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All important events from May 2008
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pa.press.net - 01.05.2008 05:22
Kate and Gerry McCann's campaign for a Europe-wide missing child alert system has so far received less
than one third of the support it needs from Euro-MPs.
And as the first anniversary of Madeleine McCann's disappearance approaches, Conservative MEP Edward McMillan-Scott
renewed calls for support for a US-style "Amber Alert" network of fast-response warnings across borders when a child is believed
to have been abducted.
The McCanns visited the European Parliament last month, pleading for MEPs' support to get EU governments to
back the scheme.
A European Parliament declaration demanding a child alert system opened for signatures last week, but needs
the names of at least half the 785 MEPs before it has formal status as a resolution.
Even then it has no legal force - but a European Parliament resolution would put serious political and moral
pressure on the European Commission and EU governments to adopt legally-binding measures to increase the chances of finding
missing children.
So far the declaration has attracted 127 names, but needs at least 393 by the end of June.
A similar initiative failed to attract sufficient signatures two years ago - but the case of Madeleine McCann
is expected to tip the balance this time.
So far France is the only EU country which has an Amber Alert system, but its worth has been demonstrated
in America, where almost 400 children have been recovered, 80% within the crucial first 72 hours, since the system started
in 2003.
In Europe, an existing patchwork of partial national monitoring systems needs bolstering by closer cross-border
co-operation and data-sharing on child abduction, says the European Commission.
In France, a comprehensive system means French authorities can flash up electronic missing child information
on French motorway signboards within 30 minutes of a confirmed case of abduction.
Anniversary appeal is our last chance, say Kate and Gerry McCann
Timesonline
David Brown
May 02, 2008 (First published online: May 01, 2008)
Kate and Gerry McCann admitted that their publicity drive this week was the "last chance" to promote the international
search for their missing daughter, Madeleine.
Their proposal to use the case to campaign for new warning systems for missing children suffered a setback
yesterday when it was effectively ruled out by senior police.
The McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, expect interest in their daughter to wane after the first anniversary
tomorrow of her disappearance from the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz. Mr McCann, 39, said: "It's inevitable that
the spotlight and the intensity cannot stay the way it's been and we don't expect it. We will be dealing with the media in
a different way." The couple, both doctors, carried out several interviews yesterday after an ITV documentary in which they
appeared on Wednesday attracted an average audience of 4.1 million. "The last thing we would possibly ever want is for Madeleine
to become a statistic, a missing child who because of her young age may grow up in another environment and never be recovered,"
Mr McCann said.
Their hopes of campaigning for British police forces to adopt the American Amber Alert system of immediate
information broadcasts on missing children were knocked back yesterday. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Bryan, who is
the Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead on missing people, said that British forces already operated an effective
"child rescue alert".
They want information from the PJ
24horas
Clarence Mitchell, gave an interview to Rádio Renascença
Text: Rita Coelho
01/05/2008 (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos for translation)
The couple would like to have more details given by the PJ about the steps of the investigation concerning
the disappearance of their daughter, revealed yesterday the spokesman of the McCanns. "Kate and Gerry accept that they have
to work with the Portuguese police but they would like to have more information", said Clarence Mitchell in an interview to
Rádio Renascença.
Apart from the fact that they feel they have few information, Kate and Gerry also held responsible the PJ
for the information leaks. "Some of the leaks that appeared in the Portuguese and Spanish press were, we believe, from police
sources and that is very damaging. We hope that those leaks end", he said.
Mitchell also said in the interview that the McCanns will not come to Portugal to the reconstruction of the
disappearance scheduled for 15 or 16th of May. As the spokesman had already told 24 Horas, the McCanns do not believe that
this exercise, a year after and without being filmed by television cameras brings any benefit to discover the truth. "Nobody
stopped to think the psychological effect that it could cause to Kate, to see another person impersonating Maddie" said recently
to 24 Horas, Clarence Mitchell.
Stop being arguidos
Although the spokesman has guaranteed several times that the withdrawal of the arguido status is not compelling
as a condition for the McCanns to cooperate in the reconstruction, the truth is that the stigma continues to be heavy on them.
They would like "that the arguido status was withdrawn as soon as possible because they are not involved in the disappearance
of their daughter", said Clarence Mitchell in the interview. "They never placed the child in danger, they were never negligent
or something like that. They are responsible parents", guarantees Mitchell.
Letters with threats
The spokesman of the McCanns also confirmed that Kate and Gerry have received some threats. "I am not going
to enter in details but they receive several letters", he referred. "The majority is of support. Occasionally we also receive
some less good and some times we had to give those letters to the British police". The investigation of Método 3, the agency
of detectives hired by the McCanns continues with new possible clues.
"I cannot enter in details. We do not want to alert the abductor to what is being done".
We will see the results...
How the anniversary of Maddie's disappearance will be marked
Masses
in Portugal and in England
After tomorrow one year passes since the disappearance of Maddie in Algarve. The day will be marked by the
McCanns in England, where they live, by going to a mass. The mass is scheduled to the Church of Our Lady of Annunciation in
Liverpool where Kate and Gerry got married in December of 1998. Five years later the little Madeleine the first child of the
couple was born. In the last year the family searched for spiritual support near the Catholic church (in England and Portugal)
and near the Anglican community established in Praia Luz. The McCanns became intimate friends with that priest.
The date will also be marked with a religious ceremony in the church of Senhora da Luz in Algarve, scheduled
to 18,30, next Saturday. "Join us" is the appeal made in a paper in the door of the church. According to the British press,
Kate and Gerry will also light candles in memory of their daughter at 21,15 approximately at the same hour that they believe
their daughter was abducted from the room were she was sleeping in the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz.
McCanns fear Madeleine could be held against her will for years like Fritzl's secret family
Daily Mail
Last updated at 14:44pm on 1st May 2008
Madeleine McCann's parents fear she could end up like the secret family Josef Fritzl kept captive in an underground
dungeon in Austria, they revealed today.
Gerry McCann said the horrific case in the town of Amstetten, as well as that of Natascha Kampusch - who was
held captive by Austrian paedophile Wolfgang Priklopil for eight years - did show it was possible his own daughter is still
alive.
But he said he and wife Kate lived in fear that she could become a "statistic" while growing up elsewhere
and ultimately surviving but forgetting her parents.
In an appearance on Sky News the McCanns were asked if the shocking case gave them a glimmer of hope, as proof
that it was possible for someone missing so long to still be alive.
Mr McCann replied: "It's an interesting concept isn't it? And of course Austria has had the other case of
Natascha Kampusch who was missing for eight years.
"The last thing we would possibly ever want is for Madeleine to become a statistic, a missing child who because
of her young age may grow up in another environment and never be recovered."
His wife Kate, sitting by his side, interjected: "And adapt..." - indicating that they also fear Madeleine
could grow up and forget them.
The couple, who are both doctors, have launched a media blitz ahead of the one-year anniversary of their daughter's
disappearance this Saturday in a bid to uncover any new leads.
They admit the renewed interest in Madeleine's plight because of the landmark could be their last chance to
find her and are candid about their determination to capitalise on it while they still can.
Mr McCann told ITV: "This is an international situation, there is no doubt about that... Madeleine could have
very easily been moved out of Portugal so we have to appeal as far out as possible."
His wife said: "We know certainly that the media interest in us will die down after the anniversary. I think
that's inevitable and there are benefits from that.
"We always knew there was going to be a lot of attention around the anniversary and I guess we are trying
to capitalise on that and achieve something while we can.
"Obviously we can still work on it after that but we need to take these opportunities."
Mr McCann said they were renewing their appeal for any information because they still believe someone out
there "has that bit of information".
Although he said they would continue to campaign more widely about missing children, the doctor insisted his
daughter would always be their priority no matter how long they have to search for her.
"As long as Madeleine is missing, obviously we are going to be looking for her," he said.
"Our priority is finding Madeleine and we will certainly never give up searching for her until we find out
what happed and we find her abductor."
They are both adamant their daughter, now four, is still alive and that it will only take one piece of information
to find her.
Mrs McCann said: "Madeleine is just so important to us. She is so special to us and if anything is going to
keep you going, it is that.
"We are her parents. We will never give up no matter how tired we are, we will always keep going. We want
Madeleine back and she deserves to be found."
The couple have embarked on a huge round of TV interviews to kick off a renewed campaign in their search for
their girl ahead of the anniversary of her disappearance on Saturday.
Appearing this morning with his wife on GMTV, Mr McCann said their ordeal has been "almost unbearable", but
they have been pulled through by their young twins Sean and Amelie.
He said: "Any parent will understand we will do anything to get that child back. We will go to the ends of
the earth."
His wife added: "We're Madeleine's parents; if we're not there for her, who is?"
They have not yet decided what to do to mark the first anniversary of the four-year-old's disappearance from
Praia da Luz, Portugal, on Saturday.
Mr McCann said there are nights when he thinks "I don't want to wake up tomorrow", but that they believe a
lot can still be done.
He added: "That person is still out there and will probably do this again."
Speaking of the hate mail the couple have received, he said: "The negatives do drag you down a bit, you try
to develop a thick skin and put them aside.
"The problem with the recurring criticism that we went to dinner 50 yards away is that we can't change that."
Mrs McCann said: "Everybody parents in a different way. I couldn't love Madeleine more than I do and there's
no way we would ever take the risk.
"There's probably some things that other people do that we wouldn't do. There's no right or wrong, it's just
different."
She added: "There's been an evil crime committed here, a hideous crime ... It's just so important to concentrate
on that.
"We've got to live with ourselves for that misjudgement but really the focus should be on that person who's
out there."
Behind the scenes with the McCann family spokesman, Clarence Mitchell
Page last updated at 14:20 GMT, Thursday, 1 May 2008 15:20 UK
Madeleine: Cops Question 'Key' Witness
Sky News
Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent
Updated:18:53, Thursday May 01, 2008
Police have re-interviewed a woman who may prove to be a key witness in the Madeleine McCann case.
She was quizzed by police in the UK and her new statements passed to Portuguese detectives.
The young British woman, whose identity we are not revealing, saw a man "hovering" around the family's Algarve
apartment on the morning of May 3, hours before Madeleine vanished.
She was asked back for more questioning last week, according to Sky sources.
The witness was sitting on a balcony overlooking the holiday complex in Praia da Luz when she spotted the
man acting suspiciously.
She thought little of his behaviour at the time and returned to the UK later that day.
When she heard of Madeleine's disappearance she reported it to her local police force and was interviewed
for the first time.
She gave detectives a detailed description of the suspect and helped an artist compile a computer-generated
image of him.
It is not clear whether that image was ever released.
The woman was among 60 or so names given by the Algarve detectives last month to Leicestershire police, who
are conducting interviews on behalf of the Portuguese authorities.
The woman was asked back for a second interview last week in a bid to identify any discrepancies or similarities
in witness statements.
The McCanns' friends, the so-called Tapas 7, were among those re-interviewed.
Burglar Snatches Madeleine Sermon Notes
Sky News
Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent
Thursday May 01, 2008
I don't suppose it will distract them from their endeavours this weekend, but two of Kate and Gerry McCanns'
closest friends in Praia da Luz have been burgled ahead of the Madeleine anniversary.
Anglican priest Haynes Hubbard and his wife Susan lost a computer that contains personal and confidential
email exchanges between the two couples.
The laptop also held notes on which Father Hubbard was basing his sermon about Madeleine at the weekend.
Mrs Hubbard is concerned, too, about private telephone numbers stored on a mobile that was also stolen.
The Hubbards became great friends and comforters of the McCanns in the days after Madeleine's disappearance
and have kept in touch since Gerry and Kate returned to the UK.
I interviewed Father Hubbard several times and he was always a rather serious guy.
His wife was quite different.
One afternoon I spotted her emptying an impressive bag of bottles beside the recycling point at the end of
the promenade.
"Oh no," she gasped in mock horror. "Vicar's wife in secret booze scandal."
She didn't strike me as the Amy Winehouse type.
But, then, I've never heard her sing.
Police chief rules out alert system
Ananova
01 May 2008
The most senior officer responsible for tracing missing children in England and Wales effectively ruled out
introducing an "amber alert" system.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Bryan said there is no need for UK forces to adopt the American system
of immediate information broadcasts.
The officer, who is the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) lead on missing people, said forces already
operate an effective "child rescue alert".
Mr Bryan said police would rather use other investigative techniques to trace children before going public
and potentially alerting abductors.
But he admitted that guidelines may be too strict as only three alerts have been issued in the past five years.
Mr Bryan added that introducing such a system on mainland Europe would have its merits, but there are substantial
legislative hurdles.
His comments will come as a blow to Kate and Gerry McCann as they campaign for a Europe-wide quick response
system to help find abducted children. Their daughter Madeleine disappeared a year ago from a holiday apartment in Praia da
Luz, Portugal.
France is the only country to have introduced alerts along American lines, with a similar but less well-established
scheme in Belgium.
Mr Bryan said the McCanns are doing a "sterling job" in raising the issue of how police deal with child abductions.
He said: "I welcome the McCann's pressing for an amber alert. People need to realise we have got a version
of amber alert in the UK - child rescue alert. That has been in place since 2003 in Sussex and it was rolled out nationally
by 2006. We have only had to use it on three occasions."
Parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann appeal to kidnappers: Call us
MSNUK News
Published online: May 01, 2008 at 21:40
The parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann have appealed to her kidnappers to return their daughter
on the one-year anniversary of her disappearance from a Portuguese resort.
Kate and Gerry McCann have begun a new phase of their search for Madeleine with the launch of a telephone
hotline they hope will produce new information.
"If you have Madeleine, you can call this number. All we are interested in, is getting Madeleine back," Gerry
McCann urged in an interview Thursday with AP television.
"You can do this anonymously, we will guarantee that. All we want is Madeleine back. You can get out of this
situation. Please, contact us," he said.
The couple have produced a documentary and are conducting interviews as part of a new media offensive to mark
the anniversary.
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pa.press.net - 02.05.2008 12:19
Madeleine McCann's parents have launched a direct appeal to anyone who has spoken to Portuguese
police about her disappearance to contact them.
A year on from their daughter's abduction and with their relationship with the Portuguese investigation team
having become strained, Gerry and Kate McCann said it was now their right to know what information, including every potential
lead, was out there.
Mr McCann said: "This is something we have been working on behind the scenes, putting into place what we knew
was going to be massive media attention on us and trying to capitalise on that to get our message out.
"We have used the documentary as a platform, told a story of where we are at ... to bring the focus completely
back to what this was always about, and that's finding Madeleine."
Mrs McCann said: "There has been that much speculation in a lot of the media, particularly the written press.
"I find it upsetting, but it's upsetting for Madeleine. It's taking away people searching for Madeleine."
With the anniversary of the child's disappearance from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz falling on Saturday,
the McCanns believe this could be a "last chance" in their search.
Because of Portugal's secrecy laws, they have been kept in the dark over much of the information the authorities
have collected about her disappearance, despite numerous apparent leaks to the media in Portugal and Spain.
"We are a year down the line and seemingly no closer to finding Madeleine. We have got little bits of the
jigsaw but huge gaps and we have a resource, we have set aside considerable resources on this task," Mr McCann said.
The couple urged people to call a new phone line - 0845 838 4699 - with any potential leads.
McCanns appeal to police callers
BBC News
Page last updated at 01:33 GMT, Friday, 2 May 2008
02:33 UK
The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have appealed to anyone who gave information to Portuguese police
about her disappearance to contact them.
In one of several appearances to mark a year since the search began, Kate and Gerry McCann said they had a
right to know what details were out there.
"We are a year down the line and seemingly no closer to finding Madeleine," said Mr McCann, 39.
The Leicestershire couple have set up a dedicated phone line - 0845 838 4699.
They urged people with any potential leads to call the number.
'Bits of the jigsaw'
"This is the last chance to capture a lot of information which has maybe gone into the investigation and we
are not privy to," Mr McCann said.
"Clearly we need to know that everything has been done. What we are asking people to do is if you have given
information to police, Crimestoppers, the Portuguese police, we are asking you to give it to us as well."
He said they have "little bits of the jigsaw" but there were still "huge gaps".
Madeleine disappeared shortly before her fourth birthday from a holiday resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal,
on 3 May last year.
Her parents had been eating with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant and were later named as suspects by
Portuguese police.
They have always denied any wrongdoing and have campaigned hard for people to help in their search for Madeleine.
But because of Portuguese secrecy laws, the police have not shared the information they have collected with
the couple.
The phone line will be formally launched on Friday with pre-recorded interviews from a London hotel.
Mr McCann told reporters: "Today is about Madeleine and today is about us stating our absolute categoric belief
that there's no evidence Madeleine has been seriously harmed. Surely we can find her if everyone pulls together."
Mrs McCann, 40, explained why she felt Madeleine was still alive.
"It's a sense. Madeleine just feels very close," she said.
Dungeon rescue gives me hope
The Sun
By ANTONELLA LAZZERI
Published: Today, 02 May 2008
MISSING Madeleine McCann’s mum told yesterday how the astonishing rescue of Austrian dungeon girl Elisabeth
Fritzl has given her fresh hope that her daughter is still alive.
Kate, 40, said that hearing how Elisabeth was saved after 24 years imprisonment renewed her belief that little
Maddie may also be held captive somewhere.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s first anniversary of the night her blonde girl disappeared, Kate told The
Sun: "It proves that people can go off the radar, doesn’t it? But they are still there – and you owe it to that
person to keep looking. It gives you hope. It’s horrible to think of the length of time, but Elisabeth being found gives
you hope.
"It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be next week. You just have to hold on to that hope."
GP Kate, 40, firmly believes Maddie, who vanished days before her fourth birthday while on holiday in Portugal
last May, is still alive.
She said: "It’s a sense, really. Madeleine just feels very close.
"It’s more of a kind of sensation that she’s there. You try to be objective and think, 'Is that
just because I’m her mum and I want to believe it?' But it hasn’t changed."
Kate, of Rothley, Leics, said she often "sees" Maddie in her head.
She said: "I don't really picture her as she’d be now – I picture her as we remember her. And
that’s being happy, because that was Madeleine. I don't actually think she could have been happier.
"It's memories, really. Seeing her there, seeing her in the garden. She can't find us, we have to find her."
Ordeal
But Kate knows that, even if she IS found, Maddie’s ordeal may have had a terrible effect on
the tot.
Her voice trailing off, she said: "I've talked of this sense that she's there and I'm going to see her again
– but I guess the hardest thing is knowing that if we do find her she’ll be there, but . . . "
Speaking as she and husband Gerry launched their own appeal to find Maddie, Kate told how a visit to the
American Centre for Missing and Exploited Children also sparked new optimism.
She said: "I came out of there thinking, 'She is out there'. This isn't just my parental longing for Madeleine.
This is experts saying we have X, Y and Z cases."
Heart specialist Gerry, 39, said: "Ernie Allen, the head of the American Centre, said to us there is a really
good chance Madeleine is out there. And that is 25 years' experience of someone involved in missing and abducted children."
He added: "Data from America shows that, of the children abducted every year, 40 to 50 per cent are killed.
That means the majority are not killed.
"The evidence from the States again is that, the younger the child, the less likely it is that they will be
seriously harmed or killed. And Madeleine is at the right lower age limit.
"We’re not saying it's impossible and we've never said that. And you do start to wonder how many children
who are never found, and are assumed to be dead, are actually being brought up somewhere else.
"It’s frightening to think of Natascha Kampusch and Shawn Hornbeck – eight years and 4½ years."
Natascha was found eight years after she had been abducted by a paedophile in Austria, and Shawn nearly
five years after he was taken by a sex fiend in America.
And it was revealed at the weekend how Elisabeth Fritzl was held captive for more than two decades by her
father in a cellar beneath his house in Amstetten, Austria.
Holding hands tightly with Kate, Gerry said: "The last thing we would ever want is for Madeleine to become
a statistic – a missing child who, because of her young age, may grow up in another environment and never be recovered."
Maddie went missing from the family’s apartment as Kate and Gerry shared a tapas bar meal with friends
at their holiday complex in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
The toll of the year which has followed is most obvious in Kate, who looked thin and frail yesterday during
a round of interviews to heighten awareness of their case.
But Gerry revealed that the couple's three-year-old twins Sean and Amelie keep them going.
He said: "They talk about Madeleine constantly. They include her in everything. They ask about her.
"They essentially still play with her – and that’s really heartening for us a year down the line.
"If Madeleine walked in tomorrow, they’d shout, 'Madeleine's home, lets play!' She's still a huge part
of their life and ours." Yet Gerry added: "We'll face difficult decisions down the line and we are not forcing information
on them."
Kate said: "We don’t have to do anything to keep Madeleine there – she’s just there. I sense
her and that’s hard because I just want to be closer to her again."
Last chance: A year after Madeleine vanished, the McCanns blitz the media but admit interest is waning
Daily Mail (This report later re-written with new headline)
By VANESSA ALLEN
Last updated at 00:18am on 2nd May 2008
Madeleine McCann's parents launched what they described as a 'last chance' effort to find their daughter yesterday.
Speaking on the eve of the first anniversary of her disappearance, they spoke of the 'torture upon torture'
piled upon them during the last 12 months.
They also acknowledged they could not keep up the intensity of their search and that the interest in their
plight was bound to wane.
"It's inevitable that the spotlight and the intensity cannot stay the way it's been, and we don't expect it,"
said Gerry McCann, 39. "This is a last chance in terms of international reach."
But they faced disappointment last night when it emerged that their high-profile campaign for a Europe-wide
alert system for missing children had not won the support of British police.
The most senior officer responsible for tracing missing children in England and Wales, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
Richard Bryan, said there was already an adequate alert system in place.
In a round of nine back-to-back media interviews, Mr McCann and his wife Kate, 40, spoke about the toll their
high-profile campaign has taken on their family.
They hit back at claims they had courted celebrity status and ducked questions about whether they feared they
could still face charges for child negligence.
The frustrations of the year began to show as they were asked repeatedly why they had left their children
alone while they had dinner with friends on their holiday in Portugal.
Mrs McCann said: "I feel we have been persecuted enough about this matter, and we have done it to ourselves
and we don't need to keep going over it."
The couple have faced recurring criticism over their decision to leave Madeleine, then three, and their two-year-old
twins alone in the unlocked holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, and have repeatedly told of their regret and guilt.
Mrs McCann said: "Everybody parents in a different way. There's no right or wrong, it's just different. We're
not perfect. We're normal parents, normal people. And most people are flawed."
Her husband added: "We have expressed our deep regret but we cannot change it. We have to live with that on
a daily basis - we don't need reminding of it."
The couple, who both remain official police suspects, admitted there were days when their guilt, regrets and
fears over Madeleine overwhelmed them.
"But we have to carry on," said Mr McCann. "We are not characters in a soap opera. This is about a real child
and a real family who have been traumatised by this."
His wife said she had moved on from the darkest days of the immediate aftermath of Madeleine's disappearance.
She said: "It's obviously a bit different now to how it was right at the beginning, when you're hardly functioning.
It's impossible not to enjoy Sean and Amelie."
Onlookers said Mrs McCann, wearing a cream vest top, matching cardigan and light make-up, was poised and assured
during the round of interviews.
Her and her husband, who have faced claims that cracks have formed in their relationship, insisted they remained
strong.
But the pain and hurt they feel at their treatment by the Portuguese police and some sections of the media
was never far from the surface.
Mrs McCann, a GP who has not yet returned to work, snorted with derision as she was asked if police had done
enough to find her daughter, before her husband answered more diplomatically.
Madeleine Divers Quit Reservoir Search
Sky News
Alex Watts, Sky News Online In Praia Da Luz
Updated:10:54, Friday May 02, 2008
Divers have called off their search of a remote reservoir in the hunt for missing Madeleine McCann.
The
operation, funded by human rights lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia, was launched in the belief that the girl was killed shortly
after being abducted and thrown in the Barragem Arade reservoir.
The hilly area is around 35 miles from Praia da Luz,
where Madeleine disappeared almost a year ago.
Mr Correira claimed the reservoir tip-off had come from an underworld
source, and had promised to hand over any evidence to Metodo 3, the detective agency hired by Madeleine's parents, Gerry and
Kate McCann.
But Martyn Falkous, who led the six-strong team of British and Portuguese divers, confirmed the search
had been stopped.
The 36-year-old, who runs Dive Time, based in Lagos, told Sky News Online: "We have not been asked
to do any more searches of the reservoir. If Mr Correira asks us to do more, we will search for him.
"We were concentrating
on the dam's control tower and a couple of other areas - basically the places where someone could have thrown something into
the water."
He said a complete search of the reservoir would be a massive task. The bottom has a layer of mud four metres
thick, into which a weighted body would sink and disappear.
He added: "It's very difficult because there's no visibility
down there. It's absolutely pitch black so you have to do everything by touch.
"It's 60ft deep in places and has a
sheer bank, so it goes straight down."
The team found a child's sock, several ropes, and a bag of animal bones.
It
was the second time the lawyer had paid for divers to explore the reservoir. In December - when Portuguese police refused
to act on his claims - he paid around £3,000 for a first search.
The McCanns have dismissed Mr Correia as a self-publicist
and believed there was no evidence to suggest any link between their daughter and the reservoir.
Dogged family start new probe The Sun
By ANTONELLA LAZZERI
Published: 02 May 2008
THE McCanns are launching their own investigation
into the Maddie mystery – after being kept in the dark for a year.
They are issuing posters appealing for people to ring a new helpline number or send information to an email
address.
Angry Gerry said Portuguese secrecy laws meant he and Kate were not even told about leads from British TV
show Crimestoppers.
They went straight to Portuguese police, who were originally led by detective Goncalo Amaral. He was booted
off the case after claiming British cops were trying to shield the McCanns.
Explaining the appeal, Gerry said: "We need to know. The bulk of the information came from the UK. We knew
there were thousands of leads through Crimestoppers and Leicestershire Police.
Information
"We’re not taking the law into our own hands.
"We want to make sure everything possible is being done. We are running an independent investigation. We have
a right to information and what has been done to our daughter."
He added: "Somebody knows something. If you’ve given information to the police, Crimestoppers and the
Portuguese police, we’re asking you to give it to us as well.
"There is a local call number, people can phone it from abroad. They can leave information anonymously and
we guarantee confidentiality.
"This is Mayday for Madeleine. It is a last chance to capture a lot of information.
"People want to help. She’s a completely innocent child and surely we can find her if everyone pulls
together."
Kate stared at a photo of her daughter on the new poster and said: "I feel she is still there. I don’t
feel it is over."
Tânia Laranjo
02 May 2008, 10:00h (translation: Debk)
They aren't enough to condemn the McCanns. They are only miniscule vestiges, whose genetic profile is frighteningly
close to Madeleine's. The definitive results are now in Portugal, as are the final analysis of the biological and synthetic
residues sent to the National Institute of Legal Medicine (INML) headquartered in Coimbra.
For many investigators,
the proof is sufficient, but the truth is that in court it could create doubt. And in a case like this, which also concerns
the credibility of our authorities, all the care in the world is not enough.
The definitive exam results have been
with PJ for some months and indicate a high degree of similarity between the blood in the McCann's car and that of Madeleine.
The same comparisons were made with the vestiges detected in the apartment rented by the English [couple] and where the child,
then three years old, disappeared without a trace.
One year later, the impasse in the investigation continues. Without
a cadaver or confessions it will continue to be possible for the child's parents to create doubts [in court]. Not because
of the quality of the vestiges, but because of the method used in their collection. "The vestiges were not visible to the
naked eye and it was necessary to use the 'low copy number'. What that means is that genetic profiles were extracted from
all the people that left vestiges in that place. We are not dealing with contamination of the samples, but the possibility,
mostly academic, that someone with an identical genetic profile combined with all the others," affirmed a source within the
process to CM.
In addition, Corte Real, responsible for the genetic analysis at INML, told CM that there are no perfect
DNA matches. Without referring specifically to this case, the specialist reiterated that 99.99% results are valid, almost
standalone, in paternity suits. "If we are talking about cases where various genetic profiles were collected then the results
are lower [than 99.99%]."
"Maddie is missing" (Gerry and Kate McCann, Maddie's parents,
to SIC TV)
- How has this past year been?
Kate: I spend the entire day with Sean and Amélie.
It has been very difficult, but I continue to believe that Maddie is alive.
Gerry: It was by far the most difficult
year. We continue to be motivated by the strong possibility that she is alive.
- Do your younger children continue
to ask about their sister?
Kate: They talk about her every day. She is part of their lives. At times it is difficult,
other times touching. She is part of their lives.
Gerry: I believe that if Maddie returned home today they would react
normally ... they are very little, and don't yet ask questions. At this point, they just know that Maddie is missing.
Kate:
We can only tell them the truth when we know it.
Gerry: They have the notion that they last saw Maddie in Portugal.
They think that if they go back, they'll find their sister.
Notes
18
Interviews
Yesterday, Maddie's parents gave 18 interviews to the media.
Message to the Abductor
"All
we want is Madeleine back and you can free yourself of this situation," says Gerry.
The Apartment
In
apartment 5a at the Ocean Club vestiges of blood were found, whose DNA is similar to Maddie's. One of the vestiges was behind
the sofa.
The Car
The discovery of vestiges in the car rented after the disappearance mandated the
about-face of the investigation. The exam results caused the parents to become arguidos.
PJ prepares to clear the McCanns
Expresso
Without evidence to charge Kate and Gerry, the
PJ investigates again the abduction hypothesis. A year passed by and there is no clue of where the child is.
Rui Gustavo
02 May 2008 (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum
for translation)
The analysis of the depositions collected in England did not bring new data to the investigation of Madeleine
McCann's case. The PJ did not find any contradiction, clue or signs strong enough to sustain the thesis of homicide followed
by concealment of the body and is prepared to propose the filing of the case concerning the parents, Gerry and Kate McCann.
The final word belongs to the public prosecutor Magalhães e Menezes who can still opt for charges of negligence.
After
a huge controversy, Maddie's parents are willing to return to Portugal to participate in an eventual reconstruction. But according
to Rogério Alves, only if this step is judicially ordered and if it is really needed.
(This article will be developed
in tomorrow's edition)
*
Note: Expresso (newspaper) and SIC (TV channel), belong to Pinto Balsemão.
ITV and SIC made a deal, in which ITV sold the 'Maddie, One Year On: Campaign For Change' documentary to SIC
as an exclusive, if certain conditions were met.
It was therefore unsurprising that the McCanns' subsequent interview with SIC was very sympathetic, whereas
the RTP interview, with Sandra Felgueiras, was hard hitting.
Today the 'news' of the McCanns having their arguidos status lifted was announced by Expresso! However, it
has already been confirmed that the McCanns' arguido staus will carry on until August.
The McCanns' Portuguese lawyer, Rogério Alves, has confirmed that the news published in Expresso
has no substance.
Madeleine McCann: A year of doubts
Destak
Patrícia Susano Ferreira/Marta Araújo
02/05/2008 09:48h (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos
forum for translation)
"They can try to prove bad intent"
As to the possibility
of withdrawing the status of arguidos, the lawyer Jorge Cabral says to Destak that if that happened "Kate and Gerry would
have the chance to became assistants in the process, helping the Public Prosecutor, a fact that until now is not possible".
The
president of the Criminology Institute and teacher of the Lusófona University says that this process has since the beginning
several mistakes as "the declaration of the PJ pointing to the abduction thesis or the fact that the apartment was not locked".
As
to the hypothesis of the couple asking for compensation from the Portuguese state, if evidence that links them to
the disappearance is not found, the lawyer says that that possibility is not, in theory, contemplated in the Portuguese law.
Nonetheless, "Kate and Gerry may, in the limit, try to prove that there was bad intent or falsification of evidence. In a
case like that the situation is different".
As to access to the process, when the secrecy of justice ends, "the
judge can limit the access to people and also to documents". "For instance, Kate's diary and the lab results can be in the
category of inaccessible documents" concludes the expert.
Alleged diversion
In
the team of PJ inspectors that were on the ground, Destak found that the feelings are of injustice and frustration. "The
investigation works were diverted from the right path when the British ambassador phoned to the National Director of the PJ,
Alípio Ribeiro selling the idea that it was an abduction", says a police source.
"From that moment on nobody else trusted
in us and in our work. It was the political question that ruled. We were gagged told to shut up and the investigation always
ended ruined", adds the same source.
The inspectors did not like either the insinuation made by Maddie's family that
it was the PJ that put blood vestiges in the car the McCanns hired 23 days after the child's disappearance.
"What it
seems to us is that that evidence was put there by someone that wanted to discredit, even more, the work of the inspectors
of the PJ", regrets a source connected to the process. Amongst these men there is the conviction that "it is too late to discover
the truth".
If the police can't find Madeleine, we'll do it ourselves, vow Kate and Gerry McCann
Daily Mail
By VANESSA ALLEN
Last updated at 11:24am on 2nd May 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann have said that if the police fail
to find their missing daughter Madeleine they will carry on the search alone.
Mr McCann said: 'People have had a fair crack. As parents we just want to make sure everything possible has
been done.'
His wife added: 'You get to the point where you think we will have to find out for ourselves.'
They told the Mirror that they had been kept in the dark about thousands of leads which have been received
by police.
Mr McCann said: 'We've got little bits of the jigsaw and huge gaps. We are saying, "You may have told the
Portuguese police, but tell us". We need to know and we want to know. We will follow up every lead.
'Thousands of leads came in through Crimestoppers and Leicestershire police. We have not had access to that
information and we want it.'
He added: 'We aren't taking the law into our own hands... our investigation is independent.'
In another interview Mrs McCann, a GP who has not yet returned to work, snorted with derision as she was asked
if police had done enough to find her daughter, before her husband answered more diplomatically.
The couple have launched what they described as a 'last chance' effort to find their daughter.
Speaking on the eve of the first anniversary of her disappearance, they spoke of the 'torture upon torture'
piled upon them during the last 12 months.
They also acknowledged they could not keep up the intensity of their search and that the interest in their
plight was bound to wane.
"It's inevitable that the spotlight and the intensity cannot stay the way it's been, and we don't expect it,"
said Mr McCann, 39. "This is a last chance in terms of international reach."
But they faced disappointment last night when it emerged that their high-profile campaign for a Europe-wide
alert system for missing children had not won the support of British police.
The most senior officer responsible for tracing missing children in England and Wales, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
Richard Bryan, said there was already an adequate alert system in place.
In a round of nine back-to-back media interviews, Mr McCann and his 40-year-old wife spoke about the toll
their high-profile campaign has taken on their family.
They hit back at claims they had courted celebrity status and ducked questions about whether they feared they
could still face charges for child negligence.
The frustrations of the year began to show as they were asked repeatedly why they had left their children
alone while they had dinner with friends on their holiday in Portugal.
Mrs McCann said: "I feel we have been persecuted enough about this matter, and we have done it to ourselves
and we don't need to keep going over it."
The couple have faced recurring criticism over their decision to leave Madeleine, then three, and their two-year-old
twins alone in the unlocked holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, and have repeatedly told of their regret and guilt.
Mrs McCann said: "Everybody parents in a different way. There's no right or wrong, it's just different. We're
not perfect. We're normal parents, normal people. And most people are flawed."
Her husband added: "We have expressed our deep regret but we cannot change it. We have to live with that on
a daily basis - we don't need reminding of it."
The couple, who both remain official police suspects, admitted there were days when their guilt, regrets and
fears over Madeleine overwhelmed them.
"But we have to carry on," said Mr McCann. "We are not characters in a soap opera. This is about a real child
and a real family who have been traumatised by this."
His wife said she had moved on from the darkest days of the immediate aftermath of Madeleine's disappearance.
She said: "It's obviously a bit different now to how it was right at the beginning, when you're hardly functioning.
It's impossible not to enjoy Sean and Amelie."
Onlookers said Mrs McCann, wearing a cream vest top, matching cardigan and light make-up, was poised and assured
during the round of interviews.
Her and her husband, who have faced claims that cracks have formed in their relationship, insisted they remained
strong.
But the pain and hurt they feel at their treatment by the Portuguese police and some sections of the media
was never far from the surface.
Madeleine: Kate and Gerry McCann to mark first anniversary of her disappearance with a church vigil
Daily Mail (This report later re-written
with new headline after vigil)
By VANESSA ALLEN
Last updated at 19:45pm on 2nd May 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann are expected to lead prayers today at their
local church on the anniversary of their daughter's disappearance.
The couple, who had planned to spend a quiet day at home, will now mark the grim milestone by attending a
vigil at St Mary and St John in Rothley, Leicestershire.
They had said they were unsure if they could face the public gaze, but Mrs McCann, a devout Catholic, decided
that she wanted to go to the Church of England service.
A family friend said a final decision would be taken this morning but said Kate and Gerry were planning to
go.
Their relatives are expected to join a nationwide drive to light candles and lanterns for Madeleine between
9.15pm and 10pm - the time the McCanns believe she was abducted.
The campaign group, Helping to Find Madeleine, has asked people to "light the way home for Madeleine" by shining
torches and lights.
Everton Football Club has said it will shine its floodlights into the sky.
One of the last poignant pictures of the missing girl shows her dressed in a blue Everton shirt, the team
her Liverpool-born mother also supports.
Mrs McCann, 40, said: "We think that lighting a candle or lantern in this way is a lovely idea. We are very
grateful to everyone who chooses to remember Madeleine this way at this time."
The McCanns have admitted they cannot continue the intensity of their publicity campaign, which has dominated
news coverage over the last 12 months.
They will continue to spearhead the drive for Madeleine's safe return, and to lobby for a Europe-wide alert
system for other missing children as they face a second year without their daughter.
Mr McCann, 39, said: "We do take it day by day. We will do what's right for ourselves and Sean and Amelie
as well."
Mrs McCann added: "It's a difficult day, but it's funny in some ways because it's just another day really.
I don't think we'll know until the morning really what feels right."
Her mother Susan Healy said her tormented daughter wanted today's anniversary to be "low-key".
Mrs Healy, 62, said she and her husband Brian would attend a vigil service at their parish church, in Childwall,
Liverpool, where Mr and Mrs McCann married.
She said: "Kate wants things to be low-key. There will be tea lights left at the back of the church and we
are inviting people to light them, privately at home at 9.15pm, the time we believe Madeleine was taken.
"We know a lot of people will have storm lanterns outside their homes and will want to light up the sky for
Madeleine.
"I think we will come home and do that in our garden - and we hope other people will do the same at their
homes."
Another vigil service will be held in Praia da Luz, where Madeleine vanished from her parents' rented holiday
apartment, a few days before her fourth birthday.
Mrs McCann has penned a message to be read to the congregation.
The tiny church of Nossa Senhora da Luz (Our Lady of the Light) has held a prayer vigil for the missing youngster
every week since last May, when her Catholic parents prayed there.
Photographs of Madeleine will be inside, near a candle which has been kept lit, and Mr McCann's brother John
is set to fly to Portugal to attend the service.
At the locked Ocean Club apartment, a single yellow rose was left inside the chain and padlock which remain
on the gate.
But the mood was not entirely supportive.
The local newspaper, Portugal News, commissioned a survey which found that 46 per cent of ex-pats believed
Mr and Mrs McCann could have been involved in their daughter's disappearance.
The editor refused to reveal how many people had been questioned.
Joanna Sugden
May 3, 2008 (First appeared online May 2, 2008)
A single candle burns beneath a poster of Madeleine
McCann at the home of the Archbishop of York. To mark the anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance the Archbishop has
written a prayer asking "holy angels" to guard her.
Archbishop Dr John Sentamu has spoken out in strong support of Kate and Gerry McCann during the past year
and is calling for a redoubling of efforts to find the missing little girl.
"A year ago today Madeleine McCann was abducted from her bed in Portugal. I ask that all of us redouble our
efforts to pray for her safe return," Dr Sentamu said.
In his prayer, the Archbishop prays that God will keep Madeleine safe and "take away her fear and anxiety,"
he also asks for "hope" for her loved ones.
At Bishopthorpe Palace, the Archbishop of York's official residence, prayers are said daily for Madeleine
and a candle burns beside the now iconic missing poster of Madeleine in the hope of her safe return.
|
|
|
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McCanns ask supporters to light a candle for Madeleine one year on
Timesonline
May 3, 2008 (First appeared online May 2, 2008)
Supporters of the McCann family around the world
have been asked to light a candle, shine a torch or turn on a porch lamp tonight between 9.15pm and 10pm - the time the couple
believe that Madeleine was abducted - to show they have not forgotten her.
Kate McCann said that she planned to light a single candle at the family's home in Rothley, Leicestershire,
where she and her husband, Gerry, are spending the first anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.
After a week of intense media interviews, which they have admitted could be the "last chance" to promote the
international search for their daughter, the couple have asked for privacy today. Speaking yesterday, Mrs McCann, 40, said:
"It's a difficult day, but ... you kind of think it's just another day, really. I don't think we'll know until the morning
what feels right."
The "Light The Way Home" initiative has been organised by Helping to Find Madeleine, an independent group
of supporters of the McCanns.
A friend claims to have seen Madeleine being carried away from the holiday flat where the couple were staying
in Praia da Luz, at 9.15pm. At 10pm Mrs McCann discovered that she was missing.
Mrs McCann's parents will attend a vigil at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church in Liverpool, where she was
married in 1998. Everton Football Club will switch on the floodlights at an empty Goodison Park ground.
Mr McCann's brother John and other relatives are travelling to Praia da Luz on the couple's behalf, and will
attend a vigil in the Algarve village's Church of Our Lady of Light. Madeleine's parents have not been back to Portugal since
being made official suspects in her disappearance last September.
(Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos
forum for translation)
The McCanns look for answers in Robert Murat,
they are convinced of his involvement in the disappearance of their daughter. The multimillionaire that supports the expenses
with lawyers and the private detectives of the Spanish agency "Método 3" went on purpose to Algarve to get to know the British
man.
Brian Kennedy offered to help him, although he was unable to explain how. Why? Why does he believe that Robert
or his mother Jennifer might have seen someone on the night of 3rd of May in the area of the Ocean Club. He was prepared to
pay to the best technicians to draw a photofit of a possible suspect. Saying one thing and then saying another he ended to
say that Kate and Gerry believe that he is innocent and they never came publicly to accuse him but he insisted that Murat
might remember some important detail to help them find Madeleine.
The JN knows that Murat did not accept the help of
the multimillionaire. On the contrary he was upset with the questions that were made and with the insistence of the multimillionaire
that wanted him to remember the night of the disappearance, when Murat always said that he spent the night in his mother's
house, Jennifer, in Praia da Luz.
The meeting - a dinner that Brian Kennedy asked to be discreet and far away from
the eyes of the press - took place in the end of last year at a house of Murat's relatives in Burgau (Vila do Bispo). At the
dinner were present Murat and Kennedy, the respective lawyers, Jennifer Murat and the aunt and uncle of Murat.
After
dinner was Brian Kennedy that finished the conversation. He could not explain why three friends of the couple, belonging to
the group "Tapas 7" came publicly saying that they saw Robert Murat in the area of the Ocean Club in the night of 3 of May
and he (Kennedy) ended to enter in contradiction.
Francisco Pagarete does not confirm this meeting but the JN knows
that the PJ is aware and that they monitored the steps of Kennedy and the detectives of Método 3 very closely. According to
the lawyer one year after the disappearance of Maddie, Murat "still does not understand how his name was involved in the case".
"Everything is very strange" says the lawyer regretting that " a person was involved in this story without having nothing
to do with it".
Alexandra Serôdio, Maria Rodrigues
and Nuno Miguel maia
(Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos
forum for translation)
A year after the disappearance of Madeleine
McCann and nine months after the collection of biological vestiges, the sophisticated and prestigious forensic lab of Birmingham,
in England, did not send yet to the PJ the final reports of all the analysis. The JN found that still missing is the complete
examination to the hairs found in several places and that could help the complex investigation. The PJ was already been informed
informally that it will not be technically possible to determine, through DNA analysis, if the hair samples belong to
Maddie. This is due to fact that the hairs have no capillary tubes.
For this reason, it won't be possible to determine
in scientific terms if the hairs found in the boot of the car hired by the McCanns and in the flat of the Ocean Club belong
to Madeleine or to one of her siblings. The only data that is possible to obtain without capillary tube is the identification
of the mother.
So, the toxicological tests of the same samples are also compromised, they could help to discover
if the child took any products that accidentally could cause her death.
This is one of the work hypothesis followed
by the PJ although they continue to receive almost everyday clues about possible locations of Madeleine, the JN discovered.
Some of the denounces are being transmitted by embassies spread all over the world.
Without the complete
tests the PJ only has inconclusive data. The September's report of last year about the biological vestiges detected in the
boot of the car was important to make the decision of constituting the parents arguidos. In the document, the experts explain
that from the 20 "strands" (DNA parcels) detected in the fluids, 15 coincide with the genetic profile of Maddie. But in reality
this result does not exclude the possibility that the vestige - that the English lab could not guarantee if it was blood since
it was very dry - might belong to a relative of Maddie.
According to information collected by the JN this report was
discussed between the Portuguese and British experts and the last ones raised some doubts about what they have written previously
(this was the one that Kate and Gerry McCann refuse to reply when questioned).
Irish advances
and backtracks
Apart from the results of the analysis made to the vestiges, the PJ has several depositions.
An Irish that spent holidays with the family at Praia da Luz, in May last year, guaranteed to the PJ that he saw a man with
a child in his lap in the night of 3rd of May. Later he said informally that that man seemed to be Gerry McCann.
This
comment of the Smith's family appeared when they observed the images of the McCanns arriving in England at 9th of September.
The way Gerry held Sean in his lap when he got out of the plane in the East Midlands airport and the clothes he was wearing,
described in the first deposition, were useful to the witness "to clarify the ideas".
But when the PJ wanted to formalise
that deposition the witness backtracked and revealed that he was not sure that the person he saw was Gerry.
This deposition
ended to give credibility to Jane Tanner's words, a friend of the couple, that guarantees having seen a man with a child in
the night Madeleine disappeared.
The investigators opted to listen again to the witnesses but decided that the depositions
would be made through rogatory letters sent to the Leicester police.
Before this step was fulfilled, in April, this
family was contacted by detectives of Método 3. The JN discovered that since that contact the certainties of the Smiths ended.
Nonetheless
the clue ended not to be solid since the British dogs did not detect any cadaver odor on Gerry's clothes contrary to what
happened with Kate's clothes.
The PJ continues to have many doubts about what really happened between 18,00 and 22,00
hours, when Kate alerted to the disappearance. Everything points to the fact that the reenactment will never happen due to
the lack of will of the McCanns.
(Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos
forum for translation)
One year after the disappearance of Madeleine
McCann,from the apartment No. 5A of the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz (Lagos), where she spent holidays with their parents and
the twins, also minors, the investigations of the PJ are in a state of deadlock and disguised by a cloak of silence.
After
yesterday, the on line edition of the Expresso advanced that the thesis of the abduction was again on the table and that Kate
and Gerry McCann could stop being arguidos from the suspicion of the murder of their daughter and concealment of the body,a
source of the PJ preferred "not confirm or comment on the news", considering that those news "interest to someone".
"By the contrary" he added, leaving the idea that Maddie's parents will continue as suspects.
The recent
interviews conducted in England to the friends of the couple that dinned in the Tapas restaurant when Maddie disappeared,
did not bring anything new. The PJ began then to examine the list of phone calls made by the parents and the witnesses in
the process on the 3rd of May of 2007 and on the following days.Those documents were sent recently by the British authorities,
while the bank accounts of those people did not yet arrive.
Despite the lack of evidence,the investigators involved
in the case are convinced that the traces of blood found in the apartment of the Ocean Club and in the Renault Scenic rented
by the couple three weeks after the disappearance of her daughter, in addition to the odors the corpse flagged by the English
dogs, can prove the death of Madeleine. A household accident or an excessive dose of tranquilizers to put the child to sleep
(the twins did not awake that night despite the confusion with more than
twenty persons in the flat) and the body eventually
thrown in high sea to conceal the evidence of the alleged crime are the strong suspicions of the PJ.
The DNA tests
conducted in the laboratory of Birmingham (a lab that carries out scientific analysis to the police of that country), were
not conclusive. That is, the trump card that the PJ believed they had to arrest Kate and Gerry as suspects of the death of
their daughter eventually fell apart.
(Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos
forum for translation)
In the completion of one year on the disappearance
of Maddie it is impossible to ignore that all participants of this case did not look good in the photo.
The Portuguese
police and justice, the McCanns, the media and even the authorities of both countries did not behave well in a case that in
terms of international notoriety, beat by points the kidnapping of the son of Charles Lindbergh, that in the thirties captured
the hearts of America.
The national and international media transformed the disappearance of a child into a real life
soap opera. The Portuguese police and justice arrive at the end of this year tarnished and with an image that will take
years to erase.
José Sócrates and Gordon brown did not manage to resist the mediacy and involved themselves personally
- a decision without rational foundation. The prime ministers of Portugal and England would have much difficulty in explaining
the substantive difference between Maddie and the dozens of anonymous children that every day go missing in their countries.
The decision
to involve the media in the disappearance of their daughter was the original sin of Kate and Gerry McCann who sadly
became world celebrities in exposing their pain in public - a fact underlined in the first
anniversary of
Maddie's disappearance with 25 interviews given in two days.
Posted online 11:40, 03 May
2008
Portugal's
most senior detective says police are still gathering evidence in their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine
McCann.
Alipio Ribeiro has told the Portuguese news agency Lusa that officials have not yet decided whether to bring
charges or drop the investigation.
Madeleine vanished from the resort town of Praia da Luz in southern Portugal one year ago today.
Police have named her parents and a local man as formal suspects in the case.
"At this stage nothing has been determined regarding possible charges or closing the case," Ribeiro said.
"The PJ continues to gather and analyse all available evidence," Ribeiro was quoted as saying.
Police have named her parents, Kate and Gerry, and local man Robert Murat as formal suspects in the case.
They have all denied involvement.
Kate and Gerry McCann, who launched a worldwide online campaign to find their daughter, returned to England
in September, a few days after they were named as suspects.
Kate McCann has written a message that is to be read out during a service at the beachside chapel in Praia
da Luz and Gerry McCann's brother was expected to attend.
The service was to be given by Father Haynes Hubbard, the Anglican vicar of Portugal's Algarve region. He
still wears a plastic yellow Find Madeleine campaign bracelet on his wrist.
Updated: 03 May
2008
ROBERT MURAT'S lawyer Dr Francisco Pagarete spoke to The Resident’s
Eloise Walton this morning (Saturday, May 3) outside the apartment where Madeleine was last seen 365 days ago.
When
asked about his client's position regarding a report in the Portuguese newspaper Expresso that the PJ may soon release Gerry
and Kate McCann from their status as official suspects (arguidos), he said:
"I am not at all worried about my client's
position." He went on to say that "it is blatantly clear that Robert Murat had absolutely nothing to do with Madeleine's disappearance
on the night of May 3, 2007."
He went on to say that "he believes that the Polícia Judiciaria suspect that Murat is
innocent of any wrong doing".
When asked about the past year from his client's perspective, Dr Pagarete said: "The
first four months were the most difficult for Robert, especially with the huge media attention on him and the disappearance
of the then three year old toddler."
Murat Leaves Praia For Anniversary Sky News
Alex
Watts Sky News Online in Praia da Luz
Updated:03:30,
Saturday May 03, 2008
British ex-pat Robert Murat has left town to stay away from the media glare over the
anniversary of Madeleine McCann's disappearance.
Mr Murat's lawyer, Francisco Pagarete, outside his client's homeHis
lawyer Francisco Pagarete told Sky News Online the 34-year-old was spending the weekend away from Praia da Luz as the world's
press descends on the Portuguese resort.
Mr Murat, who lives with his mother in the town, has taken her away to an
undisclosed spot in Portugal for two or three days until the mayhem over the toddler's anniversary dies down.
Mr Pagarete
confirmed: "He went away for the weekend to avoid all the confusion with the reporters and photographers and the filming and
everything."
Paulo Pereira Cristóvão: "There are 365 reasons that prove the death" Destak
Marta
Araújo
03 May
2008 (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
"I always defended that the child is no longer in the world of the living. Now there
are 365 reasons that prove that. A year after the body does not appear and the investigation does not progress".
The
peremptory affirmation, made to Destak is from the ex officer of the PJ Paulo Pereira Cristóvão.
The former inspector
- that investigated the polemic case of Joana - is convinced that "Maddie is dead" convinced that the girl "did not fall in
the hands of a predatory paedophile that went to Praia da Luz entered in the flat and took her" and convinced that "who was
in the origin of the disappearance of the child is someone that knows well the family environment knew how to do it and knew
the best opportunity of doing it".
For Paulo Cristóvão everything is clear. "In all the process there was a political
pressure that shaped all the investigation. People that are in charge in the PJ should have protected the inspectors that
were in the line of the investigation but that did not happen. What we saw was a group of policemen being obliged to close
the mouth and simply keep quiet without the capacity to be critical".
The former inspector of the PJ considers
that Maddie's case is seen by society as an enigma. "It is not an enigma as such".
"What sometimes is very simple manages
to turn into a net of confusion due to Man's hand and due to installed interests".
Many doubts remain and the accusations
half spoken, as if someone was afraid of suffering repercussions.
As to the expectation of putting an eventual end
to this enigma, Paulo Pereira Cristóvão sees the excess of time that passed by and "the people and the interests still very
well installed" as enemies.
McCanns in the sights of the PJ 24horas
The Public Prosecutor
and the PJ deny that they are preparing the filing of the media process. The McCanns have not yet confirmed their return
to Portugal.
Text Carlos Tomás, 03 May 2008
(Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos
forum for translation)
The PJ is analysing the depositions made in England by the seven
friends that dined with the McCanns in the Tapas Bar. They are also waiting for the Leicester police to send the depositions
of more than three dozens of tourists that were in the area when the child disappeared and also the new declarations of Clarence
Mitchell and Justine McGuiness that were in Praia da Luz on that dramatic day.
Yesterday the on line edition of Expresso
revealed that the PJ was preparing the filling of the case and clearing the McCanns. Several judicial sources contacted by
our newspaper rejected such possibility. "That hypothesis is unthinkable. No process is filed whilst there are still investigations
occurring. There are still several steps to make and that possibility wasn't even equated" guaranteed a high responsible connected
to the investigations.
The same source added: "If it was to file we would not have
asked the return of the McCanns and friends to Portugal. The McCanns will continue to be arguidos till the end of the process.
No matter the time it takes. Who says otherwise does not know the law and is speculating".
A source of the Portimão's
court assured that the public prosecutor is still waiting for the final report of the PJ about the process that according
to what 24 Horas discovered is not yet done.
"Without that report it is impossible to take any decision. The investigations
were delegated to the PJ and the public prosecutor needs to have all the elements to take a decision of accusing or filing.
But from the accusation of negligence they will not get rid of", said the source.
Former inspector of the PJ believes that Maddie is dead - RTP video (see below) featuring
Gonçalo Amaral's email to this site
Gonçalo Amaral, the former inspector of the PJ, removed during
the investigation, for the first time, made a public declaration on a British site on the internet.
The ex-inspector doesn’t have any doubt that Maddie is
dead and that the truth will be known very soon.
03 May 2008
Thanks to 'Luz' from the3arguidos forum for
translation
[00:00] This is a confession (desabafo)
written in English, «soon, very soon the world will know the Truth of the Lie».
[00:04) These are the words of Gonçalo Amaral and they are the first since
he was removed from the investigation on Maddie’s case.
[00:15] «…and it will gain truth and
justice for a little girl, who has no voice, dead on the evening of may 3rd, at the apartment 5A, Ocean Club, Praia da Luz,
Algarve».
[00:26] In October, declarations to the press about an alleged favouring of the British Police to
the McCann, opened to him the exit door of the PJ. Gonçalo Amaral is now in a process of pre-retirement.
[00:35] On
the British site, that collects information about the disappearance of Maddie, the ex-investigator left thanks, confessions...,
and he «doesn’t say more because of the secret of justice».
[00:50] He
doesn’t speak about his retirement from the Judiciária, but for those that defend him, they make, with caution, a reading,
[00:57] "I think that his removal may have been useful, I don’t know
to whom, but may have been useful at least on one fact: we knew for sure that as long as he remained in the process there
would be a strong investment in the investigation" (Paulo Santos – G. Amaral's lawyer)
[01:13] One year has already
gone by and what we know about the night of May 3rd remains involved in mystery. Making a reconstruction of the disappearance
is a hypothesis that is not excluded by PJ.
[01:25] And in case that happens, Alipio Ribeiro says that the presence
of the parents is very important. In declarations to the Lusa Agency, the National Director of the PJ “considers that
it would be of indispensable that the McCann couple accepted to participate under the Portuguese legal rules”.
Revealed:
Inner feelings on British site
03 May 2008 -
12h00
"We will
gain truth and justice for a little girl who has no voice, dead on the evening of May 3rd at
apartment 5A, Ocean Club, Praia da Luz"
The sentence is from Gonçalo Amaral, former-coordinator of the inquiry
into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Word by word, the
inner feelings integrate the text sent by the inspector of the Judicial Police (PJ) - in pre-retirement - for an English site,
which collects information on the mystery created around the English child, missing one year ago today.
The message was published on April
22 and is followed with the announcement that 'soon, very soon, the World will go to know 'truth of the lie''. Curiously,
it is the heading of the book that, as CM already reported, Gonçalo Amaral intends to launch, with explosive data on his investigating
experience whilst with the PJ during the period when he was at the front of the Maddie case.
CM knows that this is the full conviction of this
element of the PJ, which is based on 'strong indications' which lead them to follow the theory of negligent homicide, following
an accident inside the apartment where the McCann couple were on holiday.
On the same British site (www.mccannfiles.com), without
ever accusing anybody, Gonçalo Amaral relates that "I can't do any
comment about the investigation on the "McCann Case",
so as 'not to compromise the secret of justice'.
He also underlines that, looking towards his proper
freedom of speech, he asked for retirement from the Judiciary in the month of May. At the same time, he thanked 'the support
of thousands of people' that have contacted
him and have sent letters and e-mails, from all over the world.
Gonçalo Amaral also clarifies that "All the insults, false accusations and lie's from the past year (when he still investigated the
Maddie case) are now being brought to court from my lawyers", as was already notified by CM.
On the same British
site - whose author says 'to look for the truth on Madeleine McCann and to highlight concerns and inconsistencies' - the result
of a poll on what happened to Madeleine is published, where the great majority of the voters declared that the English child
'died as the result of an accident involving the parents'.
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Alexandra Serôdio
04 May 2008
(Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
On the day that marks one year of the disappearance of Madeleine
MCann in Praia da Luz, the national director of the PJ, said the presence of Kate and Gerry in Portugal was "very important"
in case the police decides to realise more steps that involve the couple. Alípio Ribeiro referred that "if more steps are
decided that justify the presence of the parents in Portugal it would be very important if they accepted to participate within
the Portuguese legal rules".
For the responsible of the PJ, the presence of the McCanns would be an important factor
in the eventual decision of a reconstruction of the day of the disappearance, an hypothesis that "it is not discarded by the
police". His declarations were made hours before the General Attorney ensured that the Portuguese police "made what any other
police would make" in the case of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, affirming that if the investigations "were not successful
that would be something that would not shame the police", bearing in mind the difficulty of solving cases of missing children.
"These
type of crimes are extremely difficult to investigate. There are one million of children that disappear every year in the
world and not even 20% are found", said Pinto Monteiro to the journalists in Castelo Branco. "It is possible that it is still
discovered let's wait till the end", he added.
About the possibility of extending the secrecy of justice that will
end in August the General Attorney says that only then "the status of the process will be analysed and we will see if it is
needed or not to ask for an extension".
Pinto Monteiro admits that "we already talked too much about Maddie" and reminds
that in "England, her country of origin, there are thousands of cases like this" whilst in Portugal we have 14 or 15 "and
the percentage of cases where the children are found in countries like England is 20%".
"Therefore nobody can be surprised
by the lack of success of Maddie's case till now" he added. "The problem is that it is the biggest media process of the last
years. It was breaking news on channels like CNN and it won a huge importance. Unfortunately it is one more case of a poor
child that went missing", he underlined.
Questioned by the journalists if this is a political process , Pinto Monteiro
refused this scenario "Not that I am aware of". Nonetheless,quoted by the Lusa agency he classifies the process as "mediateness
to the exaggeration, till the limit" one that concentrated more investment in the investigations than others.
"The
media made the investigations more detailed but it was done what would be done in normal conditions" he concluded.
McCanns Hope Attention Will Wane Sky News
Updated: 08:28,
Sunday May 04, 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann want to step out of the media spotlight after the first anniversary
of their daughter Madeleine's disappearance.
In
one of their final interviews for the one-year landmark, the couple said they had only survived the past 12 months by not
blaming each other for what happened.
The couple said they hoped the attention on them would fade
after Madeleine's fifth birthday on May 12.
Mr McCann said the media coverage of her disappearance was "unsustainable".
He even suggested that it might have led to Portuguese police
naming him and his wife as arguidos, or formal suspects, in the case in early September.
"You look at where it's led for us, the problems it's created,"
he said.
"I'm sure a lot of that media coverage kicked in to what happened
in Portugal, that generates a pressure, and when people get put under pressure, bad decisions are made...
"We started a campaign and then a juggernaut was set off and
we had no control over it."
Mrs McCann said personal details about her and her husband were
"totally irrelevant" and distracted people from the search for Madeleine.
"The media attention will wane after Madeleine's birthday, and
that's a relief," she said.
"I'd like to think that's how it will stay. That's why now,
we're doing this. Media-wise it could be our last chance, or last opportunity to get all that information in."
The couple also revealed that their appeal for new information
from the public produced an "absolutely fantastic" response, with their new telephone phone line "overwhelmed" with calls.
04 May
2008
Gerry McCann has accused the Portuguese judge in the case of his daughter Madeleine of misinterpreting
a law on how long police files can stay secret.
Legal sources suggested the official period of judicial secrecy in
the probe - which runs out on May 15 - is likely to be extended for three months.
He is "frustrated" the file has not
been opened and said the law changed last year to allow more transparency.
Madeleine police 'may never solve case' Telegraph
Police may never solve the case of Madeleine
McCann and should not be ashamed if they fail, Portugal's most senior lawyer has said.
By Caroline Gammell
in Praia da Luz
Last Updated:
4:11PM BST 04/05/2008
Attourney General Pinto Monteiro said less than 20 per cent of missing children were ever found and
that Portugal was not used to dealing with such cases.
His comments came as Kate and Gerry McCann tried to invigorate
the search for their daughter on the first anniversary of her disappearance from their holiday apartment in the Algarve.
The couple has repeatedly said they believe Madeleine is still
alive and have signed up their private investigators Metodo 3 for at least another six months.
They
also released a new poster of Madeleine and a new hotline number for people to call.
But Mr Monteiro said missing child cases were notoriously hard
to solve.
"These kinds of crimes are extremely difficult to investigate,"
he told Jornal de Noticias.
"There are a million missing children per year throughout the
world and not even 20 per cent are found.
"In England, where Madeleine was born, there are a thousand
of these cases, while in Portugal there are only 14 or 15.
"The percentage of cases in which missing people are found in
countries like England is 20 per cent. Therefore, nobody can be surprised at the - up to now - failure of the Madeleine case."
Mr Monteiro defended the investigation and said the police had
handled the case effectively.
"Portuguese police did what any other police force would do,”
he said.
“If the investigation results in failure it is nothing
which should shame the police.
"The problem is that it is the highest profile case in the last
few years. It led news bulletins on channels like CNN and therefore gained a tremendous importance. Unfortunately it’s
just another case of a poor child that disappeared."
His comments came as the head of the Portuguese police said
the McCanns should return to the Algarve for a reconstruction of the night Madeleine vanished.
"In Portugal it would be very important for them to accept that
participation within the Portuguese legal regulations," he said.
But the McCanns are unwilling to return to the Algarve while
they are still arguidos and have questioned the motivation behind holding a reconstruction so long after their daughter went
missing.
Mr McCann’s brother John, who travelled to the Algarve
at the weekend to mark Madeleine’s disappearance, said he did not support the idea.
"It may be valuable, it may not be. Personally I do not really
see the value of it," he said.
Mr McCann said there was more than £850,000 in the Find Madeleine
fund which would be used to search for his neice.
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McCanns urged to visit Portugal for reconstruction of fateful night Timesonline
By David Brown in Praia da Luz
05 May 2008 (First
appeared online 04 May 2008)
Kate and Gerry McCann have been urged by Portugal's most senior detective to take part in a reconstruction
of what happened on the night of their daughter's disappearance.
The couple have so far refused to return to Praia da Luz to
re-enact their movements in the hours before Madeleine vanished on May 3 last year. Portuguese police had appealed for them
to return last month and have now asked them to take part on May 14 and 15.
Alipio Ribeiro, the national director of the PolÍcia Judiciária
(PJ), said yesterday that it was "very important" that the McCanns, who live in Rothley, Leicestershire, return to Portugal.
"If operations were decided on, which would justify the presence
of the parents in Portugal, it would be very important for them to accept that participation within the Portuguese legal regulations,"
he said.
The couple left the Algarve two days after being made official
suspects on September 7. A Portuguese judicial source said that it was not possible to issue an arrest warrant to compel them
to return.
The McCanns have said that they were considering the request but were concerned about taking part while
they were still classified as official suspects. They have also questioned the reasons for holding a reconstruction more than
a year after the crime.
Mr Ribeiro said that officials had not decided whether to bring charges or drop the investigation after the
continuing review of evidence. "At this stage, nothing has been determined regarding possible charges or closing the case,"
he said. "The PJ continues to gather and analyse all available evidence."
However, the Attorney-General, Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro, appeared to signal that the investigation could
be shelved. Mr Monteiro said that the closure of the case was "nothing which should shame the police".
He added: "These kind of crimes are extremely difficult to investigate. There are a million missing children
per year throughout the world and not even 20 per cent are found. It may be that we find out yet. Let's wait until the end."
He said that prosecutors could stop the release of evidence in the case, which is due to be made public in
August. "We will analyse the state of the case and see whether it is necessary or not to request an extension."
Mr McCann, 39, has said he feared that the police files will never be made public because of exemptions applying
to the release of information in serious cases such as child trafficking. "If trafficking is mentioned, then the files will
remain secret for ever, the same with organised crime," he said. "For us that's certainly a possibility with Madeleine."
The McCanns have said that they want to see the police reports so their private detectives can carry out their
own investigation. "What we want is the files to be opened and to see what is being done. We'd like to know who has been eliminated
and on what grounds they have been eliminated, who hasn’t been eliminated and what leads are still being followed, so
we can know what’s being done," Mr McCann said.
"Because the police won’t tell us this, we have been forced to compile all the evidence again ourselves.
We are begging all witnesses to come forward, even if they have already spoken to police."
Madeleine Reporting Coming To An End Sky News
Alex Watts in Praia da Luz
Updated:06:06,
Monday May 05, 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann will soon get their wish of stepping out of the public eye, according to reporters
in Praia da Luz covering the one-year anniversary of their daughter's disappearance.
The
couple believe the coverage is "unsustainable" and hope the attention will fade after Madeleine's fifth birthday on May 12.
And so do many members of the press pack that descended on the
sleepy Algarve resort at the weekend.
The place was swamped by media, with agitated scenes and plenty
of jostling outside the church as McCann representatives released balloons.
But there was a feeling that, just like the familiar yellow
and green balloons, the media frenzy would soon burst too.
Britain's national newspapers and TV stations already seem to
have lost interest.
The Sunday Mirror - which has been as keen on 'Maddie' as any
other paper - demoted the anniversary to page 11 in its European edition.
And even Portuguese broadcasters and British local media - for
whom, of course, it is a far bigger story - think it is on the slide.
Portuguese
channel SIC built a TV studio on scaffolding outside the McCann flat, and devoted most of their evening news programme to
it.
But the crew were convinced this would be the last big Madeleine
event.
One told Sky News Online: "If there's a second anniversary,
it won't be anything like this."
Robert Murat's lawyer Francisco Pagarete, who was interviewed
on the show, thinks the media helped inflate the Madeleine fascination.
He added: "I think it has all the ingredients of a good story.
It's a quiet place, a normal family on holiday with their friends and children, and suddenly something like this happens.
"But it also happened in the summer months - when you don't
have much news."
Broadcast journalist Eleanor Garnier, who was covering the event
for Leicester Sound radio station, said: "Locally it's massive for us because she's from Rothley, which is on our patch.
"But
it will definitely die down soon. People here really want to move on, and I think the journalists do too.
"I think this is it now. Events will bring it back into the
news, but they'll have to be big events."
Asked why she thought the story had made worldwide headlines
for so long, she added: "A beautiful little girl, a middle class family - they really grabbed the media's attention.
"And it was like a vicious circle - as the McCanns kept the
story going with events to publicise the search, so the media moved it on too."
Pete Fletcher, 58, from Fareham, Hants, who regularly visits
Praia da Luz, said the story had been the talk of the bars over the past year and the papers were just giving what the public
wanted.
He said: "It's because it's very unusual for things like this
to happen in this country. Crime is pretty non-existent, and it just seems very out of character from a local point of view."
But for some, the Madeleine story is far from over.
Reporter Pepa Rovira, from Espana Directo news programme, said:
"It's still very big in Spain because exactly the same thing happened with a Spanish girl.
"And next year it will be the same, I know. It will still be
a big story."
By ANTONELLA
LAZZERI
Published: Today
(05 May 2008)
MADDIE McCann's parents were boosted last night by a law chief's hints they may soon be cleared of
involvement in her disappearance.
Portugal's attorney-general appeared to pave the way for the
search to be shelved by saying cops should feel "no shame" if they fail to find Maddie.
Fernando
Jose Pinto Monteiro said: "These kinds of crimes are extremely difficult to investigate. There are one million missing children
per year throughout the world, and not even 20 per cent are found."
But
Portugal’s top cop Alipio Ribeiro said yesterday it remained "very important" for Kate, 40, and Gerry, 39, to return
to The Algarve to help the investigation if asked.
The comments follow claims the McCanns' arguido – official
suspect – status may soon be lifted.
Cops have also started quizzing a list of 60 "witnesses" the
McCanns provided recently.
They include friends, tourists and staff at the Mark Warner
holiday village in Praia da Luz from where Maddie disappeared on May 3 last year.
The couple feel some may hold clues to the disappearance, while
others will counteract claims in Portugal Kate had trouble dealing with her kids.
Their spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said last night: “Kate
and Gerry are very heartened by the attorney-general's comments. If they are a precursor to them being eliminated from the
inquiry then we welcome them.
"If, however, the police are close to closing the case we
still want them to keep searching for Madeleine, as our investigators are continuing to do."
Of the decision to quiz their witnesses, he said: "Kate and
Gerry see it as very positive."
Meanwhile, Mr Ribeiro, head of the Policia Judiciaria –
Portugal’s CID – said it was vital for the couple to return if requested.
It is believed he was referring to a reconstruction of the night
the four-year-old went missing. Mr Mitchell said Kate and Gerry had "not ruled out returning".
On Saturday, the first anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance,
Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leics, went with twins Sean and Amelie, three, to the church where Maddie was baptised –
Bishop Eton RC in Liverpool.
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By VERONICA
LORRAINE
Published: Today,
06 May 2008
THE family of a tragic Spanish girl want cops to investigate whether her alleged killer is involved
in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.
Relatives
of five-year-old Mari Luz Cortes claim convicted paedophile Santiago del Valle has committed other crimes.
Her grandfather Juan Cortes said: "The authorities should investigate
him fully because that way they may be able to discover what happened to Madeleine. We are sure he is hiding other secrets
from the police."
Mari Luz was found dead near her home in Huelva 54 days after
she went missing last January. The city is 90 minutes from Praia da Luz, Portugal, where Maddie vanished a year ago.
Her parents Kate, 40, and Gerry, 39, of Rothley, Leics, have
already called on Portuguese police to find out where del Valle was last May. He admits dumping Mari Luz’s body and
is in jail awaiting trial — but insists she died by accident.
Mr Cortes added: "At least we have found our little girl and
can grieve for her.
"The pain and anguish the McCanns are suffering must be unbearable."
Almeida Rodrigues is the new director of the PJ
Destak
Pedro Junceiro
/ João Marco Pinhão
06 May 2008
Almeida Rodrigues, currently responsible for the PJ of Coimbra,
becomes the national director, after Alípio Ribeiro today presented his resignation to Justice Minister Alberto Costa.
It is recalled that the controversy around Alípio Ribeiro deals
with an interview with the newspaper Diário Económico, in which the national director of the PJ defended the change of PJ
to the Home Office or a new Ministry of Interior.
The statements of Alípio Ribeiro have not been well received internally,
even within the Home Office, which yesterday refused to make any comment about the case.
Alberto Costa will make an
official communication on the subject.
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Almeida Rodrigues |
Almeida Rodrigues is the successor to Alípio Ribeiro in the Polícia Judiciária
Publico
06 May 2008
(Thanks to 'beachy'
from the3arguidos for translation)
Almeida Rodrigues is the successor of Alípio Ribeiro as director of the Policia Judiciaria. It is
the first time that the PJ is led by a career investigator.
Almeida
Rodrigues, now in charge of the PJ in Coimbra, was named as national director, after Alípio Ribeiro today presented his resignation
to Justice Minister Alberto Costa.
Jose
Maria de Almeida Rodrigues, 49 years, degree in law, is coordinator of criminal investigation of the PJ and was one of three
deputy directors at the national office of the former director Santos Cabral.
The
appointment of Almeida Rodrigues to direct the PJ has since been released by the communications office of the Ministry of
Justice, where it is said that the Minister of Justice "has accepted the request for resignation which was delivered today
by the national director of the PJ (Alípio Ribeiro)."
Almeida
Rodrigues, along with Luis Neves, current head of the Central Directorate for Combating Banditismo (DCCB) in the PJ, was one
of two names that, in recent hours, have been considered by the authorities as successors to Alípio Ribeiro, as a police source
previously told Lusa.
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By VERONICA
LORRAINE
Published: Today,
07 May 2008
MADDIE McCann's parents suffered a new blow last night after the one Portuguese cop who seemed to
be on their side reportedly quit.
Alipio Ribeiro, the country’s top policeman, is set to
leave three months after saying detectives had been hasty in branding the couple official suspects in their daughter’s
disappearance.
His comments caused a storm in Portugal, where last night it
was widely reported the 48-year-old was on his way out after a new controversy.
Ribeiro faced new calls to quit on Monday after saying the country's
multi-level police force should be restructured so it is overseen by a single Government ministry.
The country's Judicial Police Inspectors' Union said his position
was "untenable" after the new row. But newspaper Diario de Noticias said yesterday his infamous comment on the Maddie probe
was his "most serious" mistake.
Ribeiro said in February "there was a certain hastiness" in
naming medics Kate McCann, 40, and husband Gerry, 39, from Rothley, Leics, as arguidos.
Maddie, four, went missing from an Algarve resort a year ago.
Madeleine police chief quits post
BBC News
Page
last updated at 08:30 GMT, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 09:30 UK
The Portuguese police chief criticised for his handling of the Madeleine McCann case has resigned,
the country's Ministry of Justice has confirmed.
Alípio Ribeiro, the national director of the judicial police,
reportedly told a local radio station he was "tired" of being in the media spotlight.
He had made a number of public comments about Madeleine's disappearance,
despite judicial secrecy laws.
In February, he said police had been "hasty" in naming her parents
suspects.
Mr Ribeiro will be replaced by José Maria Almeida Rodrigues,
a senior detective currently based in the town of Coimbra.
Officer fired
As head of the Polícia Judiciária - Portugal's equivalent of
the CID - Mr Ribeiro insisted information about the hunt for Madeleine should not be made public.
He also fired the police officer who earlier headed the investigation,
Goncalo Amaral, for comments he made to the media.
But Mr Ribeiro himself mentioned the case several times in interviews,
including discussing the role forensic evidence from Kate and Gerry McCann's hire car could play in uncovering what happened
to their daughter.
On Tuesday, Mr Ribeiro reportedly told Radio Renascenca that
he regretted "what he said as well what he failed to say" publicly about the investigation.
Four-year-old Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, was last
seen in a holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007.
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Almeida Rodrigues |
An operational one to front the PJ
SOL
Ana
Paula Azevedo
07
May 2008 (Thanks to 'SS' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
Almeida Rodrigues is the first non-magistrate chosen to lead the Judicial Police. The successor of
Alípio Ribeiro is currently the national deputy sub-director of PJ’s Coimbra Directorate.
It is not the first
time he assumes a leadership role, as he was one of the three national deputy directors to Santos Cabral, the head of
the PJ immediately before Alípio Ribeiro.
José Maria de Almeida Rodrigues, 49 years old, has a university degree in
law and has made his career as an investigator. Through his hands passed some very public murder cases.
When, in 2001,
he was heading Aveiro's PJ, he was the one in charge of the investigation of Tó Jó, the young man who murdered his parents
inspired by satanic rituals.
With the resignation of Santos Cabral, Almeida Rodrigues worked as number 2 of Coimbra's
PJ. In those functions, he dealt with another multiple murder case – the GNR corporal Antonio Costa.
This case
– which was known as "the serial killer of Santa Comba Dão" ended in the conviction of the corporal for the murder of
two young women. More recently, he was involved in the arrest of "El Solitario", the Spaniard accused of violent robberies
to more than 30 banks which caused the death of 3 people.
The nomination of Almeida Rodrigues to head the PJ was announced
through a communiqué of the Ministry of Justice where it is referred that the minister "accepted the resignation request handed
today by the national director of the PJ, Alípio Ribeiro".
Almeida Rodrigues, with Luis Neves current head of the Direcção
Central de Combate ao Banditismo (DCCB) (Central Directorate of Combat to Banditism) was one of the names that,
in the last hours, were considered by the government to replace Alípio Ribeiro, as had been stated to Lusa by a police source.
Magistrates: never again?
His name is highly regarded within
the PJ, being the first time that an 'operational' is nominated to the top Job, up to now it has always been headed by
magistrates.
There is great expectation in the PJ as to who will be his deputies. The nomination of magistrates is
dependent on the approval of the Judiciary and Public Ministry Superior Councils.
There is some speculation that these
Councils may not accept that a judge or magistrate work under the orders of a career police officer. If that would be the
case, it could be the end of the magistrates in the top echelons of the PJ.
Only in 2001 a change in the law allowed
for the possibility of a non-magistrate heading the PJ. With Almeida Rodrigues, it is the first time such a possibility is
actually taken.
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Amaral lawyer 24horas (links to JPEG, no direct link available to article)
PJ's inspector is going to make an internship
after finishing the book about Maddie
Thursday, 8
May 2008
As soon as he finishes writing the book on the Maddie case, the former coordinator of the PJ, Gonçalo
Amaral, plans to practice Law. The revelation was made to 24horas by his lawyer, António Paulo Santos.
Amaral, 48-years
old, is going to do an internship during a year in a lawyers' office in the Algarve. The future passes by practising law in
the criminal rights and author rights areas. Gonçalo Amaral did a law course when he was Chief Inspector and after having
completed and passed the Legal Practice Course he applied for a position as a coordinator of the PJ. He never did an internship
and that is compulsory to perform legal practice in full.
The
first person who was initially in charge for the investigation of Maddie’s case is, meantime, adapted with the decision
of being apart from the PJ and the decision of requesting his pre-retirement, in spite this is causing an enormous hole in
his finances. "It is a process that, as a rule takes approximately three months", explained Paulo Santos, according to whom,
"at this moment, Amaral is enjoying his holidays".
Worn-out with the slanders of British Press and by the abandonment that
he had to endure from the police force which he served in the last 28 years, Gonçalo Amaral had not, according to his lawyer
"conditions to stay in the PJ."
"It was not easy to go away. But the decision was taken in conscience",
revealed António Paulo Santos to 24horas, also a former inspector of the Judiciary Police. According to the lawyer, the former
coordinator of the PJ of Portimão "is conscious, that after this decision he will have to leave for a new life and that is
exactly what he is doing".
At home, in a house between Faro and Olhão, close to his wife
and children, Gonçalo Amaral advances increasingly in the book that promises to be a "hot new release" on the Madeleine
case.
Meantime, the processes for slander against the British press
are in preparation, with the gathering of elements. "We have a year to formalize the complaints and, at this moment we are
still striving to find a lawyers' office in the United Kingdom to advance", concluded Paulo Santos, according to whom "everything
is going in the right way".
Return to
the PJ? No, Thank You
In the plans of Gonçalo
Amaral, going back to the PJ is not possible. Not even now that Alípio Ribeiro, the National director with whom he clashed,
left the post.
"I
am convinced that he is going to maintain the decision of not going back, as his decision results after a process of long
consideration and, at the same time of great personal disillusionment with the institution that he served", assured Paulo
Santos.
BBC apologises to Madeleine McCann's parents
Telegraph
By
Caroline Gammell
Last
Updated: 5:13PM BST 08/05/2008
The BBC has apologised to the parents of Madeleine McCann for planning to screen a film about a girl
involved in a kidnap plot - called Madeline - on the weekend of the anniversary of their daughter's disappearance.
The
Corporation changed its schedule at the last moment, replacing the eponymously named film with another children's hit Herbie
Fully Loaded.
Viewers were told about the change moments before the programme
was due to be aired on Sunday afternoon, a year and a day after Madeleine disappeared from her parents apartment in Praia
da Luz, Algarve.
The BBC apologised and said the McCanns, from Rothley in Leicestershire,
were aware of the blunder. But a friend of the couple's criticised the poor planning.
"It is disgraceful that the BBC of all people should be so insensitive
and not spot this was going to happen," they said.
"Surely with everything that has happened this year, any executive
would notice if their station broadcast a film called Madeline involving a kidnapped child? Would that not ring alarm bells?
"It's not that they should never show the film but someone must
have checked it was appropriate and checked the dates it was being aired. It's things like that which must be upsetting to
Kate and Gerry."
A BBC spokesman said the schedule had been planned months in
advance but agreed that the timing was unfortunate.
"We pulled the screening of Madeline from the schedule at the
weekend and the film was rescheduled for a later date," a spokesman said.
"It was very close to the one year anniversary of Madeleine
McCann disappearing and there are some parallels between the story in the film and the true story of Madeleine.
"Nobody really spotted the connection - when it was finally
noticed, the BBC's daytime controller Liam Keelan and the controller of BBC One Roly Keating took the decision to pull it.
"Obviously the BBC would not wish to be insensitive. I believe
the family were aware of it at the time and so it was rescheduled. We apologise for any upset."
The 1998 film Madeline, starring Nigel Hawthorne, tells the
story of an orphan who tries to prevent the sale of the boarding house where she lives and ends up running away before foiling
a kidnap plot.
Viewers watching BBC One at 2.55pm last Sunday were shown the
2005 film Herbie Fully Loaded, starring Lindsay Lohan, about a VW Beetle car, instead.
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Diana
Ramos
09
May 2008 (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
The ex national director of the PJ, Alípio Ribeiro, yesterday broke the silence and
said that the investigations about Madeleine's case, the British girl that disappeared in Praia da Luz, can go on for years.
In
an interview to the Radio Renascença, Alípio Ribeiro did not exclude the hypothesis that the case could remain unsolved. "We
need to be patient, there are cases like that that sometimes only get solved many years after. It is obvious that I would
like that that case was solved entirely but there are always cases that remain unsolved", he said.
The magistrate confessed
also that his decision to leave the PJ was taken a month ago.
Alípio Ribeiro understands that he had an excessive
visibleness and believes that we was punished by his declarations. The ex national director assured that he was never conformed
with the problems of the PJ and that he opted to say always the truth.
"What I have done several times was thinking out loud and I
believe that no one can take that as an offence, that necessity of speaking the truth and speak with some intelligence and
subtlety but facing the problems" he claimed.
McCanns' status as suspects in Madeleine's disappearance 'will be lifted by August'
Daily Mail
Last
updated at 15:20pm on 9th May 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann will be cleared within three months of any involvement in their
daughter Madeleine's disappearance, their Portuguese lawyer said today.
Rogerio Alves said that by August at the latest the couple's
status as suspects, or arguidos, will be lifted.
Mr Alves, a criminal lawyer with contacts in the judicial system,
said: "I believe that by August the police will close the case and lift arguido status.
"I believe it is a very strong possibility."
The out-going national director of the judicial police, Alipio
Ribeiro, hinted today that the investigation will be shut down.
Mr Ribeiro, who stood down today, told a Portuguese radio station:
"We need to be patient.
"There are cases of this sort that sometimes are only solved
many years after.
"Obviously I would have liked this case to have been resolved
fully but there are always cases that remain unsolved."
Madeleine was three when she vanished from her parents' holiday
apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May last year.
Mr
and Mrs McCann, both doctors from Rothley in Leicestershire, are convinced she was abducted.
They were made official suspects in September although they
deny all involvement.
Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell urged Portuguese police to
continue the search, saying: "We don't want the case to remain entirely unsolved and gathering dust."
May 9
2008
A WEBSITE set up to help find missing Madeleine McCann has been swamped by messages
to mark the year since her disappearance.
In the last week alone, the online store which sells T-shirts
and wristbands to raise money for the Madeleine campaign received 500 orders and thousands of messages have been left on the
site.
The website, called www.findmadeleine.com, had more than 60
million hits within 48 hours of being launched last year.
Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday flat in Praia da
Luz, Portugal.
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By
Stewart Maclean
10 May 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann will be formally
cleared as suspects in daughter Madeleine's disappearance by August, their lawyer said yesterday.
Rogerio Alves
said detectives in Portugal had finally admitted they have no evidence against the couple and were preparing to lift their
arguido status.
But he also
warned the move could signal the end of the year-long hunt for the four-year-old.
He said: "I
believe by August the police will close the case and lift arguido status." Kate and Gerry, both 40 and from Rothley, Leics,
were made official suspects in Madeleine's disappearance in September.
They have always
denied any involvement.
The outgoing
head of Portugal's police said yesterday he believed the mystery may never be solved and also hinted police were preparing
to wind up the case. Alipio Ribeiro said: "There are cases like these that are sometimes resolved years afterwards."
But McCann spokesman
Clarence Mitchell said: "We don't want the case to remain unsolved."
Meanwhile, Kate
and Gerry have revealed they will not be celebrating Madeleine's fifth birthday on Monday. Mr Mitchell added: "Gerry will
be at work and Kate will be at or around home. Sadly, for them it is just another day without Madeleine."
By
Allison Bray
Saturday,
May 10, 2008
Portuguese
police probing the disappearance of Madeleine McCann were urged last night to hand their files over to private investigators
if they wind down their investigation, following the resignation of the force's police chief who was leading the inquiry.
Gerry and Kate McCann's spokesperson Clarence Mitchell said the family believes the decision of Alipio Ribeiro
to leave his post as national director of the Policia Judiciaria and his subsequent comments that the case may never be solved,
could signal the end of the year-long probe into the toddler's disappearance.
Speaking to the Irish Independent in Dublin yesterday where he was a keynote speaker at the Public Relations
Institute of Ireland's (PRII) annual conference, the former BBC journalist and British government spokesman said: "There have
been various remarks made by Mr Ribeiro and others suggesting they may be coming to the end of the process.
"If they are going to shelve the case -- and if Mr Ribeiro's recent interview is effectively hinting at that
-- then in one sense we welcome it because it means that Kate and Gerry will be eliminated from the inquiry.
"But equally, what does that mean? Does that mean all the information the police have just sits on a shelf?
That's untenable. They have to release the information in their files to our private investigators so they can continue to
look for Madeleine."
Despite the passing last week of the first anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance, the McCanns still believe
their daughter is alive and they continue to be buoyed by the huge outpouring of support coming from Ireland, he added.
"Every message we get has been incredibly supportive because of the Donegal connection." Madeleine visited her
grandparents in Bundoran on family holiday visiting before her disappearance on May 3, 2007.
"Many of their letters are from Ireland. They get rosary beads sent to them, people praying for them. They've
got a real sense the wider Irish Catholic community is really behind them and that counts for so much. It really does give
them a boost," he said. "Consistently the Irish support level is there."
Negative
He spoke of how the initial tide of negative publicity surrounding the McCanns was eventually turned in their
favour following a successful libel action against the Express Group newspapers in the UK that he said was embroiled in "a
huge spin cycle of nonsense" with some of the Portuguese tabloid media.
On the whole, the coverage of Madeleine's disappearance in the Irish media was much more responsible and balanced
than in the UK or elsewhere, he said yesterday.
He also credited the internet with being the single most effective tool in the entire campaign.
"It was access to the internet that gave us a boost," he said in his speech on public relations crisis management.
The Find Madeleine website set up by the McCanns has been instrumental in the campaign.
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Kate and Gerry hold quiet birthday vigil
for Maddy Sunday Express
(No online link)
By
Tracey Kandohla
Sunday,
May 11, 2008
Missing
Madeleine McCann's fifth birthday tomorrow will be marked by a small family gathering, but withour presents and cards.
Parents
Kate and Gerry will quietly remember their daughter behind closed doors at their home in Rothley, Leics.
Maddie's
grandmother Eileen McCann said yesterday: "The family is getting together for wee Madeleine's birthday. But there will be
no presents, no cards and no cake. There will only be a celebration when she is back home."
Last
year relatives and friends in Britain released 40 pink balloons in Queniborough, the village in Leicestershire where Madeleine
was born.
Yesterday
the couple were buoyed by the news that London's Metropolitan Police want to become more involved in the hunt for their daughter.
A source close to the family said: "Kate and Gerry have made it clear they are unhappy with the lack of progress in this inquiry.
"It
is now more than a year since their daughter disappeared and they are still no nearer to finding out what happened. Scotland
Yard is pushing to get involved."
Officers
from the Met now want a bigger role and freedom to work alongside Spanish private investigators Metodo 3, who were hired by
the couple eight months ago.
A
source close to the
investigation said: "For
some time Metropolitan
officers have been offering
technical advice and helping
to do things such as trace
phone calls. They have been
helping their counterparts
in Leicestershire, which is
the force in direct contact
with Portuguese police and
which is carrying out
witness interviews. They now
want a more active role in
the inquiry to help find
Madeleine and bring her home
to her family."
Kate,
40, and Gerry, 39, would welcome a fuller involvement from Scotland Yard, especially as the National Director of Portugal's
Police, who seemed to be on the couple's side, has announced he is to quit.
Alipio
Ribeiro, 48, is set to leave three months after saying that Portuguese detectives had been hasty in branding the couple official
suspects.
The
McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Kate and Gerry have co-operated fully with police in this investigation and will
continue to do so.
"We
just want to reiterate our
desire for Kate and Gerry to
be eliminated as suspects as
soon as possible."
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Abduction difficult to explain Correio da Manhã
McCanns’ apartment: Images of the crime scene
revealed
Henrique Machado
12.05.2008
(Thanks to 'astro' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
The
British press points out several potential hiding places for a predator that would have been inside the McCann couple’s
apartment at the Ocean Club while Gerry was inside checking on his three children, at approximately 9.05 p.m. on the evening
of the crime. But, just like CM had already advanced before, the greatest difficulty for the eventual abductor would have
been to transport Maddie through the bedroom window, jumping over a second bed that was inside the room with the three-year-old
girl, without anyone seeing him and hearing the child cry.
The images from the apartment were published in yesterday’s
edition of ‘News of the World’, and apart from the parents’ bedroom, the kitchen and the living room, in
the bottom left corner of the main photo, at the room’s entrance, one can see the bed where Maddie slept. By the side
of it, the cots for the twins, Sean and Amélie, were placed, and to make the child exit through the window, one would have
to jump over the empty bed that was placed at the far end of the room. It is remembered that Kate, after raising the alarm,
pointed at the open window.
The newspaper says that at around 9.05 p.m., when Gerry interrupted his meal to visit his
children, the abductor could have been hiding inside one of the narrow wardrobes; hiding behind Maddie’s bedroom door;
inside the family’s bathroom or behind Kate and Gerry McCann’s bed.
The same newspaper, after reconstituting
the crime, had to realize that as soon as he heard Gerry opening the patio door into the apartment, the abductor would have
had ten seconds to hide, at the utmost. Nobody woke up or cried: suspicious facts for the PJ.
Field
of vision for Oldfield
When he went to check on the McCanns’ children at 9.30 p.m., friend Matthew
Oldfield says he only saw the twins and a corner of Maddie’s bed. He thought everyone was well.
Details
Alípio’s resignation
The McCanns’ spokesman, cited in blog SOS Madeleine,
says that Kate and Gerry see the resignation of Alípio Ribeiro from the PJ’s directory and his comments about the enquiry
as a sign that Maddie’s disappearance “will never be clarified”.
Ineffective
investigation
Clarence Mitchell also said that the entire investigation, after one year and in the
case that the PJ does not reveal itself as effective in finding out what happened to the three-year-old girl, should be handed
over to “private investigators”.
Blog on hold
Gerry
McCann has not written for the blog that he keeps on the on-line findmadeleine page since the 3rd of May, the day that marked
one year after the disappearance of his daughter.
Kate and Gerry McCann mark Madeleine's
fifth birthday with low-key family gathering Daily Mail
Last updated at 11:14am on 12th May 2008
Madeleine McCann's parents were
marking their missing daughter's fifth birthday privately at home today.
A low-key party was being held for the benefit of her younger brother and sister,
three-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, yet it was "just another day without her" for Gerry and Kate McCann, said their spokesman.
The couple could, however, report that their recent appeal for information has drawn
thousands of emails and hundreds of phone calls.
Their new campaign, launched ahead of the first anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance,
urged anyone who has spoken to the Portuguese or British authorities about her apparent abduction in Praia da Luz to now call
them.
The response has thrown up several "promising leads" which are now being probed
by their private investigators, said their spokesman, Clarence Mitchell.
He said: "Obviously, without Madeleine home yet, this is sadly just another day
without her in many respects.
"Gerry and Kate will, of course, mark her fifth birthday, as much for Sean and Amelie's
benefit as anything else, but they will do this privately within the family."
Relatives were expected to visit the McCanns' home in Rothley, Leicestershire, today.
Mr McCann, a consultant cardiologist at Leicester's Glenfield Hospital, has a number
of clinical appointments but he and his wife were due to be together at home for some part of the day.
"They will not be doing anything in public other than reiterating the need for anybody
with information to please come forward and contact our new phone line launched earlier this month - 0845 838 4699," said
Mr Mitchell.
"We have had a very, very good and encouraging response so far. The emails have
run into thousands and there have been hundreds of calls."
After more than a year of potential leads and reported sightings of their daughter,
the McCanns take news of fresh information in their stride.
But Mr Mitchell said Metodo 3, the private investigation firm working on their behalf,
was following up several promising leads, submitted after the campaign launch, "with some degree of urgency". He would not
go into detail about those leads.
The McCanns want anyone with information about Madeleine to call them on 0845 838
4699 or email investigation@findmadeleine.com or anonymous@findmadeleine.com
McCanns mark Madeleine's birthday BBC News
Page last updated at 10:58 GMT, Monday, 12 May 2008 11:58 UK
The parents of Madeleine McCann have been marking the fifth birthday
of their missing daughter with a low-key party at their family home.
The family's spokesman said the party was primarily for her younger brother and
sister, but for them the birthday was "just another day without her".
But the couple also said a new appeal had been met with a huge response.
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared from a holiday apartment in the
Algarve on 3 May last year.
Kate and Gerry McCann's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Obviously, without Madeleine
home yet, this is sadly just another day without her in many respects.
"Gerry and Kate will, of course, mark her fifth birthday, as much for Sean and Amelie's
benefit as anything else, but they will do this privately within the family."
The McCann's new appeal for information, launched ahead of the first anniversary
of their daughter's disappearance, urged anyone who had spoken to Portuguese or British authorities about the case to contact
them.
Mr Mitchell said: "We have had a very, very good and encouraging response so far.
The emails have run into thousands and there have been hundreds of calls."
He said after more than year of false leads, the McCanns have learnt not to build
their hopes too high over new information.
But he said an investigation firm working on their behalf was following a number
of new leads "with some degree of urgency". He would not elaborate any further.
Maddie "seen" in Brazil Portugal Diário
The last report was made around a month and a half ago. Girl "seen" on a flight to São Paulo
12-05-2008 - 13:09h
(Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
Since she disappeared on the 3rd of May 2007, Madeleine McCann has
been "seen" in several countries. Interpol have now confirmed that some of those reports were made in Brazil
but in any case they were proved false. The news is advanced by the online site the Globo that quotes the Interpol as its
official source.
The last report has a month and a half ago and is still being investigated by the authorities. The
responsible of the Interpol in Brazil, Jorge Pontes, confirmed to Globo that this "sighting is still being investigated and
therefore we cannot enter into details. There is a witness that claims to have seen the child on a flight to São Paulo".
According
to the same news, a delegate of Interpol in Brasília, Marília Moreira Marques, is quoted: "five clues were received
in Brazil", the majority last year. Nonetheless, "nothing was found" that led to the discovery of Maddie.
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Tuesday 13 May 2008
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376
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Portuguese police refuse to give
collected material to Método 3
24horas
The case is in secrecy of justice and the McCanns cannot gain access to the collected evidence
Text Carlos Tomás and Luís Maneta
(Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
The McCanns will have to wait at least till 14th of July to gain access
to the process of the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine. The day before yesterday the parents of the child submitted a
proposal to the Portuguese judicial authorities asking them to give the evidence that they have to the private detectives
of Método 3.
The response of the Portuguese authorities was "no". "They want to gain access to
a process that is and will be, whilst there are steps in course, in secrecy of justice", said a responsible connected to the
investigation. 24horas discovered that the PJ continues to analyse the several depositions of the persons that were
in Praia da Luz on the day Maddie disappeared and that are being gathered by the Leicester police.
The steps in the ground ended some weeks ago and now all the evidence collected
in the beginning of the investigation is being examined and also that collected by the team of Paulo Rebelo.
Guilhermino Encarnação, director of the PJ and responsible by the Directory of Faro
has no doubts: "We are doing the possible and the impossible to solve the case. When it is opportune the result of that work
will be divulged".
Connection to Joana's case
The British press
of yesterday quoted sources allegedly connected to the family of Leonor Cipriano, Joana's mother, that disappeared in 2004
in the village of Figueira, Lagos, Algarve that related the disappearance of Maddie to Joana.According to the British both
were seized by the same individual. Source of Portimão's court contacted by the 24horas, rejects that theory completely:
"Joana disappeared in a public street. Maddie was at home. It is a different modus operandi. This if we believe that they
were kidnapped. To connect the cases is speculation". The 24horas tried yesterday to contact Leonor's family but
it was impossible to speak with them.
'Maddie' spotted on a plane The Sun
By STAFF REPORTER
Published: Today, 13 May 2008
INTERPOL is investigating a possible sighting
of missing Madeleine McCann on a plane to Sao Paulo in Brazil.
A plane passenger claims to have seen Maddie, who went missing from Portugal on
May 3 last year, on a jet about six weeks ago.
Interpol's chief in Brazil, Jorge Pontes, confirmed the investigation.
He said: "This sighting is still under investigation so we cannot
reveal details. We have a witness insisting they saw the child on a flight to Sao Paulo."
The sighting was reported to Interpol by a foreign Embassy in Brazil.
But Brazilian police have refused to reveal which Embassy, claiming it could interfere
with investigations.
There have been several sightings of Maddie, who turned five yesterday, in the country.
Brazilia Interpol delegate Marilia Moreira Marques said: "Five leads were followed
in Brazil, most of them last year, however, we found nothing leading to Maddie's whereabouts".
Their sightings dossier consists of around 40 pages.
On May 11, 2007 "a man identified as Mark placed a call to England stating he had
seen Maddie at a book fair in Cinelandia, central Rio de Janeiro", Ms Marques said.
The man reported the little blonde girl and a woman had entered a snack bar.
The delegate added: "The people in the bar didn’t remember seeing them and
there were no surveillance cameras, so it could be investigated no further".
Maddie disappeared from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while her parents,
of Rothley, Leics, dined at a nearby Tapas bar.
Portuguese extend secrecy order
on Madeleine probe: agency
AFP
Published: Today, 13 May 2008 at 22:40pm
LISBON (AFP) — The Portuguese state attorney
Tuesday announced a further three-month restriction on divulging information concerning investigations into the case of missing
girl Madeleine McCann.
The restriction was scheduled to end on Thursday but would now continue until August
15, the press agency Lusa quoted the state attorney's office as saying.
According to Portugal's strict penal code, secrecy can only be imposed on any investigation
for eight months -- at which point details of interviews and evidence are made public if no charge has yet been preferred,
or the case has been dropped. But this period can be extended in exceptionally complex cases.
Last January the state attorney applied for special judicial permission to continue
the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance without rendering their results public.
The parents Kate and Gerry McCann were named as formal suspects in the inquiry in
September, but returned to their home in Britain shortly afterwards, from where their legal team tried to access key forensic
and other files.
Madeleine McCann went missing in May last year, shortly before her fourth birthday,
from the family's holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz.
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Wednesday 14 May 2008
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377
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Maddie is seen alive & well in Brazil
Daily Star
Police probe first sighting in months
By Jerry Lawton
14th May 2008
Cops probe new Maddie sighting
POLICE were last night probing a possible sighting of
Madeleine McCann on a plane bound for Brazil.
A passenger insists the missing five-year-old was on a flight to São Paulo six weeks
ago.
Interpol officers were last night investigating the claims, along with private eyes
hired by the McCanns.
There have been five other reported sightings of Madeleine in Brazil. And
witnesses claim to have seen her in Argentina and Chile.
Last night the McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the couple were awaiting
official reports on the new sighting.
He said they were "grateful" to the public for keeping up the hunt more than a year
after Madeleine’s disappearance.
While her GP mum Kate, 40, and heart consultant dad Gerry, 39, from Rothley, Leics,
are convinced she is still alive they are refusing to get their hopes up.
The claimed sighting was reported to Interpol by a foreign embassy in Brazil.
Interpol's Brazilian chief Jorge Pontes confirmed they were following up the lead.
He said: "We have a witness insisting they saw the child on a flight to São Paulo."
A first reported sighting of Madeleine in Brazil came just eight days after she
vanished from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May last year.
A man calling himself Mark phoned authorities in England claiming he had seen her
with a woman at a book fair near Rio de Janeiro.
Police looked into the claim but could not trace the girl.
If Madeleine is in São Paulo police face a massive task tracking her down.
The city has a population of nearly 11million – the fifth biggest on the planet.
And the airport, where Madeleine was reportedly spotted, has connecting flights
to hundreds of other countries.
Last night Mr Mitchell said the McCanns' own investigators, from Spanish detective
agency Metodo 3, were separately probing the sighting.
He said: "There have been a handful of possible sightings of Madeleine in South
America. Some have been reported, others have not.
"Kate and Gerry have been informed about this.
"They are neither pinning their hopes on it or getting depressed about it.
"They are waiting to hear something formal down the line either from police in that
country or their investigators.
"There have been a number of possible sightings of Madeleine around
the world, including in Chile and Argentina.
"While Kate and Gerry are grateful to the public for remaining vigilant, they cannot
invest their emotions in every reported sighting."
Possible sightings in at least nine other countries have so far led to nothing.
Witnesses claim to have seen Maddie in Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Belgium, Bosnia,
France, Malta, Australia and even in Dorset, England, three months ago.
In most cases, blonde girls of a similar age to her have been traced and ruled out.
In the others, trails followed by police and private detectives have gone cold.
Madeleine 'spotted
on flight to Brazil' Leicester Mercury
By TOM MACK
10.30 - 14 May 2008
A possible sighting of Madeleine
McCann on a plane is being investigated by Interpol, it was reported today.
A passenger travelling to Sao Paulo, in
Brazil, claimed to have seen the missing youngster on a jet six weeks ago.
The Evening Standard newspaper said the
sighting was reported to Interpol by a foreign embassy in Brazil, although Brazilian police have refused to reveal which one,
claiming it could interfere with their investigations.
Madeleine, from Rothley, went missing a year ago from a holiday apartment in Portugal.
Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, marked her fifth birthday this week.
Interpol chief Jorge Pontes said: "This sighting
is still under investigation, so we cannot reveal details.
"All I can say is that we have a witness insisting they
saw the child on a flight to Sao Paulo."
Alongside the police investigation into their daughter's abduction, Mr and
Mrs McCann have set up their own phone hotline and two dedicated e-mail addresses for people to report possible sightings
of her.
They have a team of private investigators dealing with the most promising messages.
There have received
thousands of calls and messages and each one is being investigated in the hunt for Madeleine. The family say they have been
"overwhelmed" by the response.
The new number and e-mail addresses were launched ahead of the first anniversary of
Madeleine's disappearance on May 3. Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said it had "refocused" the campaign and a number of
potential leads were being investigated.
Mr Mitchell said: "We are very pleased with the response. The investigative
side has be relaunched by the new campaign.
"It has never needed a relaunch in the sense that it had stopped, but it
has helped to refocus the campaign and, to use the cliche, it has given it a shot in the arm.
"There are potential
leads in there and they will be followed up.
"The vast majority of calls are well- meaning and need to be checked,
but those that have more checkable or verifiable information are passed on to our team of private investigators."
He
said that Metodo 3, the private investigation firm working on their behalf, was following up several promising leads, "with
some degree of urgency", but would not go into detail .
Writing in his internet diary, Mr McCann said: "We have been
inundated with mail that we are working through. "Kate and I would like to thank everyone who has helped and supported us
over the last 12 months.
"It is the support we have received from family and friends, and the overwhelming response
of the general public that has sustained us. Special thanks to everyone who has contributed to Madeleine's Fund, which has
allowed us to continue the independent investigation to find Madeleine."
Judge extends Madeleine secrecy BBC News
Page last updated at 11:43
GMT, Wednesday, 14 May 2008 12:43 UK
A Portuguese
judge overseeing the Madeleine McCann inquiry has extended judicial secrecy by a further three months, court officials have
confirmed.
The files would otherwise have been open for consultation from Thursday by
those involved in the case, including Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry.
They are formal suspects, as is Briton Robert Murat, but all deny involvement.
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared from a holiday apartment
in the Algarve on 3 May last year.
Secrecy rules loosened
The decision by the judge, which was widely expected, follows a request from
prosecutors in the case.
It means that neither the formal suspects in the case nor other interested
parties, including the media, can gain access to details of the investigations until mid-August.
Most Portuguese legal experts are reported to believe that legislation that
took effect last year, loosening Portugal's strict secrecy rules, will not permit yet another extension.
The McCanns were officially named suspects, known in Portugal as being given
"arguido" status, in September.
They launched a new campaign for information ahead of the first anniversary
of Madeleine's disappearance.
They had also called on Portuguese detectives to open their files, so they
could find out what leads were being pursued.
Release of Madeleine file 'delayed' MSN UK News
pa.press.net - 14.05.2008 17:39
The police investigation into the disappearance
of Madeleine McCann will reportedly stay shrouded in secrecy for at least another three months.
It was hoped restrictions on the release of the file from the inquiry in Portugal, a move pressed for by her
parents' legal team, would be lifted on Thursday.
But the Portuguese state attorney has announced a further three-month extension to the period of judicial secrecy,
according to news agency Lusa.
It would mean Gerry and Kate McCann, named formal suspects in their daughter's disappearance, face a summer
of uncertainty over what police have done to find their daughter.
The couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, became so frustrated at the dearth of information on the inquiry
that they urged anyone who came forward as part of the official investigation to contact them.
They had hoped that the police dossier would be made public this month.
According to Portugal's new penal code, the initial period of secrecy for an investigation now lasts eight months,
at which point details of evidence and interviews can be made public.
It is understood this period is being interpreted by judges as eight months on from September 15 last year,
the date the code was changed.
But the McCanns' lawyers have told them that the Portuguese authorities can grant two three-month extensions.
It is thought this could leave the couple in the dark until November 15, when prosecutors must decide if they are charging
them.
The couple's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: "We cannot comment on reports in Portugal that the judicial
secrecy period has been extended by another three months as Kate and Gerry's legal advisors have yet to be officially informed
of any such decision. However, if it's the case, it's clearly disappointing and Kate and Gerry's lawyers will of course continue
to press for the opening of the police file."
Reconstruction can take place in May Destak
Pedro Junceiro for Lusa
14 May 2008 (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
Rogério Alves one of the Portuguese lawyers that defends the McCanns said today
in Faro that there are "strong indications" that the reconstruction of Madeleine's disappearance can still take place in May
"[The reconstruction] was scheduled this month", he said, underlining that there
are "strong indications" that the same can take place till the end of May, although he did not gave a precise date.
The
lawyer talked to the journalists outside a seminar "Penal and Penal Procedural Reform" that ended today in the University
of Algarve, in Faro and intended to launch the debate about the reform that is in progress.
Rogério Alves reiterated
that the MacCanns did not impose any conditions to participate in an eventual reconstruction of the disappearance and added
that their only reserve has to do with the "effectiveness" of the proceeding.
"Both showed their intention of being
present but as to the witnesses that is not dependant on them", he said, adding that the parents are sceptical as to the effectiveness
of the procedure due to the fact that a year has passed by.
Questioned by the journalists to comment on the extension
of the secrecy of law in the investigations into the disappearance of the British child, Rogério Alves said that the extension
of the deadline was totally "predictable".
Rogério Alves also said that the advantage of lifting the secrecy of justice
lies in the fact that the parents could know what has been done in the search for their daughter and if the police are close
to finding a solution.
"What results from the secrecy of justice in this case is that it prevents the access of a father
and a mother to what they would like to know, which is what the police are doing to discover a thing that for them is fundamental:
what happened to their child", he concluded.
The McCanns left Portugal on the 9th of September of 2007 but they admit
to return to Portugal to raise the attention about the disappearance of their daughter.
Gerry and Kate McCann are convinced
that the child was kidnapped, contrarily to the PJ, that believes in the death thesis.
The PJ says there is no precise
date Expresso
Mário Lino
13:54, 14 May 2008 (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
Report reproduces that as above in Destak, with an additional paragraph:
Contacted by Expresso, a source connected to the investigation confirmed that
there is no scheduled date yet. "Officially neither the PJ nor the Public Prosecutor have any knowledge yet of
who is coming and who is not coming" added the police source. Recognising it to be under "negotiation" and verifying of dates
between the couple and the several friends. The same source admitted that we might be facing a "difficult game" in which some
of the participants might guarantee their availability that conflicts with the availability of the others. "One thing is certain
though: the PJ will only do the reconstruction with all the witnesses present. If not, then there is no police interest",
he said.
Madeleine McCann: reconstruction may occur Telegraph
By Caroline Gammell
Last Updated: 7:29PM BST 14/05/2008
A reconstruction of the night Madeleine McCann went missing may still go ahead,
her parents' Portuguese lawyer has said.
Doubts were raised after Kate and Gerry McCann publicly questioned the value of such an exercise
so long after their daughter vanished.
But Rogerio Alves said there were "strong indications" that it could take place
in the next two weeks.
Speaking at a police conference in Faro in the Algarve, he said: "We have little faith in the
benefit of this step and how it can help to discover what happened to Madeleine. But there are strong indications it will
go ahead.
Portuguese detectives want Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley in Leicestershire, to return to the Algarve
to re-enact the night of May 3 last year when their eldest child disappeared from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.
They have also asked the couple’s seven friends who dined with them at the nearby tapas bar when Madeleine vanished
to go back to Portugal, but they are also thought to be hesitant about returning.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCann’s
spokesman, said nothing had been decided.
"The discussions about the possible visit by all nine are still ongoing,"
he said. "It is down to the friends - as well as Kate and Gerry - to decide whether they want to go back.
"Of course,
Kate and Gerry would do anything they could if they thought it would help find their daughter.
"There are some serious
questions surrounding the value of the proposed exercise and only when satisfactory answers have come in and all the friends
are happy will it happen."
A source close to the McCanns, who are still suspects or arguidos in their daughter’s
disappearance, said the couple could not understand why a reconstruction was being arranged now, more than a year on.
"It
is not going to be televised, so it won’t throw up any new leads outside the police investigation," said the source.
"There are physical differences more than a year on, such as the hedgerows are a different height, for example.
"And
has anyone given any thought to how Kate might feel about taking part in a reconstruction with another child playing her daughter?"
The debate over the reconstruction came as the judge in charge of the case decided to extend the
secrecy laws surrounding the files for another three months.
This means the McCanns will keep their arguido status until August 15 at the earliest.
Mr Alves said he was not surprised about the extension: "It seems normal to me, I expected it.
"What the judicial secrecy means in this case is that a mother and father are forbidden access to
the knowledge they would like to have about what the police are doing to discover something fundamental for them - what happened
to their daughter."
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Thursday 15 May 2008
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378
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Maddie cops get set for re-run The Sun
Published: Today 15 May 2008
A RECONSTRUCTION of Madeleine McCann's
disappearance is set for May 29 — but her parents are still undecided whether to take part.
Kate and Gerry McCann and their "Tapas Seven" pals have been asked to return to Praia da Luz, Portugal,
for the event.
It would recreate the events of May 3 last year, when Maddie — whose fifth birthday was this
week — vanished.
The McCanns' spokesman said: "Kate, Gerry and friends are willing to take part. But why now, a year
after she went missing? What is the value?"
A source close to the McCanns said the group had "serious reservations".
The source said: "Why just them and the Tapas Seven? Why not all the holidaymakers and staff?
"They don’t see how a reconstruction can take place without them."
Police Delay Release Of Madeleine
Papers Sky News
By Paul Harrison, Sky News Reporter
Updated:09:07, Thursday May 15, 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann say a three month delay in
the release of details of the investigation into the disappearance of their daughter does nothing to help find Madeleine.
Details of the case
were due to have been released today but under pressure from prosecutors in Portugal, the state attorney has agreed to extend
investigation 'secrecy' until August 15th.
McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said "Kate and Gerry McCann's lawyers in Portugal have
not even been officially told. We are of course aware of the media reports about the three month extension, and we are not
at all surprised."
"The issue is, does this judicial secrecy help the investigation in any way? We would say not."
"We're not saying anything further until the family's lawyer in Portugal is told about the extension."
Portugal's penal code states secrecy can only be imposed on an investigation for eight months. Then,
if no-one if charged, details of interviews and evidence are made public. But in exceptionally complex cases, this period
can be extended.
Speaking to Sky
News, the spokesperson for Portugal's state attorney confirmed a three month restriction on divulging information concerning
the case had been agreed, but wouldn't say if further restrictions were likely.
"The public prosecutor requested and the judge agreed that the time of the period of secrecy should
be extended for three months." said Paula Lima in Lisbon.
When asked if the period of 'secrecy' would end after the three month extention on August 15th or
be extended even further, Ms Lima said: "I cannot talk about what will happen afterwards, I'm sorry".
But Portuguese law specialist Lita Gale said the McCanns may have to wait even longer for details
of the case to be released: "The period of secrecy can be extended only if new evidence comes to light or there's sufficient
reason to do so. It's quite possible that on August 15th another three month extension could be put in place.
"But if there aren't sufficient grounds, then the investigation would be forced to close. It's not
in anyone's interest to prolong this unneccesarily."
Enquiry concluded in August Correio da Manhã
J.M.G. May 15, 2008
(Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos for translation)
The PJ has proposed the last week of May as a date
to do the reconstruction of what happened on the 3rd of May 2007, in Praia da Luz. "If it is not done at that time,
probably it will not take place", explained a source connected to the process - "the secrecy of justice was extended until August
and there is only three months left to conclude the enquiry and to elaborate the final report".
According to the
same source "it was not possible to make the reconstruction on the first date that was proposed because some claimed
that the date was not feasible". Although the request for this procedure was made through the rogatory letters approved by
the British justice - which obliges their fulfillment by the McCanns and friends - any of them can allege personal circumstances.
"As to the new date, if someone alleges the impossibility of coming, we will see if he/she is someone essential to the reconstruction
to decide if it will be done or not".
New date for the reconstruction Jornal de Notícias
Marisa Rodrigues
May 15, 2008 (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos for translation)
A new date for an eventual reconstruction of the
night of Madeleine McCann's disappearance has been advanced and it has the agreement of the parents Kate and Gerry,
arguidos in the process. It only lacks the "yes" of the witnesses so that it can happen on the 29th of May, although sources
connected to the process said to the JN that they do not believe that the proceeding will be realised.
That is because
another date - today - was advanced before but the couple, through their spokesman Clarence Mitchell, imposed conditions to
return to Praia da Luz and to help the PJ to discover what happened to the child, missing for more than a year. The McCanns
demanded an end to their arguido status and for the reconstruction to be transmitted live by British television.
Now it seems they have backtracked.
According to Rogério Alves, one of their Portuguese lawyers "that misunderstanding
is surpassed. Kate and Gerry are available to come to Portugal and they do not impose conditions".
"Both said that
they are available but it is needed to know if the witnesses are also available and that does not depend on them", he explained.
The proceeding is now in a phase of negotiation between the PJ and the witnesses - the friends of the couple - but a source
connected to the process believes that it is a "strategy" and that the reconstruction will not happen.
The same source
reminds about the successive "difficulties" that the two arguidos and the Tapas 7 have been setting to return to Portugal
and gives examples. "Publicly they claim they are available, but the truth is that they make demands such as five stars hotels
which is a thing that it is not possible". Without the presence of all "characters" the reconstruction "does not make any
sense and will not be done", he adds.
Kate and Gerry McCann to take part
in police reconstruction Daily Mirror
May 15, 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann will take part in a reconstruction
of the night Madeleine went missing.
The couple, 40, of Rothley, Leics, will join the May 29 event at the request of Portuguese cops.
But their Portuguese lawyer Rogerio Alves said they were "sceptical" over its benefits. And a court
has said case files due to be made public this week will stay shut until August.
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Friday 16 May 2008
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379
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Tal & Qual, 24 August 2007 |
McCann advances against "T&Q" 24horas
Former director and journalist of the extinct weekly newspaper were formally constituted as arguidos
Text: Joaquim Eduardo Oliveira
May 16, 2008 (Thanks to 'Li' and Joana Morais for translation)
Kate and Gerry McCann believe that the publication of the headline "PJ believes
that the parents killed Maddie" put public opinion, world-wide, against them
The former director and a journalist
of the extinct weekly newspaper "Tal&Qual" (T&Q) were formally accused of defamation by the parents of Madeleine McCann
due to the publication, on 24th of August last year, of an article which read: "The PJ believes that the parents
killed Maddie".
Emídio Fernando was heard yesterday afternoon, in the capacity of arguido, in the enquiry section of the
PSP (Public Security Police), in the Avenida de Cintura do Porto de Lisboa. The journalist Catarina Vaz Guerreiro, author
of the text for that front cover had already been heard, at the end of 2007.
Due to problems notifying the former
director of "T&Q" it meant his hearing was only possible yesterday at the PSP inquest headquarters.
24horas
knows that the McCanns - who at this procedural phase do not request any civil compensation – claim that the publication
of that piece of news changed the perception of international public opinion, relative to their alleged involvement in
the disappearance of their daughter.
Two weeks after the publication of the "T&Q" headline, Kate and Gerry were
formally constituted as arguidos in the "Maddie case".
Defamation, they say
"I
am calm, I maintain everything that I said and wrote. I have confidence in my sources and the proof is that, 15 days later,
it was confirmed" said Emídio Fernando, reacting to the accusation of defamation against him, to 24horas.
"I
am absolutely tranquil. I have no problem at all with this. I never had. Not even on the same day. I had the absolute certainty
of publishing it and how I would publish it" he added.
Catarina
Vaz Guerreiro considered the accusation "absurd" since the information launched by the newspaper was confirmed with the constitution
of Kate and Gerry as arguidos.
Madeleine McCann disappeared in the 3rd of May of 2007 in the tourist resort of the
Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz, Algarve
Murat can become a rich man
Robert
Murat, one of the arguidos in the case of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, was the first one to advance with defamation
processes against the British and Portuguese Media, he risks becoming a millionaire if he wins the actions that his lawyer
interposed. Only in the United Kingdom, Murat, a businessman connected with the property sector, sued 13 newspapers and a
TV channel, from whom he asks for one of the biggest compensations in the history of the kingdom: two million pounds, more
than 2,5 million euros. In Portugal, there were already different publications to which the lawyer of Murat, Francisco Pagarete,
advanced with complaints for slander. "JN", "CM", TVI and RTP make part of the accused' roll. Also Gonçalo Amaral, the inspector
formerly connected with the case, is going to advance with complaints for defamation against various English newspapers.
Side
notes, courtesy of Joana Morais:
If
the publisher and journalist of "T&Q" are found guilty of criminal libel they could be jailed for up to two years. They
could also be fined up to €120 (£80) and €180,000 (£122,000).
Tal & Qual (loose translation: Just Like
That) was a weekly Portuguese tabloid newspaper, established in July 1980, that was published on Fridays. The newspaper was
part of the Controlinveste group. Its last edition came out on 28 September 2007. The paper closed because of a drop in circulation,
down from over 21,000 in 2004 to 13,000 by the end of 2006.
On 31 August 2007, the parents of Madeleine McCann announced
that they were suing the newspaper for libel after the newspaper reported that the "police believe" Kate and Gerry McCann
killed Madeleine, suggesting she may have died in an accident or from a drugs overdose. The police stressed, at that time, that
the McCanns were not suspects but Tal & Qual stood by the story. The journalist who wrote the article, Catarina Vaz Guerreiro,
said "I can't reveal my source, but I have complete trust in them. I strongly believe that the person that gave us this information
is telling the truth."
Madeleine - Reconstruction postponed The Portugal News Online
17/05/2008 (Dated for paper publication, released online 16/05/2008)
Plans
to reconstruct the evening last year when British girl Madeleine McCann disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in
the Ocean Club Resort, Praia da Luz, have been postponed until the end of this month as the McCanns' friends, who dined with
the couple on the night Madeleine vanished, have so far failed to confirm whether they will assist police detectives.
In the week that marked
the fifth birthday of Madeleine McCann, it has emerged that a possible reconstruction of the night she went missing has now
been scheduled for May 29th and 30th.
To ensure the investigation remains protected by secrecy
laws, the Public Ministry has decided to prolong the deadline until which details were to remain undisclosed, from May 15th,
for three more months, or until the reconstruction has been carried out.
PJ police investigators still defend new investigations
must be carried out, meaning the investigation must continue to be protected by secrecy laws.
The McCanns have already made it known they are willing
to return to Portugal to participate in the reconstruction, a position confirmed by their lawyer in Portugal, Rogério Alves.
According to sources though, the couple do not believe
the reconstruction will take the investigation any closer to finding their daughter.
For the reconstruction, all of the witnesses (the
McCanns and their friends with whom they dined at the on-site Tapas bar on the night Madeleine disappeared – May 3rd,
2007) are required to be present.
Should any witness refuse to participate, the reconstruction
will not be carried out, police sources have indicated.
This procedure is believed to be particularly relevant
to further explore a statement from witness and the McCanns friend Jane Turner, who claimed she saw a man carrying a child
in the vicinity of the family's apartment shortly after one of the group, Gerry McCann, had been to check on the children.
Scotsman apologises to Robert Murat for
defamatory Madeline McCann story Press Gazette
By Patrick Smith
16 May 2008
One
year after alleging that he had joked about being the "no.1 suspect" in the police hunt for Madeline McCann, The Scotsman
has apologised to Robert Murat and admitted publishing defamatory allegations about him.
In April, Murat legal actions against 11 British
newspapers and Sky News for stories linking him to the investigation and accusing him of being a prime suspect.
In an apology yesterday the paper said: "On 15
May an article about Robert Murat headed 'Madeleine: He jokes of being 'No.1 suspect'' was published in which we reported
a number of defamatory allegations about Mr Murat in connection with the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
"The article wrongly accused him of 'hanging around'
the scene in a manner which recalled the Soham murders.
"Likening his behaviour in this way to that of
Soham murderer, Ian Huntley, suggested that he was involved in the abduction of Madeleine McCann. It was a seriously defamatory
allegation and wholly untrue."
The apology continued: "We also wrongly implied
that he had been unfeeling and insensitive about Madeleine McCann's disappearance and had lied about his role in the police
investigation. That was not our intention.
"We accept that Mr Murat was assisting the police
investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance and that his behaviour was entirely proper throughout, and we are happy
to make that clear.
"We apologise to Mr Murat for the hurt, distress
and damage to his reputation caused by the article."
The Johnston Press-owned paper did not pay out
any damages.
Murat, who lives in the Portuguese town of Praia
de Luz where McCann went missing, came to the attention of the press after she disappeared in May 2007. He appeared in several
articles at the time as someone that was helping police with their inquiries.
He is suing through London solicitors Simon, Muirhead
and Burton on a conditional fee agreement.
Robert Murat - an apology
The Scotsman
Last Updated: 14 May 2008 7:36 PM
Source: The Scotsman
ON 15 MAY 2007 an article about Robert Murat headed "Madeleine: He jokes of being 'No.1 suspect'" was published in
which we reported a number of defamatory allegations about Mr Murat in connection with the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
The article wrongly accused him of "hanging around" the scene in a manner which recalled the Soham murders. Likening
his behaviour in this way to that of Soham murderer, Ian Huntley, suggested that he was involved in the abduction of Madeleine
McCann.
It was a seriously defamatory allegation and wholly untrue.
We also wrongly implied that he had been unfeeling and insensitive about Madeleine McCann's disappearance
and had lied about his role in the police investigation. That was not our intention.
We accept that Mr Murat was assisting the police investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance and that his
behaviour was entirely proper throughout, and we are happy to make that clear.
We apologise to Mr Murat for the hurt, distress and damage to his reputation caused by the article.
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Saturday 17 May 2008
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380
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Timeline of the McCanns put in question
24horas
Witnesses say that they didn't see Maddie after the end of the afternoon
Text Carlos Tomás
(Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
Little Madeleine McCann was not seen from 18.00 on the 3rd of May 2007, meaning
almost four hours before the mother, Kate, gave the alarm in Praia da Luz, Algarve. That is the conclusion drawn from the
correlation of information given to the British police by more than 60 tourists that were at the Ocean Club on the day of
the disappearance.
The authorities of Leicester have been sending this information drop by drop to
the team of Paulo Rebelo. "None of the more than fifty persons that were in the tourist resort saw the child from 18.00 hours
onwards. The several interrogatories made at the time of the disappearance and more recently in England prove that the girl
was no longer seen in the end of the afternoon", said a judicial responsible connected to the investigations to 24horas.
This data led the judicial responsible to assume that "contrary to what the
parents always claimed the hour that the disappearance occurred is yet to be defined and it might not be after 22.00 hours
but much earlier".
There are still depositions missing
The team
of the PJ are not yet in possession of all the depositions that were requested to the British authorities, made in the
rogatory letter sent to that country at the end of 2007. The principal depositions of the McCanns' friends have
already been evaluated scrupulously.
FACTS
Alarm
Kate McCann entered the Tapas Bar after 22.30 screaming "they've taken her". She
was never able to explain to the authorities who "they" were. The GNR arrived at the location in less than 20 minutes
and the PJ one hour after. In the apartment were the twins and there was not found any sign of a break in.
Impositions
The 7 friends that dinned with the McCanns in the Tapas Bar are putting conditions
to the Public Prosecutor to return to our country. They are invited to cooperate in the reconstruction of that night, a proceeding
considered very important to clarify the facts.
Reconstruction without date
The PJ continues to wait for a reply from the McCanns and their friends to
schedule a date to the reconstruction of the facts that occurred on the 3rd of May 2007: "We have not received any indication from
the Public Prosecutor about this issue. We are still waiting that the McCanns and their friends to decide when they want to
come to Portugal. We cannot oblige them, they come if they wish", said the same source.
Guilhermino Encarnação, responsible for the Department of Faro, maintains that "in
this phase there is nothing to say" and as soon as relevant data of public interest connected to this media case occurs "it
will be revealed by the competent authorities".
The McCanns say, through their spokesman, Clarence Mitchell that they are willing
to return to our country but they do not take responsibility for the decision of the friends with whom they dined.
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Sunday 18 May 2008
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381
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McCanns: It's still no to a rerun
The People
By Marc Baker
18 May 2008
Defiant Kate and Gerry McCann have rejected a
new plea to help re-create the night their daughter Maddie vanished.
The couple had a tense showdown with Portuguese cops last week.
After refusing to fly back, they have now been told to reply "within days" to yet
another request for them to attend a reconstruction in two weeks.
But sources say they will again say no.
Police want Kate, 40, and Gerry, 39, and their Tapas Seven pals to return.
But the couple have "grave reservations" about cops' motives.
They fear police aren't interested in finding Maddie and only want to charge them
with neglect over the disappearance of Maddie, now five, in Praia da Luz last May.
Spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "They're still considering what to do."
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Monday 19 May 2008
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382
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Talks over re-enact bid
Leicester Mercury
10:30 - 19 May 2008
Madeleine McCann's parents and
their friends could return to Portugal in the next two weeks to re-enact the night of the youngster's abduction.
Clarence
Mitchell, the family's spokesman, said talks were going on among the group over whether it would be useful.
However,
it is understood they are wary of returning to Portugal, where Mr and Mrs McCann remain formal suspects.
Police in Portugal are reported to be pushing for the group to return to Praia da Luz for
the re-enactment, which would be to help the investigators and would not be televised.
Mr Mitchell told reporters:
"The discussions about the possible visit by all nine are ongoing. It is down to the friends - as well as Kate and Gerry -
to decide whether they want to go back.
"Of course, Kate and Gerry would do anything they could if they thought it
would help find their daughter.
"There are some serious questions surrounding the value of the proposed exercise."
*
This report is simply a rehash of what Clarence Mitchell said last week. See Telegraph report of
14 May 2007.
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Tuesday 20 May 2008
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383
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Trapattoni makes Madeleine appeal
in Portugal
Belfast Telegraph
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Republic of Ireland soccer boss
Giovanni Trapattoni has added his weight to appeals for information in the hunt for missing British girl Madeleine McCann.
The Italian
and his squad are currently on a six-day training camp in Portugal and are based at Estrela da Luz, just minutes away from
the Praia da Luz resort where the four-year old disappeared last year.
Trapattoni said: "Our hearts go out to the McCann family, and if anybody has
any information or anything that could be helpful, they should contact the police.''
The Irish squad arrived in the Algarve on Friday evening and trained at the
Estadio Municipal in Lagos at the weekend.
Yesterday they played local side Portimonese, drawing 1-1. Later they will
take on another club side, Lagos, and will return to Dublin on Thursday ahead of friendlies against Serbia and Colombia.
Striker Kevin Doyle joined his manager in hoping the visit could help focus
attention on Madeleine's disappearance.
He said: "I only realised last night that we were staying in the same resort.
"If us being here focuses a bit of media attention again, it can only be a
good thing.'
Trap Snaps: FAI eloquent on Madeleine
Irish Independent
Diary from the Algarve
Tuesday May 20 2008
KEVIN DOYLE
seemed somewhat surprised the other day when he was informed that the Irish team's Estrela da Luz base was just five minutes
away from where Madeleine McCann went missing last year.
The McCanns were staying in Praia da Luz, and pictures of the young girl are
still visible in some shop fronts and around the area.
That Doyle had to take a question on the topic was somewhat bizarre, but then
such is the demand of news desks -- given that Maddie stories still sell -- then it was perhaps inevitable.
What was more bizarre, however, was an FAI press officer following up unprompted
with quite an eloquent comment about the tragedy, before quickly stating that it was from Giovanni Trapattoni who seemingly
was scheduled to be asked about the issue as well.
Doyle said he was going to take a stroll to the church where the McCanns famously
prayed in the days after their daughter disappeared, and some other players have been spotted strolling around the area. Incidentally,
this relatively tranquil town is set to be invaded by the world's media again in the next month, if a planned reconstruction
of the events before her disappearance gets the go-ahead.
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Wednesday 21 May 2008
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384
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* No relevant news published
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Thursday 22 May 2008
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385
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* No relevant news published
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Friday 23 May 2008
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386
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Ultimatum for the McCanns 24horas
Public prosecutor fed up with the lack of cooperation from the British couple
Text Carlos Tomás
23/05/2008 (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
Kate, Gerry and the seven friends have not yet accepted a return to
Portugal on the 29th. The Public Prosecutor is going to accuse the couple of gross negligence
The Public Prosecutor made an ultimatum to the McCanns: Attend the reconstruction of Maddie's
disappearance that will take place on the 29th of May or the Public Prosecutor will advance with the accusation of gross negligence
against the couple.
The PJ also informed the McCanns that "either all of them return (on the 29th) or none will come" as
it was admitted by the spokesman of the couple, Clarence Mitchell to 24horas. All, should be read as Kate,
Gerry and the seven friends that dined with them in the Tapas, at Praia da Luz on the 3rd of May 2007.
Clarence Mitchell admitted to 24horas that the reconstruction will not take place on the
29th due to the doubts of the friends.
Kate and Gerry, as 24horas has already reported, should be accused of gross negligence
with the maximum penalty ten years jail.
"There has not been any kind of cooperation with the authorities from their part. What is strange for
parents that are constantly and publicly claiming that they want to find their missing daughter. It is an unusual behaviour.
Any father or mother that had lost a child would have all interest in cooperating with the authorities. The truth is from
the McCann's part that help does not exist. What they say is that they are willing to come to Portugal but only under certain
conditions", explained to 24horas a source from Portimão's Court.
According to the same source, after the suggestion of the Public Prosecutor to make the reconstruction
on the 15th and 16th of May, a new date was suggested: the 29th of May. However less than a week from that day the Portuguese
authorities are still empty handed. Neither the parents nor their friends gave any signal of life.
Enough evidence
"We have the conviction that the parents participated in the concealment of the girl's body and
that she is dead. Although the existing evidences are not enough to accuse them of homicide. But we have more than enough
evidence to accuse them of negligence. They know that and they don't return to Portugal probably because they are afraid of
being arrested", said another judicial responsible connected to the investigation.
"It is not understandable the reason why they are all dragging their feet - including the McCanns -
to participate in a reconstruction that will probably last 6 hours".
Facts
If the Public Prosecutor goes ahead with the accusation of gross negligence against the McCanns, Kate
and Gerry will claim that they were "responsible parents" on the night of the 3rd of May, explained Clarence Mitchell. That
is the advice given by the Portuguese and British lawyers.
The reconstruction of the facts that occurred on the night of 3rd of May 2007 will not be done on the
29th due to questions raised by the seven friends of the McCanns to the PJ. "We are in a phase that the friends, one by one,
are presenting their arguments to the PJ. They do not understand the objective of the reconstruction one year after the disappearance
of Maddie". The friends also "emphasise that more people should participate in the reconstruction such as the employees of
the Ocean Club and other witnesses". But Kate and Gerry due to the fact that they are arguidos, will come to Portugal if the
PJ demands.
Caught by surprise with the fact that the Public Prosecutor might advance with the accusation of gross
negligence against the McCanns, Clarence questions: "Why that accusation now, one year after the facts? It seems strange".
*
Comment:
Mark Warner, at that time, offered a 'baby listening service', where nannies toured the complex
listening for crying children and then alerted their parents. However, this service was not available in Praia da
Luz as the company said the resort was too spread out, with many apartments being outside the bounds of the actual
Mark Warner complex.
The McCanns will almost certainly argue that if Mark Warner were offering this service at that time,
albeit at other resorts, then it must have been considered legal and 'responsible' to leave the children alone - as long
as they were being checked on a regular basis.
Their argument will be that all they were doing was the Mark Warner 'baby listening service' by
themselves and that, even if Mark Warner had offered the service in Praia da Luz, there would have been nothing to stop an
abductor undertaking the same act between checks made by nannies, as opposed to them.
Last
month, Mark Warner withdrew this service from all its complexes (Link to Sky News report).
The immediate questions that flow from this are: Would the Mark Warner 'baby listening service'
have complied with Portuguese law (if the service had been available) and, if such a service was considered
illegal, would the McCanns have been expected to know this?
Madeleine: The McCanns will travel
to Portugal Sol
Kate and Gerry McCann are still willing and they will obey the notification of the Police to participate
in a reconstruction of the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine, but their friends question the validity and the proposed
model.
LUSA
23/05/2008 (Thanks to Joana Morais for translation)
"Basically, it is not up to Gerry and Kate (the realisation of the reconstruction)
because they are arguidos and if their presence is requested, and if they have to go, they will go", guaranteed the spokesman
of the couple, Clarence Mitchell, to the Portuguese News Agency today.
"Everything depends on the friends, who
were also invited to go but, since they are not arguidos, they have the right of questioning the usefulness of this exercise
and if it will help to find Madeleine - and at this moment their answer seems to be it will not", said Mitchell. "The Portuguese
authorities have still not managed to answer this simple and only question", added Mitchell.
Almost 13 months
have passed since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, on the 3rd of May 2007, from an apartment where she was spending
holidays with her parents and siblings in Praia da Luz, Lagos, in the Algarve.
A reconstruction of all the steps given
by the parents and the friends who were there at that time was suggested by the Judiciary Police (PJ) almost a month ago,
first through the McCanns lawyers and then through individual summons.
The PJ stipulated the presence of the nine
British for the realisation of the reconstruction and three dates were proposed in May, two of them were exceeded (15th and
16th of May).
"We are coming very near to the suggested date (29 and May 30) and I think it is very unlikely that
the reconstruction will happen", suggested the McCanns Spokesperson.
The little time remaining before the date
also hampers settlement on the availability of them all, exemptions from work, travel arrangements and accommodation,
who will pay these costs is not clear.
The delay in settling the date is, according to Mitchell, the lack of response
to several questions sent by friends to the police about the nature of the investigation.
One was why doing a reconstruction
of the alleged crime now, 'when they do not do it normally (in Portugal) and they rejected a proposal to do one for the BBC
TV programme Crimewatch last year", he said.
The friends also questioned the decision of the authorities
to require the real protagonists on location, including the McCann couple and the seven friends with whom they spent
holidays, when 'most reconstructions are done by actors' and they also ask why other tourists and workers of the tourist
complex were not invited.
Kate’s "mental well-being" is another factor that causes concern, according to Mitchell.
"Is it proposed that she sees a child to be kidnapped in front of her? What type
of anguish is this going to cause her? It seems nobody has thought about that", he stressed.
In spite of
the difficulties, Clarence Mitchell denied that Kate and Gerry had presented "determined conditions" in order to travel to
Portugal, as reported today in the newspaper "24 Horas", based on a source of the Judicial Court of Portimão, and reaffirmed
the availability of the couple to help the investigation.
Kate and Gerry McCann are arguidos at present, together
with the British-Portuguese citizen Robert Murat, in the process of investigation to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The McCanns seven friends - Jane Tanner, Matthew and Rachael Oldfield, David and Fiona Payne, Russell O`Brien (Jane's
companion) and Fiona's mother, Diane Webster - were cross examined as witnesses in Portugal in the weeks following the disappearance
and again in April in Leicester, England.
To mark the first anniversary of the disappearance, the family released a
new phone number, created by the campaign to find Madeleine, to collect information of potential witnesses and the result
was a "strong response". "We had thousands of mails and hundreds of calls and between them there is some information that
is being closely analysed", advanced Mitchell.
British Officer accuses McCanns of having agreement to prevent reconstruction
SOS Maddie
(French language site)
Duarte Levy
Enhanced Google translation, 23/05/2008
According to a senior British police officer from Enderby, in Leicestershire, "Kate and Gerry McCann
have established an agreement with their seven friends to prevent the realisation of the reconstruction request by the Portuguese
authorities."
"They know that this reconstruction will not take place if the group is incomplete," said the officer
adding that "it is clear that Kate and Gerry cannot refuse directly and publicly discuss their participation for fear of seeing
public opinion in the United Kingdom turn against them."
"That is why they know their friends will not participate." said the British officer who had accompanied
the investigation in Portugal.
(report then continues with details as in Sol and 24horas)
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Saturday 24 May 2008
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387
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McCanns back new tracing scheme
The Irish Times
Last Updated: 24/05/2008 08:55
The parents of four-year-old
Madeleine McCann are backing a scheme to trace missing children using the social networking websites Facebook and Bebo.
Kate and Gerry McCann have welcomed the initiative by charity Missing People,
which will mean Facebook users can view details of missing youngsters on their own page.
In a statement the couple said: "We strongly support and encourage this new
initiative to use Facebook to increase awareness of missing children.
"Using the power of social media in this way will undoubtedly capture the
attention — and hopefully the help — of a younger population who are a hugely valuable and resourceful group.
"We would urge the millions of Facebook users around the world to keep looking
and to do what they can to help bring these children home.
"This initiative by Missing People, British Telecom and all those supporting
them, is another highly commendable and positive step in protecting and helping children."
Missing People has set up an application for Facebook users to download, which
will mean information on current appeals will be displayed on their homepage.
The charity is also joining Bebo's "Be Cause", an internet site which gives
information for young people about charities and campaign groups, to publicise its 24-hour Runaway Helpline.
It hopes to access millions of internet users in its quest to find thousands
of youngsters who go missing each year.
The charity's own website has attracted 40 million "hits" in the year since
it was launched, and Missing People already posts film clips on YouTube.
Missing People Chief Executive Paul Tuohy said: "If every Facebook user downloaded
our BT-powered application, millions of people internationally could see an appeal that could help us to reunite a family."
In the last 12 months Missing People has dealt with 13,000 queries about under-18s
who have vanished, including 2,000 about children under 13.
It is launching the new scheme to coincide with International Missing Children’s
Day today, which will see a number of cases highlighted including the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Other missing youngsters being brought back into the spotlight are Paige Chivers,
a 15-year-old who went missing from Blackpool last year, and Andrew Gosden, 14, who was last seen at King’s Cross train
station in September.
International Missing Children's day was created to mark the abduction of
six-year-old Etan Patz in New York in 1979, who has never been found.
We'll charge McCanns Irish
Daily Mirror (No online link, only appears in paper version)
Portuguese police want Maddy parents tried for child neglect
By Victoria Ward
24/05/2008
PORTUGUESE police
want to charge Kate and Gerry McCann with child neglect, it was claimed yesterday.
The couple could face 10 years in jail as cops are said to be tired of their
"lack of co-operation" and plan to prosecute.
A Portimao courthouse source said: "We have more than sufficient evidence
to charge them with negligence. They know that and that is why they are afraid to return to Portugal, afraid they will be
arrested.
"They have not co-operated at all with the authorities which is strange
for parents who are constantly appearing in public to say they want to find their missing daughter.
"Any parent of a missing child would have full interest in co-operating. The
truth, however, is that the McCanns have not."
The latest development came after the couple were reluctant to take part in
a reconstruction over Maddy's disappearance from their Praia da Luz apartment on May 3 last year.
It is now unlikely the reconstruction, scheduled for May 29, will happen.
The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "It is disappointing that such
threats are being aired, even before the reconstruction has been finalised.
"The usual anonymous sources seem determined to issue threats when the Portuguese
authorities should, in fact, be concentrating on looking for Madeleine."
He said legal advice the couple had received confirmed that they acted as responsible
parents.
But Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas claimed prosecutors were tired of the couple's
"lack of co-operation" and said the McCanns risked charges of "gross negligence" which could jail them for up to 10 years.
The idea of a reconstruction was floated several weeks ago but it would not
be broadcast, and sources told the Mirror at least two of the so-called Tapas Nine were reluctant to take part.
The source said: "There are serious questions about the value of this exercise.
What is its evidential value?
"Why do they want to do one now when it is not normal practice in Portugal
and they had refused before?"
The source added no one had considered how Kate would feel watching a girl
play the part of Maddy.
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Sunday 25 May 2008
|
388
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* No relevant news published
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Monday 26 May 2008
|
389
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Reconstruction in Praia da Luz scheduled
for Thursday
Diario de Noticias
FILIPA AMBRÓSIO DE SOUSA
26/05/2008
Only three days
but neither of the couple's defence team knows if there will be a reconstruction
The Judiciary Police (PJ) are dependant on witnesses coming to Portugal
for the reconstruction of the night of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann to be done.
The proceeding, announced by PJ a few weeks ago, is already scheduled for
this Thursday, according to what the DN found. But, apparently, it might not happen.
This is because the witnesses, the friends of the McCann couple that dined
in the Tapas Bar on May 3, 2007, in Praia da Luz, may not be willing to travel to Portugal, as a year has passed over the
events, according the spokesman of the McCann couple, Clarence Mitchell two days ago.
On the part of McCanns, the couple are already prepared to submit
to the Portuguese authorities to carry out the proceedings, which, however, they admit to be "useless" as the lawyer of the
couple McCann, Rogerio Alves, told DN.
"Basically, it is not up to Gerry or Kate because they are defendants. If their
presence is required, they will have to go," assured the couple's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, a few days ago to the
Lusa agency. "Everything depends on the friends, who were notified to be present but as they are not defendants they
have the right to question the usefulness of the exercise and whether it will help to find Madeleine - and the answer now
seems to be no," he said.
The lawyer Rogerio Alves said that the Portuguese defence of the McCanns, which
the former president of the Bar shares with Carlos Pinto de Abreu, "ignores the evolution of notification made to the witnesses."
This means that three days before the scheduled proceedings, the defence team of the couple do not know whether they
will take place. "Given that there can be no reconstruction of the night without the witnesses, if they do not come, it will
not proceed," the lawyer concluded.
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Tuesday 27 May 2008
|
390
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Murat was not notified to the
reconstruction of the alleged kidnap Diário de Notícias
José Manuel Oliveira
27/05/2008 (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)
Robert Murat's lawyer
guaranteed yesterday to the DN that he was not notified to participate in the reconstruction requested by the PJ for next
Thursday concerning the events of the night of 3rd of May 2007. Nonetheless his client is available since as an arguido, "he
will be obliged to present himself to any steps that he is legally notified of", he added.
"Till now I have no information.
By now I would already have been notified, believing in the media that the 29th will be the date for the reconstruction"
underlined Francisco Pagarete. And he questioned: "Or it will be on another date? And will a reconstruction take place?"
After
insisting that "everything is equal" concerning the situation of Robert Murat and that "the Public Prosecutor is the one who
knows what he has to do", the lawyer says that it is not strange that the arguido has not been notified to the reconstruction
of the night Madeleine disappeared from the room where she allegedly sleep with her siblings, "since he was not in any of
those places and the PJ knows that very well", he emphasised.
The big doubts are the friends of Kate and Gerry McCann,
since as witnesses they are not obliged to be present and they will only return to Portugal if they want but the reconstruction
will only be done if they come since their presence is essential. About the opinion showed by the McCanns that consider
the reconstruction as a "useless" step, Pagarete
prefers "not to comment".
Nonetheless he observed: "I
doubt that the Public Prosecutor
will do any useless acts". To
Murat's lawyer the only thing to
do is "to wait for the end of
the enquiry" reminding that
after the extensions of the
deadline since January of this
year "I don't know how much
longer this will last". "It
would be
pure
speculation if I would advance
with any date", he said.
Judge does not allow McCanns' text messages
to be read
24horas
(no online link yet available)
Relation court alleges "reservations over the private life" of Maddie's parents
27/05/2008 (Thanks to 'Astro' and 'Debk' for translation)
The PJ wanted to know
what was contained in the text messages that were written by the McCanns and their
friends, on the day before and on the day
after the little girl disappeared
The Public Ministry and the inspectors at the Polícia Judiciária that are responsible
for the Maddie case, are not going to be able to read the contents of the mobile phone text messages that were sent and received
by the McCann couple during the moments that followed the English girl's disappearance. The PJ's access to this data was denied
by the Relation Court in Évora, through a ruling that was accessed by 24horas, and which invokes the legal guarantees
of reservation and confidentiality of telecommunications.
A few days after Kate and Gerry were heard at the PJ and
made arguidos, last September, the Republic's Prosecutor from the Judicial District of Portimão, Magalhães e Menezes, asked
the judge that is responsible for the process, to request the three national mobile phone operators to send a digital record
of "the full listings of telephone traffic concerning both incoming and outgoing
calls" for ten phone numbers, between the
28th of April and the 9th of September 2007. That list, according to the Prosecutor, should include the cellular location
and traceback, as well as any calls that were made in roaming, and SMS and MMS messages, and their contents. The analysis
of this data would allow the police to, at least, reconstitute the steps made by Kate, Gerry and the friends that were spending
their holidays with them at the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz, on the days immediately before the disappearance of Madeleine
McCann. The investigators are especially curious about the contents of 18 messages that were written and sent, from a yet
unidentified mobile phone, to Gerry McCann, between the 2nd and the 4th of May 2007, and about all the communications that
were made by the group between 8 p.m. on the 3rd of May and 12 p.m., on the next day.
Judge did
not give permission
The request that was made by Magalhães e Menezes started out by being rejected by
the criminal instruction judge at the Portimão Court, who, through a dispatch, "did not authorize the sending, on a digital
medium (CD or DVD), of the contents of any message that was sent or received as an SMS or MMS, concerning all the telephone
numbers" at hand.
The understanding of the Judge is that that access would "mean to gain knowledge
of the contents of the conversation or telephone communication, without a previous judicial dispatch, authorising such procedure".
Which is not foreseen in the Portuguese law.
Not resigning, the Public Ministry appealed the Relation in Évora, trying to open
up another possibility: in order to preserve the "reservation of the intimacy of the private life of the interlocutors", the
messages would be previously analysed by the instruction judge, who would evaluate their contents and the possibility that
they could be used as evidence. The ruling from the Relation Court, signed by judge Fernando Ribeiro Cardoso, dismisses that
possibility, as well. "The data from the contents, as the tenor of the messages, can only be intercepted in real time, with
due judicial authorisation", the document refers, adding that the mere existence of such records or recordings would configure
a violation of the law.
Retroactive listening
The investigators that have been given
the task of finding out what happened to Madeleine McCann, wanted to access some sort of retroactive listening operation,
by requesting information, in late September, about the messages that were exchanged, months earlier, by the arguidos and
by the English citizens that were spending their holidays with the McCanns in Praia da Luz. For the Relation Court in Évora
this is an idea that has no legal support and "it makes no sense" to ask the operators (TMN, Vodafone and Optimus) that they
"make the contents of communications and messages that were expedited and received between certain telephones, during a certain
past period, available". Although it recognizes the "hypothetical technical possibility" that the contents of those messages
was the object of register or recording, the Relation Court understands that it is a "reality that from the legal point of
view, could never have taken place, under a penalty of an eventual incursion into criminal responsibility by whomever has
carried it out or permitted it to be carried out". "As the contents of those messages, that were eventually expedited or received,
through the telephones that are at issue, during the period that is comprehended between the 28th of April and the 9th of
September of the same year, could not have been the object of any interception, registration and recording by any operator,
the request that is being made by the Public Ministry in the First Instance, and sustained in an appeal, lacks any legal support,
in that part", the ruling concludes.
Four Crimes under Investigation
There are four crimes being investigated
as part of the process related to the Maddie Case, under the jurisdiction of the Portimão Court. In addition to the suspicions
of abduction, homicide and hiding a cadaver, the judgment of the Relation Court Évora, now released by 24horas, confirms that
the Portuguese Justice system is also reviewing the occurrence of the practice of the crime of exposure by abandonment of
a minor, punishable under the Penal Code with a sentence of between 3 and 10 years in prison. According to the law, one commits
this crime when they place the life of another person in danger, "leaving them defenceless, whenever the accused fails in
their responsibility to protect, watch over or assist."
Deadline from the PJ is at the doorstep
Reconstruction to take place, soon?
The Polícia Judiciária remains interested in making the reconstruction
of the evening of May 3, 2007. The inspectors want to seat the seven friends at the table in the Tapas Bar, again, and to
understand the movements of all of them, on the evening when the little girl disappeared. In this manner, the Judiciária wants
to identify possible incoherencies in the statements made by each one of the persons that were heard on location, in those
days. It so happens that the McCanns and their friends do not reach an agreement and the most likely thing to happen is that
they do not attend the reconstruction, which may not be carried out. Madeleine's parents have often expressed their availability
to help, but what is certain is that the 29th of May, the day that was scheduled by the PJ as the date when this diligence
would be carried out, is on the doorstep and there are still no certainties concerning the couple's presence in Portugal.
News is expected in the coming days.
FACTS
Telephones
Without
access to the contents of the telephone messages, PJ could, however, know who spoke to whom on the day that Maddie disappeared.
This, because the criminal instruction judge has not raised questions relative to the analysis of the "lists of telephone
traffic in regards to calls made and received."
Intimacy
According to the Portimão
Public Prosecutor, the right to protect the intimacy of one's private life "runs no greater risk of being harmed by accessing
the contents of SMS or MMS messages than by the knowledge of the circumstances of time, place, mode and frequency of the calls."
Secrecy
The
judicial secrecy has been extended until July. From that date onwards, the process can be consulted by the arguidos' lawyers,
like Carlos Pinto de Abreu, Rogério Alves and Francisco Pagarete.
Reconstruction
The process continues
to have three arguidos: Kate and Gerry McCann and Robert Murat. Maddie's parents were questioned and made arguidos in early
September. They returned home, to Rothley, in England, right afterwards.
Investigation
The PJ's report about
the disappearance arrived at the Public Ministry on the 11th of September. From that moment on, it was accompanied by the
General Prosecutor for the District of Évora, Luís Bilro Verão.
Source: 24Horas – Paper Edition pages
4 and 5
Full ruling of the Relation Court in Évora on the 29 of April 2008
(Portuguese language)
Reconstruction of Madeleine's disappearance
cancelled due to absent witnesses
Lusa /
Expresso
27/05/2008 (Thanks to Joana Morais for translation)
The reconstruction
of the facts relative to the disappearance of the English child Madeleine McCann, appointed for Thursday and Friday, was cancelled
due to the absence of four of the witnesses, informed today the General Procuracy of the Republic (PGR).
According
to a note of the PGR, the diligence "won't happen" due to "the previously announced absence" of four friends of the McCanns
who spent holidays in the tourist resort of Praia da Luz, Algarve, at the time that the child disappeared, on the 3rd of May
2007.
Kate and Gerry McCann showed willingness to participate in the reconstruction of their daughter's disappearance,
but their friends put in question the validity and the proposed model.
"Basically, it's not up to Gerry and Kate (the
making of the reconstruction) because they are arguidos and, if their presence is requested, they will go, they have to go",
guaranteed recently the spokesman of the couple, Clarence Mitchell, to the Lusa News Agency.
"Everything depends on
their friends, who were also invited to go but, since they are not arguidos, they have a right of questioning the usefulness
of the exercise and whether it will help to find Madeleine - and at this moment the answer seems to be it will not ", he said.
A
reconstruction of all the steps given by the parents and the friends present at that time was suggested by the Judiciary Police
(PJ) about a month ago, first through the McCann's lawyers and then through individual notifications.
Source: Lusa
A Police source
connected with the investigation told to Expresso that they were not aware of the PGR's dispatch, however he denied that the
cancellation was a surprise. The same source showed interest again in staging the day of the crime, but said that the next
step is up to the Public Ministry: "The PJ will speak with the Public Ministry, to know if they'll advance with the accusation
or not and if it is really essential to do the reconstruction at all", he guaranteed.
Remember that the Judiciary Police
had already admitted that the reconstruction would only make sense with the presence of all the witnesses, as well as of the
couple McCann. In declarations to the Expresso, the police source admitted at the time the PJ could be facing a "game of push"
in which the witnesses, would coordinate their periods of unavailability in order to annul the possibility of doing the reenactment
with everyone present, as requested by the PJ.
Source: Expresso
Kate and Gerry McCann will not return
to Portugal for Madeleine reconstruction
Telegraph
Kate and Gerry McCann have decided not to return to Portugal to take part in a reconstruction of
events on the night Madeleine went missing.
By Caroline Gammell
Last Updated: 7:18PM BST 27/05/2008
The
couple believe a re-enactment will do "absolutely nothing" to help find their daughter, who was three when she vanished from
the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Mr and Mrs McCann, who are arguidos or suspects in their daughter's disappearance,
had been asked by Portuguese police to return to the Algarve along with the seven friends on holiday with them at the time.
Detectives wanted to stage a reconstruction at the Ocean Club complex where
the McCanns were dining, leaving Madeleine and her younger siblings in the unlocked apartment nearby.
But the couple,
from Rothley in Leicestershire, have decided not to go back.
A source close to the McCanns said: "There are no plans for Kate and Gerry
and their friends to return to Portugal. They have all indicated their intentions to the police.
"The reconstruction will only take place if Kate and Gerry and their friends
agree to take part. If they don’t agree it will not happen.
"Kate and Gerry have had grave reservations about the value of it. If the
reconstruction was going to help Madeleine, nothing in the world would stop them taking part.
"But Kate and Gerry and their friends cannot see the point of all the disruption
it would cause to their busy work schedules and families if, as they believe, it will do absolutely nothing to help find Madeleine."
The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said yesterday: "Kate and Gerry and
their friends remain committed to doing anything to help find Madeleine.
"I don’t want to comment on what they have told police but, if they
do not return to Portugal, it is because they feel it offers no value and no assistance in finding Madeleine."
Mr Mitchell said that if the reconstruction was televised with the chance
of bringing in new leads the McCanns and their friends would agree to do it.
He went on: "They would welcome a Crimewatch-style reconstruction which is
properly broadcast for millions of people to see and could generate important new leads and fresh information."
But Portuguese police said they did not want the reconstruction to be filmed.
This article later updated:
Madeleine McCann reconstruction
'called off by Portuguese police'
Telegraph
Portuguese Police will not go ahead with a reconstruction of the night Madeleine McCann disappeared.
By Caroline Gammell
Last Updated: 8:55PM BST 27/05/2008
According
to Sky News reports, the controversial plan was abandoned after several members of the 'Tapas Seven' were not able to attend.
Kate and Gerry McCann had already decided not to return to Portugal for the
reconstruction of the night of their daughter went missing.
The couple said the re-enactment would do "absolutely nothing" to help find
their daughter, who was three when she vanished from the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
(article then continues as above)
Madeleine Reconstruction Abandoned
Sky News
Updated:20:28, Tuesday May 27, 2008
Portuguese police
have abandoned plans for a reconstruction of the night Madeleine McCann disappeared, according to reports.
It is understood that the event, planned for later this week, has been cancelled
because several members of the so-called "Tapas Seven" are unable to be there.
Sky's Martin
Brunt said: "It has been reported in Portugal that the attorney general's office has announced that the reconstruction, which
was planned for Thursday and Friday this week, is not going to go ahead now.
"The reason given is that four of the Tapas Seven, for one reason or another,
are not able to be there."
It is the second time it has been put off and Madeleine's parents, Gerry and
Kate McCann, have always been reluctant to take part.
Brunt explained: " It was only a request from the Portuguese police, not a
demand.
"The McCanns felt that many months ago their own suggestion of a reconstruction
had been turned down.
"They felt that there would only be a good reason to hold such a reconstruction
if it was used as a widely televised appeal for help and information."
McCann reconstruction called off
BBC News
Page last updated at 21:55 GMT, Tuesday, 27
May 2008 22:55 UK
A reconstruction
of the night Madeleine McCann disappeared will not happen after friends her parents dined with that evening declined to take
part.
Police had invited Kate and Gerry McCann back to Praia de Luz, Portugal, along
with the so-called Tapas Seven.
But the friends had "serious questions" about the value of the reconstruction,
Mr and Mrs McCann's spokesman said.
Madeleine, then aged three, of Rothley, Leicestershire, vanished from a holiday
apartment in the resort last May.
Spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the McCanns had not refused to go back but
had been aware of their friends' views and were not now needed by the police.
He said: "The bottom line is that there were a number of serious questions.
For instance, why did they [Portuguese officers] want to hold a reconstruction more than a year after the event?
"There was a suggestion of doing a reconstruction at the Ocean Club last year
but that was rejected out of hand because that was not the way they wanted to do things.
"Why was the reconstruction [the Portuguese suggested] not to be televised?
That would have generated new leads and information but if it is not televised, how on earth is that going to help find Madeleine?"
He also questioned why only Madeleine's parents and their friends had been
asked to take part in the reconstruction and not the other holidaymakers who were there when she disappeared.
It is thought the reconstruction had been due to take place later this week.
|
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Wednesday 28 May 2008
|
391
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Here they would have already been arrested 24horas
McCanns' friends refused to cooperate with reconstruction
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
(Thanks to 'astro' for translation)
They were notified about the reconstitution of the disappearance, but they are not coming. If Kate’s and Gerry’s
friends were Portuguese, they would participate under detention
The last hope for the Polícia Judiciária
(PJ) to be able to reconstruct the steps that were made by the McCanns and their seven friends on the evening of Maddie’s
disappearance, have been demolished. The reconstruction of the events of the 3rd of May, which was scheduled for next Wednesday, has
been annulled.
"As arguidos, Kate and Gerry were forced to cooperate with the authorities,
and they would attend. But their friends decided not to go, because they failed to understand the usefulness of this diligence",
Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, said to 24Horas. "The friends were formally notified about the reconstitution,
recently. The couple had been notified already".
According to Mitchell, the PJ has always made it known that "either all of
them were coming, or none of them". As is obvious, a reconstruction with only Kate and Gerry would make no sense…
If they were Portuguese, they would be subject to a warrant
The
fact that the seven friends of the McCanns have been notified as witnesses for a diligence of this type and failed to attend,
would have serious consequences if they were Portuguese citizens. "First, warrants for attendance would be issued. If they
would fail to attend, then arrest warrants would be issued and they would have to pay a fine. Which means that they would
be attending under detention", a source from the Public Ministry explained to 24horas.
According to the same source, "arguidos and witnesses are obliged to attend
the diligences, provided they have been officially notified".
England "is one of the countries where the cooperation with foreign authorities
is worst", the source detailed. Through the international channels, the PJ could still use an international arrest warrant
against the friends, but for a reconstruction that depends on the goodwill of everyone, this step will never be taken.
The Prosecutor's Office informed yesterday that the reconstruction was cancelled
due to the "already announced failure to attend" from four friends of the McCann couple. The note from the Prosecutor's Office
does not specify which ones are the four "non attending" friends, who have dragged the group along.
Clarence Mitchell, speaking to 24horas yesterday, mentioned the withdrawal
of the seven friends, as a group. The "Tapas Seven" (known by this name because they dined with the McCanns at a tapas restaurant
in Praia da Luz on the evening of the 3rd of May) are: David Payne, 41, a colleague of Gerry; his wife Fiona, 34, also a doctor;
Payne’s mother, Dianne Webster; Matthew Oldfield, a doctor, and his wife Rachel, 36, a consultant; and Russell O’Brien,
36, and his partner Jane Tanner, 37.
Prosecutor against colleague
24horas
Request to access the McCanns' text messages originated a mess
Wednesday 28 May 2008
(Thanks to 'astro' for translation)
The prosecutor Luís Verão, in Évora, did
not agree with the position of his colleague who is responsible for the Maddie case, Magalhães e Menezes, concerning the request
that the latter made to the judge, to gain access to the McCanns’ mobile phone messages
A prosecutor against
another prosecutor is rare, and when both magistrates are working on the same case, it becomes unheard of. This happened in
the Maddie process: Luís Bilro Verão, the joint general prosecutor that was nominated for the case, did not agree with the
appeal that was made by the Public Ministry in Portimão – contesting the lack of access to the contents of the mobile
phone messages that were sent and received by the McCann couple before and after the little girl disappeared.
The ruling
from the Relation Court in Évora, which rejected the appeal, even refers the opinion of Luís Bilro Verão. "In this instance,
the joint general prosecutor, in his learned opinion contained in the pages 22 to 97, understands that the appeal should be
judged manifestly unfounded". In other words, the prosecutor Luís Verão pulled the carpet from under the feet of Magalhães
e Menezes, the magistrate who is responsible for the case.
According to the ruling, the contents of the messages could
only "be the object of real-time interception, with due judicial authorisation".
Messages before the crime?
Within the Polícia Judiciária, the decision from the Relation Court
in Évora was not well received. "It’s an illogical position. It would be impossible for the PJ to request for listening
operations or to view text messages before the crime even took place", a source at the Polícia Judiciária commented.
The
McCanns’ spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, only commented that "Kate and Gerry have always made their telephone and computer
records available to the PJ". If the PJ would have been able to access the mobile phone messages "that would not have been
a problem because the McCanns have never had nothing to hide".
McCanns and friends
warned about the reconstruction
Rogatory letter
contained notifications
The parents of Madeleine McCann and
the seven friends with whom they dined at the Tapas Bar, on the 3rd of May 2007, at Praia da Luz, in Lagos, Algarve, were
officially notified by the Polícia Judiciária, just like 24horas reported, through the rogatory letters that were
sent to England, early this year, which were partially carried out during the month of March – the letters had been
sent in October 2007, but were returned due to procedural mistakes –, to participate in the reconstruction of the events
of that day. The reconstruction was scheduled for the 15th and 16th of this month, but the date was, uselessly, changed into
the 29th and 30th of this month.
"Contrary to what the couple has always said, they were not 'invited' to return to
Portugal. It was only asked, in the letters that were sent, when they and their friends would be available to carry out the
diligence. But the diligence was officially ordered", guaranteed a judicial officer that is connected to the process. "The
State was prepared to pay for the full expenses of the trip and the respective accommodations under normal conditions. But
absurd demands were made. But these are foreign citizens and there is little that we can do", the same source concluded.
Footnotes
MURAT. Even if the reconstruction was taking
place, it is almost certain that the man who was first made an arguido, Robert Murat, was not formally notified, as reported
by “Diário de Notícias” yesterday.
PGR. The Republic's General Prosecutor announced yesterday that the
reconstitution of the night when Maddie disappeared was not taking place on Friday. But the PJ’s senior officers had
not been formally informed. They found out about the cancellation, through the journalists.
WATERFALL. Gonçalo Amaral,
the former coordinator of the PJ in Portimão, continues to write, on a daily basis, the book that he will publish after the
judicial secrecy over the case is lifted. And it is almost certain that it will contain data about the McCanns’ telephone
calls.
TRAFFIC. The PJ was able to find out who spoke to whom on the day that Maddie disappeared, because they had
access to the listings of telephone traffic.
RESERVATION. The Relation Court of Évora invoked the legal guarantees
of reservation over the private life, to prevent the PJ of accessing Kate’s and Gerry’s SMS messages.
Public Ministry assumes suspicions
of
homicide Correio da Manhã
(No online link to full article)
Ruling: McCanns arguidos over death, abandonment and concealment of a cadaver
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
(Thanks to 'astro' for translation)
This is the first judiciary dispatch that is not covered by the judicial secrecy,
that assumes that the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann contains the suspicions of crimes of homicide,
exposure, abandonment and concealment of a cadaver.
Those were the criminal indices that were imputed to Gerry and
Kate and over which they were made arguidos. The ruling, dated April 29, and emitted by the Relation Court of Évora, concerns
the Public Ministry’s request to gain access to the SMS and MMS messages that were sent and received over ten different
telephone numbers, before and after the disappearance of the English girl.
The judge said no, and the superior judges
have confirmed the decision that had been made by the First Instance at the Portimão Court, that the PJ would only have been
able to access those elements if they had requested real time listening operations. This means that for the text messages
that were sent and received before the 3rd of May, the authorities should have requested that type of operation to collect
evidence even before the child disappeared.
According to the ruling, the PJ and the Public Ministry had requested the
three national mobile phone operators (TMN, Vodafone and Optimus) to send them, on a digital medium (CD or DVD), the complete
listings of the telephone traffic of calls that were made and received during the period of time that is comprehended between
the 28th of April, 2007, and the 9th of September, 2007.
They also wanted the cellular positioning of the devices and
the trace-backs (which allow for the devices to be localized, and to be included into a certain radius during precise time
periods), as well as the roaming calls.
The authorities have supplied the judge with ten telephone numbers that should
be verified, and also requested another number to be identified. From that number, Gerry had received 14 text messages and
another four messages on the day that followed Madeleine’s disappearance, the contents of which the investigators wanted
to know. The judge has not accepted the request.
Fundamental forensic
evidence
The arrival of the first forensic results was fundamental for the turnaround in the investigation.
It was based on that initial data from the English laboratory that the investigators constituted the McCanns as arguidos.
The parents stopped being victims and became suspects, in a climate of great tension. The report that stated that the residues
that were found in the car that was driven by the couple, matched the genetic profile of the English girl, was important.
But the data was not determinant.
Gonçalo Amaral spoke about death
Gonçalo Amaral, the coordinator of the Polícia Judiciária in Portimão, who was in charge of the investigation
into the disappearance of Madeleine, has always defended the thesis that the little girl died on the 3rd of May. The investigator,
who has in the meantime distanced himself from the police force and now prepares to write a book, believed that the child
died on the evening of the disappearance, in a domestic accident, and that her family proceeded to conceal the cadaver. In
his book, he promises to divulge details from the process that are still not known.
Investigation runs into the reconstruction
The reconstruction of the moments that preceded the
disappearance of Maddie, on the 3rd of May, 2007, is not going to take place anymore.
The diligence was scheduled for
tomorrow and Friday, but the announced absence of four friends of the McCann couple, whom were on holidays in Praia da Luz
in May last year, has prompted the Republic’s General Prosecutor Office to cancel the reconstruction.
The diligence
was 'annulled', the PGR [General Prosecutor's Office] has confirmed in a note. It is recalled that Kate and Gerry showed themselves
available to take part in the reconstruction of the disappearance of their daughter Maddie, but their friends questioned its
validity and the procedure that had been proposed.
According to what the spokesman told Lusa, 'it is not for Gerry
and Kate McCann the fulfilling of the reconstruction because they are arguidos, and if their presence is requested, they will
go, they have to'.
Clarence Mitchell 'blames' the friends, whom he understands to have 'the right to question the utility
of the exercise, and whether it's going to help to find Madeleine McCann: the answer at the moment seems to be no'.
Prosecutors with different understandings
The prosecutor
at the first instance and the one at the Relation Court have different understandings. The first one asked for access to the
messages. The second one, a joint general prosecutor, defended the pure and simple uselessness of the appeal. The panel of
judges confirmed his ruling.
Madeleine McCann's parents investigated
for neglect
Timesonline
David Brown
May 28 2008
The parents of Madeleine
McCann are being investigated for possibly neglecting their daughter on the night she disappeared from their Portuguese holiday
apartment, it was revealed today.
The first published court ruling on the Madeleine case confirms that the police inquiry
covers homicide, abandonment, concealment of a corpse and abduction.
The reference to "abandonment"
suggests that Portuguese
detectives are investigating if
there is evidence that Kate
and
Gerry McCann were negligent in
leaving their daughter alone on
the night she was reported
missing. The charge carries a
maximum 10-year jail sentence.
Mr and Mrs McCann, both doctors from Rothley, Leicestershire, have strenuously denied negligence
and said they were just 50 yards away at the time their daughter was taken.
The court ruling also reveals that the public prosecutor wants access to the content of
text, audio and video messages from 10 mobile telephones believed to belong to Kate and Gerry McCann and seven of their British
friends.
Investigators are particularly interested in the content of 18 text messages allegedly
sent from an unidentified mobile number to Mr McCann between May 2 and 4 last year. They also want details of all calls made
between members of the group between 8pm on May 3 and midday of the following day.
Madeleine was reported missing at 10pm on May 3 from her bedroom at the Ocean Club resort
in Praia da Luz. Her parents and their friends had been dining at a Tapas restaurant while Madeleine and her twin 18-month-old
siblings were asleep.
The investigation has been covered by Portugal's strict laws on judicial secrecy which
meant that even Mr and Mrs McCann, who were made official suspects last September, have been unable to access details of the
inquiry or any evidence against them.
However, details of the investigation have emerged in a court judgment, seen by The
Times, after prosecutor Magalhães e Meneses was refused access to the content of the group’s telephone messages.
He had requested a "complete listings of all telephone traffic to calls made to and from"
numbers between April 28, when the group arrived in Portugal, and September 9, when the McCanns left the country. He also
sought details of the locations of the mobile telephones which would allow detectives to recreat the movement of the group.
The request for access to the messages was rejected by instructional judge Pedro Frias
at the court in Portimão. He
said it would breach the right
to privacy and that Portuguese
law did not allow for the
retrospective interception of
telephone calls.
The Évora Supreme Court of Justice has now rejected the prosecutor’s appeal and published
its reasons, giving the first glimpse into the investigation.
Judge Fernando Ribeiro Cardoso rejected the application, saying: "The details of the content
of the messages can only be objected to interception in real time, with due judicial authorisation."
Portuguese police had hoped to stage a reconstruction of the events surrounding Madeleine's
disappearance tomorrow. However, they have been forced to abandon the re-enactment after some of the McCanns friends said
they could not see the value in returning to Portugal to take part.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, said: "We are pleased to see that the investigation
covers abduction. Kate and Gerry have had legal advice in both Portugal and Britain which say that everything they did was
within the boundaries of reasonable behaviour."
He said that Mr McCann had no knowledge of the texts referred to on May 3 and 4 and had
received only a few calls on his mobile in the six days the family had been in Portugal prior to Madeleine disappearance.
Edited transcript of the judgement
Timesonline
Edited judgement from the Tribunal da Relacao de Evora in the investigation of Madeleine
McCann
David Brown
May 28, 2008
Judge: Ribeiro Cardoso
1. In the case files pending in the Public Prosecution Services in which they are investigating the disappearance
of M.M. and the eventual carrying out of the crimes of abduction, homicide, exposure or abandonment of a child and concealment
of a corpse, the prosecutor in charge of the case under investigation
The Penal Procedural Code, promoted, amongst other operations, a request of the 3 national mobile telephone operators
(TMN, Vodafone and Optimus) for digital support (CD or DVD) of the complete listings of telephone traffic to calls received
and made in the period of time between April 28 2007 until September 9 2007, including cellular location and trace-back, as
well as all calls on roaming and SMS and MMS messages and their respective content, for the following telephone numbers: (Ten
telephone numbers follow)
- Telephone number as yet unidentified which during May 2 2007 sent 14 written SMS messages to G.M. and another
4 on the day following M.M.’s disappearance.
- The request from mobile telephone operator TMN, the dispatch on digital support (CD or DVD), the complete listing
of telephone traffic referring to the calls received and carried out in the period of time between 20H00M of May 3 2007 and
12H00M of May 4 2007, including cellular location and trace-back, as also all calls on roaming and SMS and MMS messages and
their respective content, of the following mobile numbers:
2. However, the Instructional Judge, by ruling of 24.09.2007, did not authorise the dispatch on digital support
(CD or DVD) of the content of any message sent or received by SMS or MMS pertinent to all the above referred telephone numbers,
as he concluded, such would mean attaining knowledge of the content of telephone conversation or communication already carried
out, without the previous judicial authorization ruling, and because there is no legal support for such a request.
3. Refusing to accept this ruling, the prosecutor interposed the present appeal:
"i) – We present our dissent to Criminal Instructional Judge's ruling - namely the part in which he did
not authorise “the dispatch on digital support (CD or DVD) of the content of any message sent or received by SMS or
MMS.
ii) – There is no reason to distinguish, as the judge did, between the two types of communication –
content of SMS and MMS messages and listings of telephone traffic pertinent to the calls received and carried out. Where the
law does not distinguish, nobody else may.
iii) – The right to protection against the invasion of privacy or intimacy runs no bigger risk or being
violated by the access to the content of SMS and MMS messages than the knowledge of the precise circumstances of time, place,
method and frequency of the calls received and made.
iv) – If the procedural law makes reference to the use of communications already carried out, it is to expressly
authorize those, as defined linear and unequivocally in number 1 of article 189th of the Penal Procedural Code.
v) - In order to preserve the right to protection against the invasion of the privacy or intimacy of the communicants
of the SMS or MMS messages in the case under appraisal, protecting, via judicial surveillance, any abusive invasion to that
intimacy.
vi) – In not authorizing the access to the content of the SMS and MMS messages, the ruling violated the
dispositions of articles 179th, 187th and 189th of the Penal Procedural Code.
In these terms, revoking the appealed ruling and ordering its substitution with another which requests of the
three national mobile telephone operators the dispatch on digital support (cd or dvd) of the content of any message sent or
received by SMS or MMS and their respective content of all telephone numbers."
5. The judge maintained the ruling, stating, essentially, the following:
"To attain knowledge of the content of communications carried out by SMS or MMS, because they are communications
carried out by telephone, one must necessarily obtain a previous judicial authorization and it must result from interception
carried out and authorized by that ruling, pertinent to the ongoing communication.
In my point of view and with due respect one cannot compare detail of traffic (those pertinent to listings of
numbers dialed and received) with detail of content (pertinent to the content of the communication made – the words
exchanged) with intent to treat them in the same way, due to their nature. It is not the same to know that on day X, at a
certain hour, a communication was established between numbers Z and K, in a specific locale (traffic detail) and knowing what
was said, arranged or discussed.
As there is no mobile phone legally apprehended, I also think it is not legal to use the rules pertinent to the
apprehension of correspondence, running the risk of, in such a way, relegating the demands placed upon the interception of
undergoing correspondence, which is what would happen if one was to order the operator to dispatch the content of those communications
carried out via telephone, even if technically possible.
Finally, the statement "recorded on digital support" refers to the communications carried out by a different technical
means than that of the telephone, ie. E-mail, in real time, via information network, etc, therefore, with due respect, such
has no application herein"
8. Matter to be examined
In view of the motivations presented by the appealer, the matter to be decided is simply establishing whether
it is permissible or not to request of the three national mobile telephone operators to dispatch on digital support (cd or
dvd) the content of any message sent or received by SMS or MMS and their respective content pertinent to all the telephone
numbers with reference to the period of time therein indicated.
9. In view of that exposed, we rule the appeal interposed by the public prosecutor, unfounded, consequently maintaining
the appealed ruling.
Évora, 2008.04.29
Fernando Ribeiro Cardoso
Rare glimpse into Madeleine case
workings
Sky News
By Sky's crime correspondent Martin Brunt
May 28, 2008
The Portuguese criminal
justice system is opening up, but at the same pace as the plucky snail I watched navigate the prickly stem of my Gunnera plant
last night.
How he managed to avoid those deadly blue pellets I don't know, but that's
another matter.
Anyway, the Supreme Court has released a document which shows how its judges
turned down official pursuit of the McCanns' mobile telephone records.
In September the prosecutor wanted to ask three phone networks to reveal details
of texts from 10 phones, presumably those of Kate and Gerry and their Tapas Seven friends.
The court document refers to one telephone that has not been identified, which
sent Gerry McCann 14 texts the day before Madeleine's disappearance and four the day after.
The original request for the information was thrown out by the instructional
judge and the prosecutor's appeal has just been rejected by the higher court.
I say "just", though the ruling was delivered a month ago and it's taken this
long to emerge.
But, hey, don’t
be churlish. Let's applaud a
rare, tiny shaf t
of light that's
penetrated the darkness of the
Madeleine investigation.
Even if it doesn't really take us anywhere.
Written by Martin, May 28,
2008
Madeleine McCann's parents being
investigated for negligence
Telegraph
By Laura Clout
Last Updated: 11:36PM BST 28/05/2008
Portuguese police are investigating
the possibility that the parents of Madeleine McCann were negligent when they left their daughter alone in their unlocked
holiday apartment on the night she went missing.
According to the first published court ruling
on the case, the investigation covers abduction, homicide, exposure or abandonment of a child, and concealment of a corpse.
The judgment, released by the Evora Supreme Court of Justice in Portimao, gives the first official
glimpse into the course of the police inquiry, which has hitherto been guarded by Portugal’s strict judicial secrecy
laws.
The reference to "abandonment" suggests that detectives are looking for evidence that Gerry and
Kate McCann were negligent in leaving Madeleine and her twin 18-month-old siblings unsupervised while they ate dinner with
friends on the evening she vanished.
Under Portuguese law, the crime of abandonment carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Mr and Mrs McCann, who are arguidos - or suspects - in their daughter’s disappearance, have
repeatedly denied neglecting Madeleine, who was three when she vanished from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz
on 3 May 2007.
The couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, have said they were just 50 yards away when their daughter
went missing, and had made regular checks on the children throughout the evening.
The court
ruling also revealed that
the public prosecutor wants
access to the content of
text, audio and video
messages from 10 mobile
phones believed to belong to
Mr and Mrs McCann and a
group of their British
friends known as the 'Tapas
Seven'.
Police also want access to the content of 14 messages allegedly sent to Mr McCann's mobile phone
from an unidentified number the day before Madeleine disappeared, and to a further 4 messages from the same number which he
received the day after she vanished.
They also want details of all calls between members of the group between 8pm on May 3 and noon
the following day.
The judgment was published after Judge Fernando Ribeiro Cardoso rejected the prosecutor's appeal
against a decision not to grant the interception of the calls and messages.
It offers the first official glimpse into the investigation for Mr and Mrs McCann, who have spoken
of their frustration at being denied access to crucial police files.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns said: "Certainly its encouraging that they are investigating
whether Madeleine was abducted, because that's what happened, as Kate and Gerry have always said.
"Quite frankly, they would like to see them [the Portuguese police] doing more searching on the
ground."
He added that according to legal advice which they were given, the actions of the couple on May
3 had been "well within the bounds of responsible parenting".
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Thursday 29 May 2008
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392
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McCanns in fury after 14 txts slur
Daily Mirror
By Martin Fricker
29/05/2008
Gerry McCann reacted angrily yesterday
to claims he received a string of mystery texts the day before his daughter vanished.
Police applied to Portugal's supreme court to seize his phone records after learning of the alleged
messages.
They claim Gerry was sent 10 texts from an unknown number 24 hours before Madeleine disappeared.
And detectives say four messages arrived from the same mystery number the day after she went missing,
according to court documents.
But Gerry and wife Kate have dismissed the claims as "utter rubbish".
A source close to them said: "They have had their phone records available for inspection for months.
But the police never asked for them. And now they have formally asked, they have been refused.
"Any suggestion of Gerry receiving 10 texts the day before Madeleine disappeared are utter rubbish.
"He hardly used his phone during the holiday and most of the friends with them didn't even have
mobiles.
"The only time his phone rang was when work called and he explained he was on holiday. There are
no mystery texts. Gerry has nothing to hide. It's yet more nonsense coming from Portugal."
Police also applied to see the phone records of the friends that Gerry and Kate were on holiday
with.
But Portugal's supreme court yesterday issued a detailed ruling rejecting the application. It is
believed detectives waited too long to request the records and that accessing them could breach privacy laws. A local judge
had already turned down the application.
As part of the ruling, it emerged for the first time that the McCanns are being investigated for
manslaughter.
It is the first time official paperwork has been made public in the year-long investigation into
the five-year-old's disappearance from Praia da Luz.
The 5,000-word ruling also reveals that police are investigating the McCanns for "exposure, abandonment
and concealment of a corpse".
Kate and Gerry recently claimed police do not officially suspect them - even though they are both
still "arguidos".
McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "They are not officially suspected of any crime.
"Nor have they been accused of any crime."
Maddy has been missing for 392 days
*
Note: This report is inaccurate. It was 14 text messages on 02 May 2007 and 4 text messages
on 04 May 2007.
Afraid of being constituted arguidos
24horas
McCann friends refused to return to Portugal
Text Carlos Tomás
29/05/2008 (Thanks to 'Li' snd Joana Morais for translation)
The other two couples that left their children in the Ocean Club were afraid by
the fact that the Portuguese law now provides a penalty up to 10 years in jail for those that abandon minors
Two couples refused to return to Portugal to cooperate with the PJ in the reenactment
of the 3rd of May 2007. Amongst the motives for the refusal, 24horas discovered that it was the fact that Jane Tanner,
Russel O'Brien, Rachel and Matthew Oldfield were afraid of being constituted as arguidos.
From the group of nine people that dined in the Tapas Bar in the night of the disappearance,
apart from Maddie's parents these were the couples who also had children. And also left the children alone in the apartments
of the Ocean Club - which according to the article 138º of the Penal Code, constitutes a crime of exposure or abandonment
that can be punishable with ten years in jail.
"They made several demands, from a private Jet to a five star hotel.
Their last request was not to be constituted arguidos, whilst the McCanns demanded exactly the opposite. According to our
law that is impossible to guarantee", explained a judicial responsible connected to the process to 24horas.
According
to the witness statements collected by the PJ at the Tapas Bar, only Russel O'Brien and Gerry McCann left the restaurant between
19h00 and 22h00, the period that the authorities believe the child went missing.
"The refusal of the friends to return
to Portugal is unbelievable. Only three said they would come", David Payne, Dianne Webster and Fiona, said the same source.
Notice that the depositions of Fiona Payne and her husband are considered to be fundamental
to elaborate the Public Ministry's accusation which is almost concluded.
Facts
Calm
Diane
Webster, 63 years old, was the most calm person of the group. After Kate entered the Bar screaming "they've taken her", she
was calm and serene.
Reservation
The reservation
of the apartments of the Ocean Club - made through the Internet - was done by David Payne one of the witnesses that was available
to return to Portugal.
Three consistent versions
The
Judiciary Police investigators who are connected to
the Maddie's process, a team coordinated by the superior coordinator Paulo Rebelo and Guilhermino Encarnação, responsible for the Department of Faro, have already analysed the main statements collected
in Leicester, England.
The ones that have consistency, are the ones of David and Fiona Payne and Diane Webster, 24horas
discovered. All the other depositions show several contradictions or do not advance anything important to the case.
In
any case the statements of more than 50 persons who spent their holidays at the Ocean Club in that date and who live in England,
are still being analysed.
According to the statements of these three friends of the McCanns, from 18h00 onwards none
of them saw Maddie, although she was extremely active and enjoyed being with the group.
The only person that said that
went to see the child a little after 21h00 is her own father, Gerry, who has confessed that he was talking for several minutes
with a friend close to the apartment and after that only his wife Kate that gave the alarm of the disappearance after 22h30
. The authorities were only called near 23h45.
'Kate and Gerry
will search for Madeleine to the end of their lives, if that's what it takes'
Yorkshire Post
By Sheena Hastings
Published date: 29 May 2008, Last Updated: 29 May 2008 9:22 AM
WHEN Clarence Mitchell was a BBC reporter, breaking news
tended to follow him around, like the time he was driving along the M1 and the Kegworth air crash happened right in front
of him.
After leaving TV to join the Government's Media Monitoring
Unit in 2005, his first week saw the G8 in Gleneagles, London winning the 2012 Olympic bid, and the disastrous events of 7/7
in the capital.
During his decades in radio and television –which included
early years at BBC local radio in Sheffield and Leeds before working on-screen at Look North – he'd covered long-running
stories like those of Fred and Rose West, the murder of Jill Dando, and the disappearance and killing of schoolgirl Milly
Dowler. He'd also been deputy to royal correspondent Jennie Bond, part of the team covering Princess Diana's death and funeral.
But there have been weeks in the last nine months when Mitchell's
face has been seen on news bulletins even more than it was during his time in television.
He is spokesman for the McCann
family, still searching for
little Madeleine 391 days after
her disappearance from their
holiday apartment in Praia da
Luz, Portugal, where she and her
twin siblings were sleeping
while their parents dined with
friends 50 yards away at a tapas
restaurant.
Mitchell, who has a wife and three young children of his
own, was plunged back into the centre of a worldwide news story when he was sent out by the Government to Praia da Luz to
give assistance in managing the media in late May, three weeks after the three-year-old went missing.
Arriving at the resort, he found at least 40 TV crews and
about 300 newspaper reporters camped outside the McCanns' apartment. Interest in the story showed no signs of abating, local
police
were giving nothing away, and rumour and speculation were running rampant.
Public donations were pouring in to the Madeleine McCann
Fund. The Pope saw Gerry and Kate McCann's suffering on TV, and let it be known via Westminster Cathedral that he would see
the two Roman Catholics if they requested an audience.
Clarence Mitchell set about making arrangements, calling
in an offer of the use of a private jet made by retail tycoon Philip Green. The couple subsequently toured Europe, publicising
their search, then immersed themselves in the effort of ensuring that Madeleine's image reached the furthest-flung corners
of every continent. A mob followed wherever they went.
Many judgments have been made
about the McCanns on the basis
of their appearance and
demeanour during the early days
of the ongoing ordeal. Mitchell
says they were advised by police
and others to remain calm and
impassive
in
front of cameras, as some
abductors are known to get a
thrill from the visible distress
they cause to families.
Of course, all sorts of inferences were drawn as a result
– Kate and Gerry were too controlled, Kate was perceived to be too "icy" by some. She was damned if she did twitch with
emotion and damned if she didn't. When she did eventually break down during an interview on Spanish television, Mitchell says
the carping voices condemned her "crocodile tears".
All the while, vile and false accusations of involvement
in Madeleine's disappearance (and worse) were flying about, and continue to be aired on the internet, despite the salutary
£555,000 damages paid to the Find Madeleine fund recently by Express Newspapers for publishing grossly defamatory comments
about the couple.
The unprecedented international media interest in the Madeleine
McCann story was a demanding beast that was not being fed by the regular press conferences that would be part of such a case
in the UK.
"It was made out to be the biggest 'conspiracy' since the
Diana 'conspiracy,'" says Mitchell. "Some of the group (of friends in the tapas restaurant) had their watches on that night,
and others didn't... asking nine people to give exact explanations of what happened at what moment during the evening was
never going to produce matching stories; what would have been more suspicious was nine exactly co-ordinated accounts."
Ex-pat Robert Murat, who lives close to the Ocean Club holiday
complex was made an "arguido" or official suspect (and remains so); then in September last year both Kate and Gerry McCann
were also made arguidos, and as such were sworn to silence about the investigation but allowed to return home to Rothley,
Leicestershire on bail conditions.
Their arguido status has just been extended for a further
three months, despite the fact that "not a shred of evidence" has been put forward against them, says Mitchell. Portuguese
police have until November at the latest to lay charges or lift the arguido status and close the investigation as unresolved,
he says.
Gerry McCann went back to work as a cardiologist at the beginning
of November. Kate, formerly a part-time GP, looks after twins Sean and Amelie. With the help of friends and family, the couple
run the Find Madeleine campaign, answering letters, emails and phone calls, devising strategy and posters, and occasionally
giving interviews.
Clarence Mitchell, who was sent back to London after a month-long
stint in Portugal during which he forged a solid friendship with the McCanns, was not taken on as their spokesman until September
last year, and was frank that he could not do it unless his Government salary could be matched.
Cheshire-based double-glazing millionaire Brian Kennedy,
who had already offered to pay the McCann family's legal costs, said he would match Mitchell's earnings package of nearly
£75,000, so that it would not drain cash from the £1.2m in public money donated to find Madeleine.
Mitchell spends two or three days a week in Rothley (put
up for free by a sympathetic local hotelier), a couple of days dealing with the media in London, and weekends at home with
his family.
At the height of the earlier media furore and again more
recently, around Madeleine's fifth birthday and the TV documentary about the McCanns and their search for their daughter,
Mitchell's phone is constantly buzzing, with missed calls stacking up by the hundred. Each event has also caused a spike in
"sightings" and possible leads from the public.
How do the couple cope with regular claims that a small blond
girl like Madeleine has allegedly been seen on a plane, train or in the street somewhere from Brazil to Morocco? "They don't
invest their emotions in these claims unless they hear something more substantial from our own investigations or from the
police in the country in question.
"Normally, we get a tip-off and
have ruled out the story before
the press have even had wind of
it. For each 'sighting' you've
heard about, there are quite a
few more that people never know
about because they are knocked
down so early on." The McCanns
have had contact from about
3,000 mediums and psychics
alone.
"Some of the claims include very specific information –
flight numbers, car registrations, that sort of thing – and anything that is verifiable we do check out." Keeping Madeleine
all over the papers all of the time is not necessarily helpful, says Mitchell.
"Sometimes we need things to be a bit quieter, and certainly
if we had a strong lead, it would be mad to publicise it and let the abductor know that we're on the case."
The Madeleine McCann Fund pays £8,000 a month retainer to
a Barcelona-based private detective agency with contacts all over the world, although the Fund allows for the agency to be
paid up to £50,000 a month, should investigations require it.
The couple say they will leave no stone unturned, never give
up until they find Madeleine.
"They are not stupid; they know she may be dead... But in
the absence of any evidence that she is dead, they continue to believe she will be found alive. They will search to the end
of their lives, if that's what it takes."
Gerry and Kate McCann have plainly stated their regrets and
remorse, says Mitchell. "But I defy any parent to say they have never had their child go out of their sight briefly. They
got it wrong, and they're not trying to justify what they did, other than saying they made a mistake."
Their faith gives them strength, as does a close family and
public support ("So many people emailed after the documentary and apologised for getting the wrong idea about Gerry and Kate
earlier on..."), says Mitchell.
Neither Gerry or Kate McCann is allowed to discuss ongoing
investigations into what happened to Madeleine, or their opinion of how efficient Portuguese police have or have not been
in searching for her.
But, within the confines of a system of judicial secrecy
which outsiders find absolutely baffling, those close to Madeleine are having to operate their own search with virtually no
inkling about whether they are duplicating work done by others, as no information has been shared.
The officer in charge of the Portuguese investigation was
recently in Leicestershire to reinterview the "Tapas Seven", as the group who holidayed with the McCanns have been labelled.
Kate and Gerry heard not a word, says Clarence Mitchell.
Following criticism in Portugal of the time spent on the
case of one missing child, there are fears that perhaps little has been done lately to find Madeleine.
Mitchell can't comment. "All I can say is that there's a
lot going on at our end that you don't know about, and Kate and Gerry are very focused. They are pushing hard for an 'amber
alert' system to be introduced Europe-wide, which would kick in as soon as a child goes missing; we are following up any verifiable
lead; we are pushing legally to get the arguido status lifted. And if the Portuguese police do close the file, we can apply
to see the information."
In the meantime, friends and family pray, Sean and Amelie
call Madeleine on their toy phones, and there's a skyscraper of fifth birthday presents awaiting her return.
Speaking about Madeleine
Clarence Mitchell will speak at a seminar during Leeds Business
Week, being held at Leeds Town Hall at 10.30am on Monday, June 2. Admission free. The organisers will make a contribution
to the Madeleine McCann Fund.
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Friday 30 May 2008
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393
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'Suspect' fears of Tapas 7
The Sun
By ANTONELLA
LAZZERI
Published: Today, 30/05/2008
FRIENDS of Maddie McCann's parents refused to return to Portugal because they feared
being made suspects as well.
All the "Tapas Seven" pals of Kate and Gerry were asked by Portuguese cops to take
part in a reconstruction.
But at least four — Jane Tanner, Russell O’Brien and Rachael and Matthew
Oldfield — blocked the move, says Portuguese paper 24 Horas.
Like the McCanns — who are suspect "arguidos" — the two couples also left
their children alone last May 3 in Praia da Luz.
A source claimed: "They demanded they'd not be 'arguidos' but that is impossible to
guarantee." They could have been accused of abandonment of a child and jailed for ten years.
Sources claimed the reconstruction was aimed at highlighting statement "inconsistencies".
The McCanns' spokesman insisted that the couples were concerned about "the reason
behind the reconstruction".
Should the McCanns
face child neglect charges?
The Shields Gazette
Web vote result
30/05/2008
MISSING Madeleine McCann's parents should face child neglect
charges, according to our latest online poll.
We told yesterday how Portuguese police are considering charging
Kate and Gerry McCann with child neglect.
Their daughter disappeared from the family's holiday apartment
13 months ago while they dined with friends more than 100 yards away.
Since being considered as suspects in the daughter's disappearance,
the couple's relationship with the police has been a fractious one.
Now, if charged and found guilty of child neglect, they face
spending up to 10 years in jail.
Our poll asked:
Are Portuguese police right to consider charging the McCanns
with child neglect?
The result was:
Yes: 92 per cent
No: 8 per
cent
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Saturday 31 May 2008
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394
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* No relevant news published
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With thanks
to Nigel at
McCann Files
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