process.

In truth, the alluded dispatch wasn’t pronounced because the Public Ministry gained the conviction that the appellants did not commit any crime (as by nº1 of the art. 277º of the CPP)

Such archival, in the case, was determined because it wasn’t possible for the Public Ministry to obtain enough legally admissible indicia of the practice of a crime by the appellants (as by nº2, art. 277º of CPP)

There is, then, a significant difference, and not merely of semantics, between the grounds legally admissible of the archival dispatch.

It doesn’t seem, then, acceptable that it should be considered that the referred dispatch, grounded on insufficiency of indicia, should be equivalent to the proof of innocence.

We consider, therefore, that the invoking of the breaking of the principle of presumption of innocence, should not be received, not weighing such principle in the decision that has to be taken.”
(page 70 of sentence)

Very clearly and very explicitly the Supreme Justice Court is saying that the McCanns have NOT been cleared.

Note, it has not said the McCanns were guilty. It is just saying that they have not been considered by the Portuguese Justice System as innocent.

We do believe that this is historic and rebates definitely all those saying that the couple was cleared by the Portuguese justice.

On January 31 2017 this was set straight.

58 comments:

  1. This in our opinion flattens completely any grounds to sustain the libel threat from the McCanns in the UK.

    To allege innocence they will have to quote Portuguese documentation, the archival dispatch to be specific, thus giving a Portuguese legal document legal validity in the UK.

    But now, this sentence clearly supersedes that dispatch. The McCanns cannot say the archival dispatch is valid but the Supreme Justice Court sentence is not.

    The other possibility is to say that the Portuguese legislation does not apply in the UK, which is an argument, but then they have no way to justify their innocence.

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  2. Thanks for the update. It would seem their legal advisers in Portugal & no doubt in conjunction with those in the UK have taken the McCanns down a very dangerous path. But of course MSM in the UK will never support the FACTS and truth.
    Clearly this will not be well received approaching the tenth year and anticipation of the Mccanns appeals (insert your own reason). Equally at sometime and very soon, the MET and in particular it's funding, which must be at this present time\NOW being reviewed, as it runs out at the end of this financial year (about six weeks).
    This is no longer GA's fight. I wish him a long, happy and healthy retirement, wish him well without stress. For HIM I hope the fight is over, he can stand proud and just hope Portugal recognises how difficult it has been for him.
    Sadly now to think of Madeleine. There has been no further information to give light to what happened to her, since the day Mrs McCann ran back to the Tapas to say she was missing (or the famous 'they've taken her!) The T9Timeline \ cobble of an alibi has been officially blown out of the water & made to look, exactly what it was a cobble.
    RIP Madeleine.

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  3. "Very clearly and very explicitly the Supreme Justice Court is saying that the McCanns have NOT been cleared."

    But everyone who followed this case knew that.
    Some people may have lied about it (the McCanns themselves, their family and friends, there spokesmen and the UK media) but everyone knew that.

    This is not new or news.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous 7 Feb 2017, 13:06:00,

      Disagree.

      Up to now those who said the McCanns were cleared were not telling the truth. From now on they're lying.

      Delete
    2. They were lying before and everyone knew.

      Delete
    3. If that was so clear, the Supreme Justice Court wouldn't have felt the need to clarify that point specifically.

      Law is only invented at the legislative (and executive) branches of the state. At the justice branch it's only applied.

      That to say, that in simplistic way, it could be said that court sentences only state the obvious, what is written in the law.

      Up to now, the cloak of presumption of innocence protected the couple. From this, the more radical interpreters of the law could say that, in their opinion, it meant McCanns were cleared.

      This would lead to a debate, an endless one because one side simply refused to see reason no matter how much they were told otherwise.

      Up to now they said the McCanns were cleared, and the response would be to explain why that wasn't so. Giving numerous reasons why the McCanns weren't cleared, and they would say, yes, they were.

      Now they say the McCanns were cleared and one just has to say no, the Supreme Justice Court has stated, specifically, that they were not. No need to say more.

      Delete
    4. Hi textusa,or as Alan Clarke once espoused at the"Matrix Churchill Trial"that he had been"Economic with the Actuality"?

      Delete
  4. It Certainly is great news Textusa. Of course you could hit most of the pros over the head with it and it won't stop them repeating their cleared mantra. Your alternative facts era will make sure of that. You do have to wonder however at the legal advice they were provided with to suggest to the court that they had been cleared. Is there a saying that could be adapted for this.......better to say nothing and be thought not cleared and open your mouth and remove all doubt. Thanks again Textusa for keeping us in the loop

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  5. They were never cleared, exonerated, that was already understood by the words in the archiving report, yet they are not being investigated. Not by PJ, not by OP Grange.

    "We believe that the main damage was caused to the McCann arguidos, who lost the possibility to prove what they have protested since they were constituted arguidos: their innocence towards the fateful event; the investigation was also disturbed, because said facts remain unclarified."http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/LEGAL_SUMMARY.htm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous 7 Feb 2017, 14:14:00,

      We think that it was indeed said by Andy Redwood that the McCanns were not considered suspects by Operation Grange.

      Since then many moons have come and gone and in those many moons many things can have changed. We haven't heard from Nicola Wall anything about that matter.

      About the PJ, we don't recollect ever them issuing any similar statement.

      What we heard, and it was in a documentary by Sandra Felgueiras in which Euclides Monteiro's wife appeared with her back to the camera, was that the PJ investigation was focused on a foreigner who had left the country.

      But that was a reporter saying it and not the PJ.

      The Supreme Justice Court sentence supersedes any other legal documentation issued in Portugal on the matter, which means that the McCanns have not been cleared.

      Delete
  6. Unpublished TotallyConfused at 7 Feb 2017, 14:11:00

    Thank you for your comment.

    We are not publishing it because we don't want to publish any news or new theories that we can't provide a link for.

    Hope you understand.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well that ,s certainly made my day!!! Wonder if we,ll see MSM respond,interesting times indeed Textusa,thank you.Take the pickings out of that ,springs to mind!

    ReplyDelete
  8. https://www.facebook.com/lorraine.holden.395/posts/1920813578151834

    Lorraine Holden with Maria Santos.
    6 mins ·

    With journalists here and in UK busily studying the 76-page text released yesterday by the Supreme Court - explaining why it dismissed the appeal for damages lodged by the parents of Madeleine McCann - blog writers are already ahead of them, uncovering salient points that blow even further ill wind into this almost decade long mystery.

    It should be explained that the Textusa blog is one that subscribes to the theory expounded in Gonçalo Amaral’s controversial book “Madeleine: The Truth of the Lie”: the theory that three-year-old Madeleine died by accident in apartment 5a of Luz Ocean Club, in May of 2007 and that everything that has happened since has been part of a cover-up of “unseen proportions”

    But Textusa’s convictions aside, what the blog has uncovered from page 68 of the Supreme Court ruling is potential dynamite.

    In simple terms, it blows a hole in the McCanns’ legal argument that they have been absolved of any blame (or are, as the text suggests ‘inocentados’) in their daughter’s disappearance.

    According to the couple’s appeal against Amaral’s victory last year (click here) not only are they completely innocent and have been absolved of any blame - due to the initial archiving of the case by the Portuguese authorities - they should have the right to benefit from the presumption of innocence.

    However, the Supreme Court judges have said that archiving per se should not be confused with being considered innocent.

    In fact, archiving can always be undone, the judges explain, in the event that “new elements of proof” come to light.

    Says Textusa: “Very clearly and very explicitly the court is saying that the McCanns have NOT been cleared.

    “Note, it has not said the McCanns were guilty. It is just saying that they have not been considered by the Portuguese Justice System as innocent.

    “We do believe that this is historic and rebates definitely all those saying that the couple was cleared by the Portuguese justice”, adds the blog.

    As the 10th anniversary of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance approaches, and media outlets are described as bidding hundreds of thousands to get an interview with the missing girl’s parents, this tortuously-worded judgement coming from Portugal’s highest court is certain to set tongues wagging for weeks to come.

    For now, it is only in Portuguese - but campaigning blogsite Projecto Justiça Gonçalo Amaral (click here - which has been supporting former PJ coordinator Amaral throughout this eight-year legal battle - is due to release a translation in English within the next few days.

    natasha.donn@algarveresident.com

    http://portugalresident.com/supreme-court-ruling-opens-new-can-of-worms-for-mccanns

    Posted by portugalpress on February 07, 2017
    Supreme Court ruling opens new can of worms for McCanns


    --------------------------

    With obvious thanks to Natasha Donn for the mention and thank you Lorraine Holden for the heads up.

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  9. Your very welcome Text great news all round,can't wait for the full translated transcript please explain in plain English for me though you know how thick I am lol x

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  10. Difficult to see how OG can go for any thing but the truth option,what ever that may be.With the court saying that they have not been considered by the Portuguese Justice System as innocent there seems little room for movement unless some convincing argument is produced to counter this.

    ReplyDelete
  11. News published this morning in the Correio da Manhã, paper edition:

    http://www.cmjornal.pt/portugal/imprimir/pais-de-maddie-vendem-relatos-de-dor?ref=hp_exclusivos

    Maddie’s parents sell accounts of pain

    Exclusive could earn 100 thousand € in the United Kingdom and 400 thousand in the US.

    By Sérgio A. Vitorino|01:30

    Kate and Gerry McCann, Maddie’s parents, the English girl who disappeared 10 years ago this May 3, in Luz, Algarve, have in their hands 40 proposals for TV interviews, all paid for, in English speaking channels. They haven’t yet decided where the will be ‘marking’ the 10th anniversary of Madeleine disappearing.

    The values proposed per interview are not yet public. It’s estimated that in the UK they will amount to 100 thousnad euros and in the US that value will reach the 400 thousand. The ‘auction’, says the English press, is underway. And it’s not the first. As was reported, in 2007, two of the main talk shows in the US – Oprah and Barbara Walters – offered 1,2 million eurso to the couple, who went to the program of the first, for a lesser value, in 2009.

    The 10th anniversary of Maddie’s disapperance, who was 3 yrs old in 2007, appears without there being developments in the investigation. Kate and Gerry, doctors and who also have two twins who were in the room from where Madeleine disappeared, they came to be arguidos in the case. The Portuguese and English police checked thousands of leads that revealed to be false.

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    Replies
    1. "As was reported in 2007". Have you heard about that, Textusa ? Is there any credibility in those amounts ? Why should amounts be undisclosed ?

      Delete
    2. Roque Nogueira is more accurate than Magalhães Menezes, trying to drown the fish, as we say in French. It's close to Assistant Chief Constable Chris Eyre's written statement : “While one or both of them may be innocent, there is no clear evidence that eliminates them from involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.”

      Delete
  12. I have just watched part 1 of this 2 part drama. I get the feeling this programme is to get the public used to the idea mcs could be guilty. It was well scripted and well acted and echoes exactly what the real detective said when she was interviewed on programme I saw the other day.

    https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/feb/03/sheridan-smith-the-moorside-how-the-shannon-matthews-abduction-drama-is-tv-at-its-finest

    in the programme there were 3 mentions of mcs, 2 scenes of spaniel sniffer dog, 1 mention of cadaver dog (but said to have only found a dead mouse by a neighbour) some talk of inappropriate behaviour and a response from Karen’s close friend who believed her said to the detective, that no-one knows how anyone would respond in that sort of situation and a teddy bear was used as a cuddle cat to copy mcs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If your theory is correct 2 other things which came to mind that I think clear messages were being sent. 1 was that the police couldn't get the family out of what could have been a possible crime scene they just refused to budge and it took them weeks to stop the unofficial search which could have potentially distorted evidence. The British press and the McCanns then had the cheek to criticise the Portuguese for failing to secure their apartment. The second one was the policewoman clearly saying that people don't live this perfect life were they all sit round the breakfast table and tell each other they love them in real life. A feature of the McCann case was the portrayal of the perfect couple with the perfect children.

      Delete
  13. 7th Feb 13.31.....
    Alan Clarke said "economical with the actualité"...sorry it annoyed me!

    Alan Clark - Wikipedia
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki › Alan_...

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  14. http://www.cmjornal.pt/portugal/imprimir/juizes-arrasam-inocencia--dos-mccann?ref=programas_blocotopopagina

    Juízes arrasam inocência dos McCann
    Juízes arrasam inocência dos McCann
    Kate e Gerry McCann são arrasados no acórdão do Supremo Tribunal de Justiça em que o ex-coordenador da PJ é absolvido de pagar meio milhão de euros aos pais da menina que desapareceu em maio de 2007 no Algarve. Em causa o livro ‘Maddie: A Verdade da Mentira’, em que Amaral defende que a menina morreu num acidente e que o corpo foi ocultado pelos pais, que simularam um rapto.

    O casal McCann sentiu-se lesado pelo livro e processou o autor. Os juízes-conselheiros responderam assim: "O recorrido [Gonçalo Amaral] veiculou a sua opinião tendo em conta o que no seu entender resulta dos meios probatórios e dos indícios recolhidos no inquérito aberto em virtude do desaparecimento de Madeleine McCann a 3 de maio de 2007. (...) Aliás, os recorrentes foram constituídos arguidos num inquérito criminal. O que implica que surgiu fundada suspeita de terem cometido crime ou crimes".

    Kate e Gerry entendem que o livro é um atentado à sua honra e que o conteúdo resulta da violação de segredo profissional por parte de Gonçalo Amaral.

    Os juízes-conselheiros continuam: "É certo que o inquérito criminal acabou por ser arquivado, em virtude de nenhum dos indícios que levaram à constituição dos recorrentes como arguidos ter obtido confirmação. No entanto, mesmo no despacho de arquivamento são suscitadas sérias reservas quanto à verosimilhança da alegação de que Madeleine fora raptada".

    Quanto à presunção de inocência invocada pelos pais, consideram que não se deve dizer "que os recorrentes foram inocentados por via do despacho de arquivamento do processo-crime. Tal arquivamento foi determinado por não ter sido possível obter indícios suficientes da prática de crimes. Não parece aceitável que se considere que o referido despacho, fundado na insuficiência de indícios, deva ser equiparado à comprovação de inocentação".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ranslation of the CdM article by Joana Morais:

      https://joana-morais.blogspot.pt/2017/02/judges-demolish-mccanns-innocence.html

      Judges demolish McCanns' innocence

      Court acquits Gonçalo Amaral and points out that the couple was constituted as arguidos (suspects) with a "well-founded suspicion" of having committed a crime.


      Kate and Gerry McCann are demolished in the judgement of the Supreme Court in which the former coordinator of the PJ is acquitted of paying half a million euros to the parents of the girl who disappeared in May 2007 in the Algarve. At stake is the book 'Maddie: The Truth of the Lie', in which Amaral argues that the girl died in an accident and that the body was concealed by the parents, who simulated an abduction.

      The McCanns felt aggrieved by the book and sued the author. The Judge-Counsellors replied: "The defendant [Gonçalo Amaral] expressed his opinion in the light of the evidence and indications gathered in the investigation opened in virtue of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann on May 3, 2007 (...) Incidentally, the claimants (appellants, applicants) were constituted as arguidos in a criminal investigation, which implies that there was a well-founded suspicion of having committed crimes or crimes."

      Kate and Gerry understand that the book is an attack on their honour and that the content results from the breach of professional secrecy by Gonçalo Amaral.

      The Judge-Counsellors continue: "It is true that the criminal investigation was eventually archived, in virtue of none of the evidence that led to the constitution of the claimants as arguidos was confirmed. Nonetheless, even in the archiving dispatch serious reservations are made about the verisimilitude (reality of) of the allegation that Madeleine had been abducted."

      As to the presumption of innocence invoked by the parents, they (Judges) consider that one should not say "that the claimants were acquitted through the order of archiving the criminal proceedings (investigation). The archiving was determined because it was not possible to obtain sufficient evidence of the practice of crimes. It does not seem reasonable to consider that said archiving dispatch, based on insufficient evidence, should be equated as substantiation (proof) of exoneration".

      in Correio da Manhã, February 8, 2017

      Delete
    2. Other stories on the CdM paper edition February 8 2017, pgs 8 and 9:

      ---------------

      MADDIE |DISAPPEARED FOR 10 YEARS
      On May 3 it’s marked 10 years of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, at the time 3 yrs old. Even though throughout the decade having been investigated thousands of leads by the Portuguese and English police, theirs is no development in the case of the English girl.

      ---------------

      PARENTS |SELL AACCOUNTS OF PAIN
      As CM reported yesterday, Maddie’s parents have in their hands about 40 proposals for interviews on English speaking TV channels, all paid. Even though the proposed values not being yet public, it is estimated they reach 100 thousand euros in the United Kingdom and 400 thousand in the United States.

      ---------------

      POLICE |SPENDS 15 MILLION
      SCOTLAND YARD’S SPECIAL TEAMNTHAT INVESTIGATES THE MADDIE CASEHAS MADE THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT TO SPEND NEAR 15 MILLION EUROS WITH THE OPERATION

      ---------------

      EX-COORDINATOR |PREPARES NEW BOOK
      Gonçalo Amaral is finishing a new book about the English girl’s disappearance, CM found out. The themes will be the 10 years of the process and the implications on the ex-PJ coordinator life. The McCann couple has already warned that if Gonçalo Amaral tries to publish the book in the United Kingdom “will have lawyers on his heels”.

      ---------------

      DETAILS

      Process
      The Supreme Justice Court judges refer that the process may be reopened if new elements of proof appear, and from that the parents should not speak of presumption of innocence.

      Public facts
      As the duty of secrecy is concerned, the judges say that the facts had already become public and widely debated, being that the inquiry was already closed.

      Freedom of Expression
      About the honour and the freedom of expression, the Supreme refers that “in the weighing and counter-weighing game the plate that weighs more is the freedom of expression”, quoting the European Court of Human Rights.

      ---------------

      Lawyer was not notified of the decision
      The Supreme Justice Court decision was known on January 31. Gonçalo Amaral’s Amaral lawyer was not notified and told CM that he got to know from the media.

      ---------------

      Claim innocence from lack of accusation
      In the appeal to the Supreme, the couple’s defense claimed that the parents, even though they were constituted as arguidos, were declared innocent through the archival of the crime-process, concluding that “there aren’t means of evidence or indicia of commitment of a crime”. They wanted to demonstrate that the book placed in question the “hnour, good name and image” of the “innocent and cleared” couple.

      (cont)

      Delete
    3. (cont)

      Witnesses fail reconstitution
      The Supreme Justice Courts councillor-judges say in the sentence that the doubts raised in the investigation “could have been clarified with the diligence of reconstitution of facts that was however made unfeasible by the witnesses failing to appear”. The sentence has 79 pages.

      ---------------

      “Abusive and antijuridical expression”
      “The right of free expression is not absolute”, says the couple’s defense in the appeal. They said the expression was “abusive and antijuridical”

      ---------------

      Accuse the author of gaining profits
      In the allegations, the couple’s defense accused Amaral of contradicting the professional statute to obtain financial and social profits.

      ---------------

      “Interviews limit rights”
      Sentenced in 2015 to pay the McCann couple an indemnity of half a million euros for damages caused by the publication of the book ‘Maddie: The Truth of the Lie’, the ex-PJ corrdinatorsaw the Appeal Court revoke last year the decision, which the Supreme Justice Court has now confirmed. And as is referred in in the Supreme’s sentence, already the adjudicator-judges [juízes desembargadores – judges of the Appeal Court] had in consideration that Maddie’s parents “showed opinion” about the daughter’s disappearance. “It was them – benefitting from having there easy access – multiplying themselves in interviews and interventions in the media- It should be concluded that it was them who, voluntarily, limited the rights to privacy and intimacy pf private life”, refers the Appeal [Court], to demonstrate: “By proceeding that way, they opened the path for any person to equally give an opinion about the case, contradicting their thesis – without in that way abstain from exercising a legitimate right of opinion and freedom of expression and thought”. The Supreme decides the right of freedom of expression prevails in this case.

      Delete
  15. Thank you so much for the updates, it gives hope....

    ReplyDelete
  16. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2814032/kate-gerry-mccann-brand-the-moorside-shannon-matthews-insensitive

    THEY THINK IT'S APPALLING'
    Kate and Gerry McCann brand new Shannon Matthews TV drama, The Moorside ‘insensitive’ over scenes featuring Maddie’s disappearance

    A friend of the couple claims they think it was made in 'poor taste' and was bad timing considering 2017 marks ten years since daughter Maddie disappeared

    BY Tracey Kandohla
    8th February 2017, 11:28 am

    THE parents of Madeleine McCann have branded last night’s controversial TV drama about the fake kidnap of Shannon Matthews “appalling” and “insensitive”.

    As Kate and Gerry McCann face the heartbreaking tenth anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance they criticised the screening of BBC mini series The Moorside, which kept alluding to their ordeal, as being in “poor taste and bad timing”, a close friend revealed.

    The show follows the story of nine-year-old Shannon who “vanished” from The Moorside council estate in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in February 2008. The schoolgirl’s own mum Karen Matthews had callously made it all up.

    The nine-year-old was found tethered and drugged inside the base of a double bed at the flat of Matthews' accomplice Michael Donovan 24 days after she disappeared.

    Inspired by the huge Maddie police hunt just nine months before, Matthews' sole purpose was to cash in with a relative by grabbing the reward and any media interview fees.

    She was eventually arrested, charged and jailed for eight years. She had been an accomplice in her daughter’s drugging and kidnapping.

    Shannon’s shocking “disappearance” after failing to return home from a school swimming trip bore a chilling similarity to that of three-year-old Maddie, who had been snatched from her bed in a holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz in May 2007.

    Maddie’s plight was highlighted at least three times in the well-publicised opening episode. In one scene Matthews' pal and search co-ordinator Julie Bushby, played by Sheridan Smith, is discussing a candelit vigil after the mum’s TV appeal.

    A friend, viewing the papers the next day, said: “It must be working all this, they are offering a reward of £20,000.” Julie’s young son chips in: “They are offering two-and-a-half million pounds for Maddie McCann. Is that because they’re posher than us?” His mum replies: “It’s not a contest.”

    In another clip, while discussing how best to launch the media plea with a detective, Matthews tells her: “I’ve got my cuddly bear that you wanted, like Maddie’s mum wants her Cuddle Cat.” The police officer asks: “Is that Shannon’s favourite” and her mum takes a long pause before answering: “Probably!”

    Matthews' appearance before cameras clutching the toy was a near carbon copy of Kate's genuine pleas to her daughter's abductor.

    Maddie’s favourite soft toy Cuddle Cat had been left lying on her bed when she vanished. In the early days Kate kept the grubby pink animal which she later recalled was dirty and “smelled of suntan lotion” close to her. The grief-stricken mum was photographed carrying the toy everywhere.

    During the show’s appeal Matthews shed crocodile tears as she echoed some of Kate’s words, begging: “I need her home. If anyone’s got my beautiful princess, bring her home.”

    A source close to Kate and Gerry said: “The whole Shannon Matthews saga only came about because of Madeleine’s disappearance and what the family wrongly thought they could claw through rewards and interviews.

    "The BBC have been trailing it for a few weeks. Kate and Gerry think the whole thing is appalling, and in really poor taste and bad timing.

    “They may not sit down and watch every minute of these programmes but they are aware of them and references to their family.

    cont

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    1. How can they sleep at night it. Is clear that Madeleine died in the holiday flat and they hid her body . If they didn't why not own up to an accident there are reasons why they didn't and this is the mistery .taking money from people who could not afford it they should hold there heads in shame .

      Delete
  17. cont

    cont

    "They feel is very insensitive and the show tries to glorify a terrible crime involving a young girl.”

    Neither victim Shannon, now aged 18, nor her family say they were asked to cooperate in the prime time programme and even tried to ban it being aired.

    The drama, which continues next week, describes the frantic £3.2million police search for the schoolgirl. Hundreds of neighbours joined in the 24-day hunt unaware that her mum, inspired by the outpouring of grief and huge public donations to help find Maddie, had plotted an elaborate hoax.

    Shannon was eventually discovered just a mile away, drugged inside the wooden base of a double bed at the home of Michael Donovan, the uncle of Matthews' boyfriend at the time Craig Meehan.

    They had orchestrated the plot to bag the £50,000 reward money.

    As well as re-telling the search the two-parter deals with the fallout of the community after they discovered they had been lied to.

    The Moorside writer Neil McKay defended not making contact with Shannon’s family, insisting he didn’t want to put Matthews' back in the public eye. He said: “We don’t defend her or condemn her, and we don’t make an apology for her crime.”

    Maddie’s mum Kate, a former GP, and heart doctor dad Gerry, believe their daughter – who would now be 13, could still be alive. The couple, both 48, from Rothley, Leics, are hoping “a miracle” reunites them with their daughter soon.

    Scotland Yard are working on one last “throw of the dice” lead which Kate and Gerry are praying could solve the mystery.

    BBC1 drama The Moorside aired last night, with Sheridan Smith praised for her portrayal of Julie Busby - Matthews' pal who helped lead the efforts to find Shannon.

    Julie has also revealed she believes she knows the real reason Matthews lied about Shannon's kidnap.

    Meanwhile viewers took to Twitter to show their disgust at Matthews, with some even sending death threats - while other views mocked Sheridan's attempt at a Yorkshire accent.

    And Loose Women panellist Janet Street-Porter has revealed her shame at lending her support to Matthews when Shannon first went missing in 2008.

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    Replies
    1. "They feel is very insensitive and the show tries to glorify a terrible crime involving a young girl.” Glorify? What a strange use of the word... I'm perplexed as to how they 'glorify a terrible crime.' In the Mccann case the parents didn't so much as 'glorify' as gloat: Catch us if you can.

      Delete
  18. Article from December 2008:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/3547821/Shannon-Matthews-trial-Madeleine-McCann-case-may-have-inspired-Shannon-Matthews-kidnap.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. The Moorside: ‘It’s a story of people who didn’t have a lot, giving everything’
    https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/feb/04/the-moorside-shannon-matthews-kidnap-julie-bushby-natalie-brown-murray-story-bbc-drama

    ReplyDelete
  20. Interesting times for the Mccann case. In terms of the bigger picture, do you think there is any significance that the media have featured Rolf Harris,football organisations, the church and now Jill Dando on their front covers in recent weeks?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What you have to understand is,that the MSM have no evidence of"Paedophiles"being involved in Madeleine's disappearance,but the Metropolitan Police Service are investigating,a child snatching squad of selected children,(bungling Burglars)?
      The Metropolitan Police service,have bungled many a missing person scenario in and around London Care Homes,where young women were targeted for"Sexual Purposes",then we have the Rotherham Sex scandal,South Yorkshire Police and Ben Needham's disappearance?
      We do however know that the Leicestershire Police Service,sent the correspondence of the"Gasper Statements"after about Six Months into the Portugal Investigation in the knowledge that Mr Goncalo Amaral had been removed from the Investigation,thought to have involved one Gordon Brown?

      Delete
  21. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccanns-parents-blast-appalling-9777961

    ReplyDelete
  22. http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/Supreme_Court_31_01_2017.htm

    Translation of the first 10 pages of the Supreme Justice Court Sentence

    A big THANK YOU to all involved in this effort.

    ReplyDelete
  23. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maddie-verdade-mentira-Goncalo-Amaral/dp/9898174129/ref=sr_1_2/255-0273186-1880572?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1486579773&sr=1-2

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’m tempted to buy it just to have a copy but would still buy the English version when available.

      Delete
  24. A script, we hope, will be used by many in the near future:

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2810543/janet-street-porter-karen-matthews-supporter-shannon-kidnapping/

    'I WAS COMPLETELY TAKEN IN'

    Janet Street-Porter reveals shame of being huge Karen Matthews supporter during Shannon ‘kidnapping’
    She made the confession on Loose Women

    BY JOHN SHAMMAS
    7th February 2017, 10:16 pm

    JANET Street-Porter has revealed her shame at being one of Karen Matthews’ biggest supporters in 2008 when her child went missing.

    Speaking on Loose Women, the panellist recalled when she wrote in defence of the mum at the time of her daughter Shannon’s kidnapping.

    But it turned out that the kidnapping was a set up.

    Janet said on the show today: “I completely and utterly believed Karen, I stuck up for her.

    “I felt she was picked on because of her appearance and demeanour.

    “So when I was wrong, I was gobsmacked.

    “I’m a smart, savvy person but I was completely taken in by her.”

    Shannon Matthews made national headlines when she vanished in 2008, with her mum making a number of public appeals for information on her daughter’s whereabouts.

    However Shannon’s mum had devised the elaborate plot in a bid to claim the £50,000 reward money for finding her, alongside Michael Donovan.

    The nine-year-old was eventually found tethered and drugged inside the base of a double bed at Donovan’s grotty flat almost a month after she disappeared.

    The pair had planned to release the schoolgirl, “discover her”, then take her to a police station and claim the reward.

    On December 4, 2008, mum-of-seven Matthews and Donovan were found guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

    Both were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court to eight years behind bars.

    A judge described the abduction plot as “truly despicable”

    ReplyDelete
  25. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2819783/removal-of-kate-and-gerrys-formal-suspect-status-does-not-mean-they-are-innocent-in-disappearance-of-daughter-madeleine-mccann-judges-say/?CMP=spklr-_-Editorial-_-FBPAGE-_-TheSun-_-20170208-_-803548825

    MCCANNS 'NOT IN THE CLEAR'
    Removal of Kate and Gerry’s ‘formal suspect’ status does not mean they are innocent in disappearance of daughter Madeleine McCann, judges say
    Portugal’s Supreme Court has cast doubt over the parents of missing Madeleine once again - claiming there are 'serious concerns' in abduction theory

    BY MATT WILKINSON
    8th February 2017, 9:57 pm

    KATE and Gerry McCann face fresh heartache after judges said they had not been cleared over daughter Madeleine’s disappearance.

    Portugal’s Supreme Court has said the removal of their “arguido” — or formal suspect — status should not be “equated to proof of innocence”.

    The country’s most senior judges claimed the investigation into them was only shelved in 2008 because of a lack of evidence.

    And they said there were “serious concerns” over the theory that Madeleine had been abducted from their Ocean Club apartment in Praia da Luz, in May 2007.

    The comments were made in the Supreme Court’s 76-page dossier after handing victory to ex-detective Goncalo Amaral in an ongoing libel case last week.

    The McCanns got Amaral’s book The Truth of the Lie banned and sued for libel after he alleged they faked Madeleine’s abduction to cover up the then three-year-old’s death.

    But he is writing a second book about Madeleine’s disappearance — and the McCanns have said they will sue again if it is published in Britain.

    Kate and Gerry, both 48, were made arguidos in September 2007. But their status was lifted in July 2008 when Portuguese police archived the investigation.

    The Supreme Court is Portugal’s highest court but has no criminal authority. It published its ruling yesterday.

    Judges added their job was not to decide if the McCanns bore any criminal responsibility over Madeleine’s disappearance.

    And they said it would be wrong to draw any inferences about the couple’s guilt or innocence from their ruling.

    Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leics, did not want to respond to the judges’ findings last night.

    A spokesman said: “It’s entirely a matter for their lawyers.”

    ReplyDelete
  26. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/kate-gerry-mccann-not-totally-9782804

    Kate and Gerry McCann 'not formally in the clear' over daughter Madeleine's disappearance

    The couple were ruled out as formal suspects, or “arguidos”, back in 2008 due to lack of evidence – but in court papers released today, judges have said this does not equate to a ruling of -innocence

    By Martin Fricker
    22:15, 8 FEB 2017
    Updated22:26, 8 FEB 2017

    Kate and Gerry McCann have been dealt another cruel blow as a Portuguese court failed to put them in the clear over the disappearance of daughter Madeleine.

    The couple were ruled out as formal suspects, or “arguidos”, back in 2008 – but in newly released court papers, judges have specified that this does not equate to a ruling of ¬innocence.

    It will add to the McCanns’ torment, after the same judges ruled against the couple last week in a legal battle with the police officer who led the hunt for their daughter.

    The couple sued ex-police chief Goncalo Amaral after he wrote a book claiming they were responsible for Madeleine’s “death” in May 2007.

    But he fought the case and Portugal’s Supreme Court sided with him.

    In the 76-page ruling on the case – made public – they also said the archiving in 2008 of the criminal case into Madeline’s ¬disappearance does not prove the McCanns are innocent.

    They wrote: “It should not be said that the appellants were cleared via the ruling announcing the archiving of the criminal case.”

    While the judges said it would be wrong to draw any inferences about the couple’s guilt or innocence from the decision, they noted that the case was not shelved because prosecutors believed that Kate and Gerry, from Rothley, Leics, were innocent – but due to a lack of evidence.

    They wrote: “That ruling was not made in virtue of Portugal’s Public Prosecution Service having acquired the conviction that the appellants hadn’t committed a crime.

    "The archiving of the case was determined by the fact that public prosecutors hadn’t managed to obtain sufficient evidence of the practice of crimes by the appellants.

    The court concluded that the archiving of the case should not be seen as proof the McCanns are not guilty, stating: “It doesn’t therefore seem acceptable that the ruling, based on the insufficiency of evidence, should be equated to proof of innocence.”

    The damming document means suspicion still hangs over the heads of the McCanns, who have always claimed their innocence.

    It was released after the court decided Amaral’s “right to freedom of expression” was worthy of greater protection than the couple’s “right to honour”.

    Amaral, 57, was ordered to pay the couple £360,000 in damages in 2015 for claims he made in The Truth Of The Lie.

    He said the McCanns faked Madeline’s abduction after she “died” in their holiday apartment. Amaral claimed his work was based on publicly available police and court files on the case. Kate described the book as “devastating and distressing”.

    Amaral successfully overturned the ruling against him last April and the McCanns lodged a Supreme Court appeal.

    But judges decided Amaral’s claims were “within admissible limits in a democratic and open society”. It means Kate and Gerry, both 48, face having to pay Amaral’s legal bills and could even be sued by him.

    The McCanns may take the case to the European courts, but legal experts say they must prove they have a valid reason of appeal before any hearing would be even considered.

    Madeline vanished from an apartment in Praia da Luz as her parents ate at a nearby restaurant. Detectives are said to be working on a theory that she was kidnapped by a European trafficking gang.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Textusa, you showed very convincingly in a previous post that the dispatch report from 2009 did not clear the McCanns in any way - being in line with Amaral's thesis, if not more hurtful. What makes you think that the new sentence is such a game changer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The difference now and then is that then they had a PR machine in the form of the British Media convincing the public that they were cleared. now that's not available where to now for then

      Delete
  28. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4206214/Court-says-Madeleine-McCann-s-parents-HAVEN-T-cleared.html

    Fresh anguish for Madeleine McCann's parents as Portugal's supreme court insists they haven't been proved innocent over their daughter's death
    .
    - Kate and Gerry McCann always claimed they were innocent of any wrongdoing
    - Former Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral's allegations Maddie died in their holiday flat and her parents faked her abduction to cover up the tragedy
    - Court in Lisbon said lifting of 'suspect' status did not mean they're innocent

    By Alisha Rouse For The Daily Mail
    Published: 01:10 GMT, 9 February 2017 | Updated: 02:01 GMT, 9 February 2017

    The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have been challenged by Portugal's highest court over their insistence they had nothing to do with their daughter's disappearance.

    Kate and Gerry McCann have always claimed they were innocent of any wrongdoing despite former police chief Goncalo Amaral's allegations Maddie died in their holiday flat and her parents faked her abduction to cover up the tragedy.

    But Portuguese Supreme Court judges who ruled last week against their last-ditch appeal over Mr Amaral's 2008 book 'The Truth of the Lie' said the lifting of their status as 'arguidos' - or formal suspects - did not mean they were innocent.

    The statement came in the court's 76-page ruling on the McCann's fight against another court's decision to reverse their 2015 libel win against the former detective.

    The couple were left facing a huge legal bill and the prospect of being sued by Mr Amaral, who led the initial hunt for Madeleine when she vanished, after being told last week the Supreme Court had gone against them in a ruling which was not made fully public until yesterday.

    Judges made it clear in their decision their job was not to decide whether the McCanns bore any criminal responsibility over their daughter's disappearance and it would be wrong for anyone to draw any inferences about the couple's guilt or innocence from their ruling.

    But they added: 'It should not be said that the appellants were cleared via the ruling announcing the archiving of the criminal case.

    'In truth, that ruling was not made in virtue of Portugal's Public Prosecution Service having acquired the conviction that the appellants hadn't committed a crime.

    'The archiving of the case was determined by the fact that public prosecutors hadn't managed to obtain sufficient evidence of the practice of crimes by the appellants.

    'There is therefore a significant, and not merely a semantic difference, between the legally admissible foundations of the archive ruling.

    'It doesn't therefore seem acceptable that the ruling, based on the insufficiency of evidence, should be equated to proof of innocence.'

    Highlighting the McCanns' Tapas Nine friend Jane Tanner's much-questioned sighting of the suspected 'abductor', they added: 'It's true that the aforementioned criminal inquiry ended up being archived, namely because none of the apparent evidence that led to the appellants being made 'arguidos' was subsequently confirmed or consolidated.

    'However even the archive ruling raises serious concerns relating to the truth of the allegation that Madeleine was kidnapped.'

    The McCanns were told their 'arguido' status had been lifted on July 21 2008 when the Portuguese probe into Maddie's disappearance was shelved, three days before the controversial book was published.

    The former detective was ordered to pay the couple £430,000 by a Lisbon court in April 2015 after they won round one of their lengthy judicial battle.

    (cont.)

    ReplyDelete
  29. (cont.)

    Mr Amaral got that ruling - and a ban on selling his book - overturned on appeal in April last year.

    The decision by Lisbon's Court of Appeal sparked the Supreme Court fight which was resolved last Tuesday.

    The Supreme Court judges said the McCanns claimed the book and a TV documentary based on the book would have damaged the honour and good name of any 'innocent person who had been cleared through the shelving of the criminal investigation.'

    It is believed the McCanns are discussing the possibility of taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

    Madeleine was three years-old when she disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia de Luz, Portugal, on May 12, 2003.

    British police have spent more than £10 million looking for Madeleine.

    A spokesperson for the McCann's did not want to respond to request for comment last night.

    ReplyDelete
  30. http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/09/kate-and-gerry-mccann-havent-been-proved-innocent-over-maddies-disappearance-6436728/

    Kate and Gerry McCann haven’t been proved innocent over Maddie’s disappearance

    Richard Hartley-Parkinson for Metro.co.ukThursday 9 Feb 2017 6:55 am

    Portugal’s highest court has said that Madeleine McCann’s parents have still not been proved innocent over their daughter’s disappearance.

    Kate and Gerry McCann have strenuously denied any wrongdoing despite extraordinary and unverified claims from former police chief that Maddie died in their flat and that they faked her abduction to cover it up.

    But Portuguese Supreme Court judges who ruled last week against their last-ditch appeal over Amaral’s 2008 book ‘The Truth of the Lie’ said the lifting of their status as ‘arguidos’ or formal suspects and the archiving of the criminal case into Maddie’s disappearance did not mean they were innocent.

    The court issued its devastating put-down in its full 76-page ruling on the McCanns’ fight against a lower court’s decision last April to reverse their 2015 libel win against the former detective.

    The couple were left facing a huge legal bill and the nightmare prospect of being sued by Amaral, who led the initial hunt for Madeleine when she vanished, after being told last Tuesday the Supreme Court had gone against them in a ruling which was not made fully public until yesterday.

    Judges made it clear in their decision their job was not to decide whether the McCanns bore any criminal responsibility over their daughter’s disappearance and it would be wrong for anyone to draw any inferences about the couple’s guilt or innocence from their ruling.

    But they added: ‘It should not be said that the appellants were cleared via the ruling announcing the archiving of the criminal case.

    ‘In truth, that ruling was not made in virtue of Portugal’s Public Prosecution Service having acquired the conviction that the appellants hadn’t committed a crime.

    ‘The archiving of the case was determined by the fact that public prosecutors hadn’t managed to obtain sufficient evidence of the practice of crimes by the appellants.

    ‘There is therefore a significant, and not merely a semantic difference, between the legally admissible foundations of the archive ruling.

    ‘It doesn’t therefore seem acceptable that the ruling, based on the insufficiency of evidence, should be equated to proof of innocence.’

    They added, highlighting the McCanns’ Tapas Nine friend Jane Tanner’s much-questioned sighting of the suspected ‘abductor’: ‘It’s true that the aforementioned criminal inquiry ended up being archived, namely because none of the apparent evidence that led to the appellants being made ‘arguidos’ was subsequently confirmed or consolidated.

    ‘However even the archive ruling raises serious concerns relating to the truth of the allegation that Madeleine was kidnapped.’

    The McCanns were told their ‘arguido’ status had been lifted on July 21 2008 when the Portuguese probe into Maddie’s disappearance was shelved, three days before Amaral published his controversial book.

    The former detective was ordered to pay the couple £430,000 by a Lisbon court in April 2015 after they won round one of their lengthy judicial battle.

    Mr Amaral got that ruling – and a ban on selling his book – overturned on appeal in April last year.

    The decision by Lisbon’s Court of Appeal sparked the Supreme Court fight which was resolved last Tuesday.

    The Supreme Court judges said the McCanns claimed Amaral’s book and a TV documentary based on the book formed no part of case files made public in 2008 and would have damaged the honour and good name of any ‘innocent person who had been cleared through the shelving of the criminal investigation.’

    (cont.)

    ReplyDelete
  31. (cont.)

    But they stated: ‘We consider the invocation of the violation of the principle of innocence should not be taken into account here, since this issue is not relevant to the resolution of the question that needs to be decided here.’

    They said the ‘crucial question’ for them was how to resolve the rights of Kate and Gerry McCann to their ‘good name and reputation’ and the rights of Goncalo Amaral and the other respondents including the book editors to the constitutionally-inshrined right of ‘freedom of expression.’

    Concluding Amaral had not acted ‘illicitly,’ they ruled his book was not a personal and unjustified attack on the McCanns with a ‘defamatory intention’ behind it which would not be protected by freedom of speech rights.

    Describing the book and the TV documentary based on it as an ‘opinion’ based on the logic of facts and evidence contained in the criminal case files, they added: ‘Our opinion is that rather than an injurious animus, the intention was informative and defensive.’

    The Supreme Court ruling means Amaral will not have to pay the McCanns the compensation he was ordered to hand them after the first court ruling in 2015.

    The payment was frozen when he launched his successful appeal.

    At the weekend it emerged the ex detective, removed as head of the investigation into Madeleine’s May 3 2007 disappearance after criticising British detectives, was writing a new book about the unsolved mystery.

    It is understood he will be critical in the new book of some of the things Scotland Yard did in their review and later ongoing investigation of the case.

    The former cop insisted from day one of his court fight with the McCanns that everything he wrote in his book was based on the publicly-available case files.

    Kate and Gerry, both 48, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have said they will sue if ‘The Truth of the Lie’ is sold in Britain.

    They said in a statement after learning of last week’s Supreme Court ruling against them: ‘What we have been told by our lawyers is obviously extremely disappointing.

    ‘It is eight years since we brought the action, and in that time the landscape has changed dramatically, namely there is now a joint Metropolitan Police and Policia Judiciaria investigation which is what we have always wanted.

    ‘The police in both countries continue to work on the basis that there is no evidence Madeleine has come to physical harm.

    ‘We will of course be discussing the implications of the Supreme Court ruling with our lawyers in due course.’

    It is believed the McCanns are discussing the possibility of taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

    The 20,000 page ‘Madeleine files made public in 2008 contained a report by public prosecutors which said: ‘ No element of proof whatsoever was found which allows us to form any lucid, sensible, serious and honest conclusion about the circumstance of Madeleine’s disappearance from the apartment…including, and most dramatically, establishing whether she is alive or dead, which seems more probable.’

    Referring to the McCanns’ much-criticised decision to leave their daughter, then three, alone with younger siblings Sean and Amelie while they ate tapas nearby, it added: ‘We must also recognise that the parents are paying a heavy penalty over the disappearance of Madeleine for their carelessness in monitoring and protecting their children.’

    Portuguese police chiefs said late last year they were ‘completely in tune’ with British detectives still investigating Madeleine’s disappearance, appearing to end years of tension between the two forces whose theories on the youngster’s fate have differed wildly.

    Portuguese prosecutors reopened their probe into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance in May 2014, and are now working in close coordination with Scotland Yard’s scaled-down Operation Grange probe into Madeleine’s fate.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Just thinking out loud here,do you think that the Black hats have allowed the MSM to run with this story and that possibly they are in fact saying that they can find no evidence to rule the McCanns out.

    ReplyDelete
  33. http://portugalresident.com/uk-media-rounds-on-supreme-court-%E2%80%98shock%E2%80%99-that-mccanns-%E2%80%9Chave-not-been-proved-innocent%E2%80%9D

    Posted by portugalpress on February 09, 2017
    UK media rounds on Supreme Court ‘shock’ that McCanns “have not been proved innocent”

    UK tabloids - which for so long have been so ‘anti-Portuguese’ in their reporting of the Madeleine McCann mystery - are changing their tune following publication of the Supreme Court judgement which stressed that parents Kate and Gerry McCann have not been proved innocent in the context of their daughter’s disappearance (click here).

    Media sources in touch with the Resident warn: “The tide is turning in UK. Did you know that Panorama was in Luz last week? Tell your readers to batten down, they’re all coming”.

    The Sun, the Mirror, the Daily Mail began the day leading with hurtful headlines.

    Curiously, the Daily Mail’s “Portuguese court says Madeleine McCann’s parents HAVEN’T been cleared” (with large capital letters for the word haven’t) was later changed to: “Fresh anguish for Madeleine McCann's parents as Portugal's supreme court insists they haven't been proved innocent over their daughter's death”.

    But the thrust of the story is busily steaming its way through the English-speaking mainstream while the McCann couple themselves, and their representatives, must be considering a response with care.

    Says the Mail: “A spokesperson for the McCann’s did not want to respond to request for comment last night”, while the Mirror - running with the story under “Kate and Gerry McCann ‘not formally in the clear’ over daughter Madeleine’s disappearance” says the Supreme Court ruling “means suspicion still hangs over the heads of the McCanns, who have always claimed their innocence”.

    Another cloud highlighted by the ruling is the fact that there remain “serious concerns relating to the truth that Madeleine was kidnapped” (Daily Mail today, as well as Portuguese papers, quoting directly from the 76-page text).

    For Praia da Luz - the holiday village perennially dragged into the spotlight over this almost decade-long mystery - the question on everyone’s minds is “if there is a media stampede back” could it spell a rush of welcome pre-season business, and would it disappear in time to let the popular sun-blessed village enjoy a trouble-free summer?

    natasha.donn@algarveresident.com

    ReplyDelete
  34. http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/portuguese-prosecutors-never-concluded-mccanns-were-innocent/story-30124763-detail/story.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Portuguese prosecutors "never concluded McCanns were innocent"

      By Tom_Mack | Posted: February 09, 2017

      Newly released legal papers show that Portugal's supreme court does not consider Kate and Gerry McCann in the clear over their missing daughter.

      As the 10th anniversary of Madeline's disappearance nears, the McCanns, of Rothley, are still fighting for their reputation, having just suffered another defeat in their attempt to sue former police chief Goncalo Amaral, who accused them of being responsible for Madeleine dying.

      The supreme court of Portugal recently ruled Mr Amaral's "right to freedom of expression" was worthy of greater protection than the couple's "right to honour".

      Now the court has released the full version of its decision, which includes the observation that just because no criminal case is ongoing, does not mean that the McCanns are definitely innocent.

      The 76-page document said: "It should not be said that the appellants were cleared via the ruling announcing the archiving of the criminal case."

      In the weeks after Madeleine went missing from the family's apartment in the Algarve the couple were named as formal suspects, or "arguidos".

      But that label was dropped in 2008, as the investigation developed.

      While the judges said it would be wrong to draw any inferences about the couple's guilt or innocence from their decision, they noted that the case was not shelved because prosecutors believed that Mr and Mrs McCann were innocent – but due to a lack of evidence.

      They wrote: "That ruling was not made in virtue of Portugal's public prosecution service having acquired the conviction that the appellants hadn't committed a crime.

      "The archiving of the case was determined by the fact that public prosecutors hadn't managed to obtain sufficient evidence of the practice of crimes by the appellants."

      The court concluded that the archiving of the case should not be seen as proof the McCanns are not guilty, stating: "It doesn't therefore seem acceptable that the ruling, based on the insufficiency of evidence, should be equated to proof of innocence."

      The document means suspicion still hangs over the heads of the McCanns, who have always claimed their innocence.

      The long legal battle began with a victory for the McCanns, after Mr Amaral, 57, was ordered to pay the couple £360,000 in damages in 2015 for claims he made in The Truth Of The Lie.

      He said the McCanns faked Madeline's abduction after she "died" in their holiday apartment.

      Mr Amaral fought the ruling and successfully had it overturned in April last year, meaning he did not have to pay the couple anything.

      The McCanns then lodged a supreme court appeal, which has now failed.

      That means the couple, who are both 48, face having to pay Mr Amaral's legal bills.

      Delete
    2. GA never accused the MCs of being responsible for MMC's death. At the centre of this case there's a piddling element : the MC are only suspected of having concealed (well concealed... so well that it's rather easy to guess where) a body, an act that is not a crime but a misdemeanor, sanctioned by a simple fine.
      The STJ mentions the fact, well known by those who read the PJFiles, that the filing dispatch didn't exonerate the MCs. Technically such a decision belongs only to Courts of Law could, but ethically the PGR couldn't, the nature of the crime being unknown (and still so). But the MCs' lawyer found smart to use that argument in her final allegations... One can understand that she used it to charm the MCs, but cheating magistrates is another story..

      Delete
  35. https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/pais/738448/jornais-britanicos-destacam-golpe-cruel-de-tribunal-contra-os-mccann

    Jornais britânicos destacam "golpe cruel" de tribunal contra os McCann

    Tribunal deu razão a Gonçalo Amaral e reforçou que pais de Maddie não foram dados como inocentes no desaparecimento da filha.

    A imprensa britânica destaca hoje a decisão do Supremo Tribunal de Justiça em absolver o ex-coordenador da PJ Gonçalo Amaral de pagar meio milhão de euros aos McCann.

    Jornais como o Mirror, Metro, The Sun e Daily Mail destacam não só o facto de o tribunal ter dado razão a Gonçalo Amaral, autor do livro ‘Maddie: A Verdade da Mentira’, como reforçam a ideia de que os pais de Maddie não foram dados como inocentes.

    O arquivamento do caso por insuficiência de provas implica que Kate e Gerry percam o estatuto de arguidos, mas isto não significa que tenham sido declarados inocentes. Recai ainda sobre o casal uma “fundada suspeita”, pode ler-se no acórdão do tribunal, citado pelos jornais britânicos.

    “Não parece aceitável que se considere que o referido despacho, fundado na insuficiência de indícios, deva ser equiparado à comprovação de inocência", concluem os juízes-conselheiros.

    É “mais um duro golpe” para os McCann, escreve mesmo o Mirror, destacando ainda o facto de os McCann terem agora de pagar as custas do tribunal ao ex-coordenador da PJ que no seu livro acusa o casal de ter matado a filha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is something very seriously wrong in the article above: Mr Amaral has never accused the McCanns of having killed Maddie.

      Delete
    2. Noticias ao minuto não é propriamente credível, "roubam" notícias de outros meios de comunicação, não tem conteúdos próprios. https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/10366/1/Eudora_Ribeiro_Disserta%C3%A7%C3%A3o.pdf.

      Delete
  36. To summarize, the British media are now using the judicial sentence to say that the McCanns are not cleared, after spending almost 10 years saying the opposite against all evidence. What is the next step? Are the McCanns going to take the blame after all? Or will SY come up with some opportune late evidence to clear them before the April deadline? Anything is possible. What we know for sure is that the media will follow whatever storyline is decided at the top level.

    ReplyDelete
  37. https://stv.tv/news/uk/1380266-mccanns-not-formally-cleared-over-madeleine-s-disappearance/

    McCanns not formally cleared over Madeleine's disappearance

    ITV a day ago
    Portugal’s Supreme Court said removal of suspect status should not 'equate to proof of innocence'.

    Kate and Gerry McCann have not been formally cleared over their daughter Madeleine's disappearance, Portugal's Supreme Court has said.

    The removal of their "arguido", or formal suspect, status is not technically "equated to proof of innocence", the country's top judges explained.

    An investigation into the parents was dropped in 2008 due to a lack of evidence.

    In the Supreme Court's 76-page dossier, the judges added that there were "serious concerns" over the theory that Madeleine, aged three, had been abducted from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, in May 2007.

    But judges made it clear that it would be wrong for anyone to draw any inferences about the couple's guilt or innocence from their ruling.

    The judges said in a statement: "It should not be said that the appellants were cleared via the ruling announcing the archiving of the criminal case.

    "The archiving of the case was determined by the fact that public prosecutors hadn't managed to obtain sufficient evidence of the practice of crimes by the appellants.

    "There is therefore a significant, and not merely a semantic difference, between the legally admissible foundations of the archive ruling."

    Ex-detective Goncalo Amaral was cleared in an ongoing libel case last week.
    The McCanns, from Leicestershire, went to court in Portugal after Mr Amaral wrote in a book that he believed they had something to do with Madeleine's disappearance.

    They won and courts said the officer should pay them half a million euros (£430,000) in damages.

    But Mr Amaral appealed, and the courts ruled in his favour due to freedom of expression laws.

    The judges, who do not hold criminal authority in Portugal, added their job was not to decide if the McCanns were responsible for the disappearance of Madeleine.

    The Metropolitan Police have been assisting the family with the search for clues and visited the holiday resort in 2014.

    A spokesman for the McCann family said: "It's entirely a matter for their lawyers."

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  38. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/09/madeleine-mccanns-parents-have-not-ruled-innocent-judge-says/

    Madeleine McCann’s parents have not been ruled innocent, judge says

    By Telegraph Reporters
    9 February 2017 • 11:47am

    Madeleine McCann’s parents have not been ruled innocent when it comes to their daughter’s disappearance, a judge in Portugal’s highest court has said.

    Kate and Gerry McCann have vehemently denied any involvement in their daughter's disappearance from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

    However, they have been plagued by allegations suggesting they were involved, including former police chief Goncalo Amaral's claim that Maddie died in the flat and her parents faked her abduction to cover up the tragedy.

    Now, Portuguese Supreme Court judges – who last week ruled against their final appeal over Amaral's 2008 book The Truth of the Lie – have said the lifting of their status as 'arguidos', or formal suspects, and the archiving of the criminal case into Maddie's disappearance did not mean they were innocent.

    The court issued its 76-page ruling on the McCanns' fight against a lower court's decision last April to reverse their 2015 libel win against the former detective.

    The couple were left facing a legal bill and the prospect of being sued by Amaral, who led the initial hunt for Madeleine when she vanished, after being told last Tuesday the Supreme Court had gone against them in a ruling which was not made fully public until Thursday.

    Judges made it clear in their decision their job was not to decide whether the McCanns bore any criminal responsibility over their daughter's disappearance and said it would be wrong for anyone to draw any inferences about the couple's guilt or innocence from their ruling.

    But they added: "It should not be said that the appellants were cleared via the ruling announcing the archiving of the criminal case. In truth, that ruling was not made in virtue of Portugal's Public Prosecution Service having acquired the conviction that the appellants hadn't committed a crime.

    "The archiving of the case was determined by the fact that public prosecutors hadn't managed to obtain sufficient evidence of the practice of crimes by the appellants.

    "There is therefore a significant, and not merely a semantic difference, between the legally admissible foundations of the archive ruling. It doesn't therefore seem acceptable that the ruling, based on the insufficiency of evidence, should be equated to proof of innocence."

    They added: "It's true that the aforementioned criminal inquiry ended up being archived, namely because none of the apparent evidence that led to the appellants being made 'arguidos' was subsequently confirmed or consolidated.

    "However even the archive ruling raises serious concerns relating to the truth of the allegation that Madeleine was kidnapped."

    The McCanns were told their arguido status had been lifted on July 21, 2008, when the Portuguese probe into Maddie's disappearance was shelved, three days before Amaral published his controversial book.

    The former detective was ordered to pay the couple 500,000 euros (£430,000) by a Lisbon court in April 2015 after they won round one of their lengthy judicial battle.

    Amaral got that ruling – and a ban on selling his book overturned on appeal in April last year.

    The decision by Lisbon's Court of Appeal sparked the Supreme Court fight which was resolved last Tuesday.

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