Madeleine: rogatory letters to be delivered this week

Correio da Manha 8/01/08

With thanks to Li of the DM forum for translation.

Correio da Manha 8/01/08

The rogatory letters, are the formal requests to the UK authorities for the McCanns and their holiday friends to be re-interviewed. If those requests are granted, members of the Portuguese police will travel to the UK. They will not interview the McCanns and the others, but will be involved in setting the questions. The interviews will be conducted by British police officers.

" Letters should arrive at England this week
Rogatory letters delivered

The rogatory letters where the PJ asks to question again the McCanns and the seven friends that dinned with them the night in which the small Maddie disappeared were sent yesterday early afternoon by the Public Prosecutor of Portimão.

The CM found through a source close to the process that the documents followed through the Eurojust - which provides the link between the various departments of Justice of the Member States of the European Union - and that they will only be in the possession of the British police at the end of this week.

Only from there the PJ can initiate the steps in partnership with the British police. However,this does not mean that the Judiciary will comply with all the requests in the documents.

The delay in sending the rogatory letters - which reached the Public Prosecutor on December 7 - was due as the CM reported in the 12, to the need of examining the documents very closely especially the translation work by the Prosecutor.

NEW ARGUIDA DENIED

Francisco Pagarete , the lawyer who represents the Portuguese-British Robert Murat - one of three defendants in Maddie's case - denies the existence of a fourth suspect likely to be involved in the disappearance of British child, Madeleine McCann. "It is false that I have ever said that there is a fourth defendant in the process. It is also untrue that Michaela Walczuch has been constituted an arguida. Only my client [Murat] and the McCanns are arguidos, "said to the CM, denying statements made yesterday by the newspaper'24 Horas 'and adding that now" there is no news in the process. "

Francisco Pagarete says that he is not aware of an extension in the secrecy of justice. "I do not know if the secret of justice has been prolonged or if it was requested the special complexity of the process. I was not yet notified of anything. In relation to my client, everything remains the same, "he says. Pagarete is confident in the outcome of the investigation, however,he does not reveal what he feels about the outcome for Robert Murat.

The Portuguese law with regard to secrecy within the judicial process of investigation was changed last year and means that eight months after a person has been named arguido (formal suspect) the information held by the police must be made available or an application made to extend the period of secrecy. Robert Murat was named arguido on May 14th 2007. It has been reported that an application has been made to extend the period because of the complexity of the case. January 14th marks the eight month time limit.