Spot the Spin Exercise

Madeleine McCann book ban overturned by Portuguese court
20 October 2010
Guardian Unlimited
Giles Tremlett
Appeal court lifts block on sales of book by former detective alleging Madeleine is dead and abduction story was fabricated

Kate and Gerry McCann, the parents of missing Madeleine, suffered a setback today in their legal battle with a Portuguese police officer when a Lisbon appeal court overturned a ban on his book about the case.

The book by former police detective Gonçalo Amaral, who led the Madeleine investigation in the first five months after the three-year-old's disappearance, can now go back on sale.

In September last year the McCanns obtained the ban on Amaral's book Maddie – The Truth about the Lie, in which he claims they were involved in the toddler's disappearance.

Amaral claims Madeleine died accidentally in the Algarve holiday apartment at Praia da Luz, where she was first reported missing in October 2007, and that her parents fabricated the abduction story. The McCanns, who have never ceased in their search for the missing girl, are suing him for defamation.

Portugal's attorney general, having reviewed the investigation, has ruled there is no evidence to suggest that the McCanns are anything other than entirely innocent. (Note: Untrue.  They have never been declared innocent.  The case is "shelved", not solved and the McCanns were NEVER cleared by the Portuguese authorities.)

The court said the decision to block sales of the book had broken "a constitutional and universal right: that of opinion and freedom of expression."

"The contents of the book do not breach the basic rights of the plaintiffs," the court said, according to the Jornal de Noticías newspaper's website.

"The book is an exercise in freedom of speech," Amaral told Portugal's Lusa news agency. "Portuguese democracy has won, as banning the book was unconstitutional."

A spokesman for the McCann family said the decision did not stop the defamation case. "The defamation action against Mr Amaral is very much continuing," he said. "Kate and Gerry's lawyers are now examining the detail of this latest ruling and are considering an appeal."

After Amaral lost an earlier appeal, the McCanns claimed his book had caused "significant, ongoing damage to the search for our beloved daughter Madeleine and to the rights of our family ... there is no evidence that Madeleine has come to any harm."

They added: "As painful and personally damaging as the slanderous claims of Mr Amaral and his supporters have been to us and our family, our primary focus has always been, and always will be, to find Madeleine through our own best investigative efforts."

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann

Gonçalo Amaral's book on the case of Madeleine McCann could return to newsstands

19 October 2010
Livro de Gonçalo Amaral sobre Maddie pode voltar às bancas
Jornal de Noticias
Marisa Rodrigues

GOOGLE TRANSLATION
Portuguese to English translation

Gonçalo Amaral's book on the case of Madeleine McCann could return to newsstands. The Court of Appeal of Lisbon just to agree with former coordinator of the Judicial Police, who always defended the thesis of the death of English girl.

"The book's content does not offend any of the applicants' fundamental rights" and "the exercise of its writing and publication is contained in the constitutional rights guaranteed to all by the European Convention on Human Rights and the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic," reads in ruling that JN had access.

In September 2009, after an injunction filed by the McCanns, the Lisbon Civil Court banned the sale of the book "True Lies" and still playing a documentary based on the work and issued by TVI. Decision that deserves harsh criticism of judges of appeal. Prohibiting the former coordinator of the PJ "to express your opinion, in any form (written, interview, analysis, comment) on what you wrote in that book, it restricts a constitutional and universal rights: the freedom of opinion and expression , "the ruling.

The three judges who signed the ruling judges consider also that the verdict of the Civil Court of Lisbon had violated the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Aside from watching "True Lies" to return to newsstands, Gonçalo Amaral is thus restored the right to freedom of expression.


ORIGINAL ARTICLE:


Livro de Gonçalo Amaral sobre Maddie pode voltar às bancas
13h06m
Marisa Rodrigues

O livro de Gonçalo Amaral sobre o caso Madeleine McCann pode regressar às bancas. O Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa acaba de dar razão ao ex-coordenador da Polícia Judiciária, que sempre defendeu a tese da morte da menina inglesa.

"O conteúdo do livro não ofende nenhum dos direitos fundamentais dos requerentes" e "o exercício da sua escrita e publicação está contido nos direitos constitucionais assegurados a todos pela Convenção Europeia dos Direitos do Homem e pela Constituição da República Portuguesa", pode ler-se no acórdão a que o JN teve acesso.

Em Setembro de 2009, e após uma providência cautelar interposta pelo casal McCann, o Tribunal Cível de Lisboa proibiu a venda do livro "A Verdade da Mentira" e ainda a reprodução de um documentário baseado na obra e emitido pela TVI. Decisão que merece duras críticas dos juízes da Relação. Proibir o ex-coordenador da PJ "de manifestar a sua opinião, sob qualquer forma (escrita, entrevista, análise, comentário), sobre o que escreveu naquele livro, cerceia-lhe um constitucional e universal direito: o de opinião e liberdade de expressão", refere o acórdão.

Os três juízes desembargadores que assinam o acórdão consideram, ainda, que a sentença do Tribunal Cível de Lisboa violou a Constituição da República Portuguesa e a Convenção Europeia dos Direitos do Homem.

Além de ver "A Verdade da Mentira" regressar às bancas, a Gonçalo Amaral é, assim, restituído o direito à liberdade de expressão.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, Find Madeleine Fund, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann

Gonçalo Amaral's book can be resold

Maddie: Gonçalo Amaral's book can be resold
Former PJ inspector may return to give interviews
TVI24
19 October 2010

Google: Portuguese to English translation:

The Appeal Court overturned the ban on the sale of Gonçalo Amaral's book 'Maddie - The Truth Lies," which had been decided by the Civil Court of Lisbon following an injunction filed by the parents of Madeleine McCann.

Judicial source said Tuesday that the agency Lusa that the appeal filed by former Inspector of Judicial Police "has been upheld" by the book and video with the same title, based on a documentary aired on TVI, can be re-marketed .

Gonçalo Amaral, who defends the book's thesis involvement of Kate and Gerry McCann in the disappearance of her daughter in May 2007, a tourist apartment in the Algarve, you can still grant interviews, both in Portugal and abroad.

The same source stated that the use of the former PJ inspector, filed by lawyer Antonio Cabrita, was "the one" to be considered by the Court of Appeal of Lisbon, which decided not to heed calls from War & Peace, publisher of the book, TVI and Valentim de Carvalho, who marketed the video.

Original Article:

Maddie: livro de Gonçalo Amaral pode voltar a ser vendido
Ex-inspector da PJ pode voltar a dar entrevistas
Por: Redacção/CP
19- 10- 2010 12: 40

TVI24
O Tribunal da Relação anulou a proibição de venda do livro de Gonçalo Amaral «Maddie - A Verdade da Mentira», que tinha sido decidida pelo Tribunal Cível de Lisboa na sequência de uma providência cautelar interposta pelos pais de Madeleine McCann.

Fonte judicial disse esta terça-feira à agência Lusa que o recurso apresentado pelo ex-inspector da Polícia Judiciária «foi julgado procedente», pelo que o livro e o vídeo com o mesmo título, baseado num documentário exibido na TVI, podem voltar a ser comercializados.

Gonçalo Amaral, que defende no livro a tese de envolvimento de Kate e Gerry McCann no desaparecimento da filha em Maio de 2007, num apartamento turístico do Algarve, pode ainda conceder entrevistas, quer em Portugal quer no estrangeiro.

A mesma fonte precisou que o recurso do ex-inspector da PJ, apresentado pelo advogado António Cabrita, foi «o único» a ser analisado pelo Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa, que entendeu não considerar os apelos da Guerra & Paz, editora do livro, da TVI e da Valentim de Carvalho, que comercializou o vídeo.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann

Happy Birthday

I would like to wish a sincere Happy Birthday wish to Dr. Goncalo Amaral, seeker of justice for Madeleine McCann.

A injustiça nunca regras para sempre / Injustice never rules forever ~Seneca

Continue Reading... Labels: Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann

McCanns Want Amaral's Family Home

Sofia Leal & Gonçalo Amaral have been married for the last eight years and have two young daughters

“I will not get divorced. That would be a fraud. Our family lives in full communion [unity].”

Sofia Leal, who has been married for the last eight years with the former Judiciary Police coordinator Gonçalo Amaral, reacted indignantly upon being notified with a citation requested by the McCanns, to proceed with a separation of assets in order to allow the arrest of a house in the municipality of Olhão, within the scope of a 1.2 million euros claim.

By Paulo Marcelino

The claim made by the McCanns is based on the contents of the book “Maddie - The Truth of the Lie” (written by Amaral, in July 2008) concerning the investigation into Maddie's disappearance, the McCann's daughter, in Praia da Luz (Algarve), back in May 2007. The couple alleges that the former investigation coordinator accuses them of being responsible for their daughter's death and persists on the abduction thesis.

The interim measure [injunction] was filed at the 1st Civil Court of Lisbon in June 2009 and was allowed. The McCanns gained all the still due book authorship rights, half of Amaral's retirement pension as well as his “share [moiety, half] of their rural property” in Olhão. In July this year, the house division in two parts at the registry office was refused on the grounds that it affected a common asset.

The McCann couple via their lawyer [Isabel Duarte] applied for Sofia Leal to execute a separation of assets, as foreseen by law. She refused and in August the court carried into completion the full arrest. “My husband and I have never abandoned our daughters, or allowed paedophiles in our circle of friends. I am shocked that a couple who affirm to be religious is seeking out to destroy our family”, said Sofia Leal.

British Rule Out Abduction

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom (Foreign & Commonwealth Office) does not held Madeleine McCann's disappearance recorded as an abduction, thus accepting that there is no evidence to suggest that a crime of that nature has taken place; exactly what was concluded by the Portuguese Judiciary Police investigation initially led by Gonçalo Amaral and that is mirrored in the book “Maddie - The Truth of the Lie”.

In a reply to an investigator, who requested [FOIA PDF here] information regarding British missing children abroad, the Consular Directorate of the Foreign Office - dated December 14, 2009 to which the CM had access - affirmed: “The FCO filed the case in May 2008 [Ben Needham]. You will also be aware of the Madeleine McCann case. Both this and the Needham case are categorised as a missing persons, rather than child abduction cases, as there is no evidence in either case to support whether the children were or were not abducted.”.

in Correio da Manhã 08.09.2010

Discussions here (and elsewhere - send me a quick note if you know of others, thanks):

http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/2010/09/mccanns-want-amarals-family-home.html#comments


http://themaddiecasefiles.com/topic7762-3510.html


http://missingmadeleine.forumotion.net/main-maddie-thread-latest-news-f1/mccanns-amaral-t12041.htm

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, Clarence Mitchell, Find Madeleine Fund, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann

Child-abduction study finds capable kids are their own best defense

5 September 2010
Washington Post
Donna St. George

The children most at risk of attempted abduction by strangers are girls ages 10 to 14, many on their way to or from school, and they escape harm mostly through their own fast thinking or fierce resistance, according to a new national analysis.

Probing a crime that is infrequent but strikes fear in the hearts of parents as little else does, analysts from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children found that children who encountered would-be abductors were usually alone, often in the late afternoon or early evening.

It's a chilling thought for working parents and all those who have asked children to hold hands tightly in crowds or to phone as soon as they get home from school. It calls to mind last year's killing of Somer Thompson, 7, snatched en route from school in Florida as she ran ahead of her siblings, and the highly publicized case of Elizabeth Smart, taken from her Utah bedroom at age 14.

The new analysis examines more than 4,200 cases of attempted but unsuccessful abductions, and it shows that children were their own best protectors.

"They escaped these things not through the efforts of good Samaritans, but through recognizing a bad situation and either getting away from it, avoiding it, or screaming and kicking to draw attention," said Ernie Allen, president of the missing children's center.

In the vast majority of the cases examined, children escaped harm through their own actions. In 16 percent of the cases, an adult stepped in to help.

"The goal here is not to frighten, but to encourage parents to sit down with their kids, talk to them about their safety, and practice these things," he said. "Our overall premise is, kids protect themselves with their heads, and if they are prepared and alert, and if they know what to do and how to respond, they are at far less risk."

Allen said parents should be aware that children targeted in abduction attempts are often preteens and teens in middle grades. More than 70 percent were girls.

Federal studies have found that teenagers are most at risk in non-family abductions.

Older children may be targeted more because they are less likely to be supervised, Allen said, and girls may be more often targeted by sexual predators.

Debbie VanDemark, a mother of two in Silver Spring and PTSA president at Briggs Chaney Middle School, said parents may be surprised to learn that older children are so often involved.

"I think by the time they get to middle school, parents think they are a little more savvy of the world and we don't need to be as protective," she said. That children that age may be especially vulnerable is important to know, she said.

Locally, 257 cases of attempted abduction by a stranger were confirmed -- 166 in Virginia, 84 in Maryland and seven in the District -- from February 2005 to late March 2010.

In one case from Virginia, a girl on the way to her bus stop was approached by a man with a gun. The child told a story about her mother coming to find her, and the man released her from a wooded area, according to the national center. The child had been touched sexually by the man, later linked to two assaults on adult women and convicted in all three cases.

In Fairfax County, Bruce Wiley, a senior detective who handles such cases, said police get one or two reports a week of "suspicious" people or events, for instance, the driver of a van stopping near a school and offering children a ride. "If we can work with it, we work with it," he said. But often, he said, "by the time the officers go there, they're gone."

Federal research shows successful abductions by strangers are relatively rare; an estimated 115 a year nationally involve children transported 50 miles or more and held at least overnight by a stranger in a classic kidnapping case.

An additional 21,500 stranger abductions involve other circumstances, according to Justice Department statistics. About 36,700 other abduction cases a year involve a caretaker, neighbor or someone a child knows at least casually. The largest category is family abductions, with an estimated 204,000 incidents a year.

The national center looks at cases of attempted abduction as part of its work to provide technical assistance to police agencies nationally, helping to track patterns and link cases in different cities.

Attempted abductions are hard to track, officials said, because police reports are not often written up. The center searched widely for every possible incident, using media coverage, hotline reports and contacts with police agencies.

Because of the limitations, the analysis is unscientific, but officials hope the patterns that emerge will help parents and children. The cases examined by the center included 1,127 in which a suspect was identified or arrested, with 43 percent involving repeat offenders and 19 percent involving registered sex offenders.

Most children were approached by someone in a vehicle, often offering a ride. Other offenders lured children with sweets or money or with an animal or a story about finding a lost animal. Some asked for directions.

Among nearly 3,500 cases, more than 30 percent of children who escaped kicked and screamed; 53 percent ran or otherwise fled the scene. "The child should do whatever is necessary to stay out of the car, because once the child is in that car, it dramatically reduces the chances of escape," Allen said.

The largest number of cases occurred between 2 and 7 p.m. on weekdays.

Jennifer Shields, a mother of three in Takoma Park, said the need for safety is balanced against the need for exercise, social connection and independence. Shields encourages her 12-year-old daughter to walk with friends, avoid isolated areas and carry her cellphone. Lately, the girl has taken up jogging, which her mother does not want to discourage. But she wants her to stay safe, as she does her 14-year-old son. "Maybe we have a false sense of security about our boys," she said.

Jack Levin, of the Brudnick Center on Violence at Northeastern University in Boston, said parents should educate children but keep in mind what he regards as the infrequency of such incidents. "I think that one finding that is very helpful to parents is that children shouldn't wait for an adult to intervene and save them," he said. "That part I like. But at the same time, I am concerned parents will see these stranger abductions everywhere when they are almost nowhere."

Levin also suggested that in some cases "the assailant seeks only to instill fear and anxiety in the child. There are simply too many cases where a man will drive by a child, offer him candy or tell him that he's a friend of his parents, but then will not succeed in kidnapping the child."

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, Find Madeleine Fund, Madeleine McCann

Gypsies, Peados and Thieves ... On We Go

Behind bars: the paedophile ring 'linked' to Maddie
5 September 2010
The Express on Sunday
James Murray

A GROUP of rich and powerful men in Portugal have been jailed for their involvement in a paedophile ring which some believe is linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

A former ambassador, a television presenter, a doctor and a lawyer were found guilty on Friday after an eight year investigation and a six-year trial which shook the country, with 32 men giving evidence of hundreds of crimes committed against them when they were children.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, Clarence Mitchell, Madeleine McCann

Uma carta aberta a todos os cidadãos Português impactado pelos McCann

An open letter to all Portuguese citizens impacted by the McCanns

Please forgive the awkward Google translation below. Hopefully you will understand the meaning of my words.


Por favor, perdoe a tradução desajeitada do Google abaixo. Esperamos que você vai entender o significado das minhas palavras.

****

We know your country has spent millions investigating the disappearance of Madeleine.

We know your vital tourist industry has had significant losses due to the fear-mongering tactics in the case.

We know that your citizens have been treated to indignities by the British press.

We know that Goncalo Amaral's life has been severely impacted by the lies told about him in that same British press.

And now we know there is a man, Wayne Hewlett, who claims to have had a vital lead in the search for Madeleine and who withheld that information from your police investigators.

Wayne Hewlett claims that he received (and burned) a letter from his father (Raymond Hewlett) and that in the letter Raymond said that there are gipsies in your country who operate in a gang and abduct children to order.

Continue Reading... Labels: Antonella Lazzeri, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann

HEWLETT

All the archived articles and information I found on Raymond Hewlett's history are on a separate blog: HERE

Note:

Wayne Hewlett claims to have received a letter from his father, Raymond Hewlett in December 2009 and yet in April 2010 it was reported that the Hewlett family was unaware of Raymond's death.

Wayne claims that the letter did not come in the mail, but was delivered by a "mystery man", in other words the  identity of the person delivering it cannot be determined.

Wayne Hewlett said that he burned the letter, therefore the contents cannot be verified as having come from Raymond Hewlett nor can the claim Wayne makes that his father heard a confession from a gipsy be verified.

Therefore any future news reports or statements from the McCanns regarding Madeleine having been taken by gipsies and sold to a wealthy couple will be solely based on Wayne Hewlett's alleged letter.

The burning of the letter and the delivery by way of "mystery man" makes the claim impossible to verify.

So it is Wayne Hewlett now, up against the mountain of evidence that Maddie died in the apartment and the McCanns and their friends hid her body, set up a fraudulent fund and attempted to destroy Dr. Goncalo Amaral's career and reputation.

A letter, now ashes, an unidentifiable letter deliverer and a claim that the gipsie's took Madeleine.  There are NO cases in Portugal of children stolen by gipsies.

The PJ need to investigate Wayne Hewlett ASAP and reopen the Madeleine McCann case, based on this "new evidence".

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, Antonella Lazzeri, Find Madeleine Fund, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann

Cuts hold up Maddie UK probe

Cuts hold up Maddie UK probe
29 August 2010
News of the World
Lucy Panton

A NEW probe by British cops into missing Madeleine McCann is being held up in a row over funding, we can reveal.

Police forces face cuts of tens of millions of pounds to their budgets leaving no spare cash to pay for what would be a costly re-investigation.

Home Secretary Theresa May held a meeting with Kate and Gerry McCann early this month to discuss the search for their daughter.

Senior officers at Scotland Yard have been consulted about taking on the case. But despite the apparent early progress we can reveal that there are two key stumbling blocks.

No police force can afford to take on the job which could take at least two detectives away from other duties for as long as a year.

A source said: "The real issue that needs to be resolved is who is going to pay for it? No police force can afford to agree to take on the case without knowing where the funding will come from.

"The other issue which is as important to resolve is to ensure that British officers will have full access in Portugal.

"At the moment there is no agreement in place that the Portuguese authorities are going to allow and co-operate with a British re-investigation.

"The review has highlighted the need for a thorough re-investigation starting from scratch. The Metropolitan Police have been consulted and are likely to be given the job, but not until all the problems have been ironed out."

The McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, appealed directly to former Home Secretary Alan Johnson and now Mrs May for extra help.

Madeleine was three when she went missing from her family's holiday flat in Praia da Luz in May 2007. This year we broke the news that the Met's Homicide Command have been approached to discuss taking on the investigation.

Jim Gamble, head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, told Labour ministers there were huge holes in the original inquiry.The treasury are set to slash eight per cent of the policing budget for the next three years threatening jobs.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, CEOP, Find Madeleine Fund, Jim Gamble, Lucy Panton, Madeleine McCann, News of the World