Monday 4 February 2008

Madeleine: The statements of Alípio Ribeiro generate dissatisfaction in the Criminal Police and the search of the Arade Dam continues.

I have lifted the translation of this article in the Portuguese newspaper, Diario de Noticias, straight off the Three Arguidos forum; translation by Li. The Three Arguidos forum was set up by several people who were very active posters on the Daily Mirror, "The hunt for Maddy," forum which was very suddenly shut down last week.

The 3 Arguidos forum had actually been going for some time before the demise of the MF, and it provided a place for ex-Mirror forumites and others to express their opinions and post items of news which may not be available in the UK press, thanks to those who translate French, Portuguese and Spanish news items from Journals and TV.

http://www.the3arguidos.net

Diario de Noticias 4/02/08

JOSÉ MANUEL OLIVEIRA

"The inspectors are against the statements made by the national director"

"The discontent is installed amidst the inspectors of the Judicial Police (PJ) of Algarve. The problem were the statements made by the national director, Alípio Ribeiro, to the programme "Diga lá Excelência" of the RR and to the newspaper Público, in which he acknowledges there has been "some haste" to constitute arguidos Gerry and Kate McCann for the supposed death of their daughter Madeleine ,nine months ago, in Praia da Luz, near Lagos, where the family spent holidays and the child disappeared. The researchers continue to suspect of the involvement of the British couple in the concealment of the body of the girl on the night of May 3, 2007, although the results of the samples of blood and hair collected are not conclusive.

When the mother of Maddie was heard on 6 and 7 September,at the Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC) of Portimão of the PJ, several inspectors wanted to arrest her. However, the public prosecutor of Portimão, José Magalhães e Menezes, objected to. Even so, and already after Gerry and Kate have returned to the United Kingdom, some researchers involved in the process maintained the conviction that they have evidence that could lead to the preventive arrest of the couple. Only the political pressure from the British have prevented them from going further.

The DN found, that there are people in the PJ that understand that the new declarations of Alípio Ribeiro are nothing more than a situation of bluff, and were only meant to "test waters".

In the interpretation of some inspectors,when the national director of the Judicial Police talked about "precipitation" in the constitution of Madeleine's parents as defendants, that still remain subjected to Term of identity and residence in England, he did it to "see what were the reactions of the McCanns and also the Portuguese. "

Other researchers have confessed their "dissatisfaction" by the assertions of Alípio Ribeiro, saying "it's difficult to work in a country that most resembles a banana Republic. The more you do you can not make a difference" .

Astonished and speechless facing the interview of the national director of the PJ is the lawyer of the Portuguese-British Robert Murat, the first to be constituted defendant in Madeleine's case on May 14, 2007, on suspicion of kidnapping, and after his mother's house was passed through fine comb, about two hundred meters of the apartment of The Ocean Club, where the child disappeared, as well as the inspection to the family's car. "I find this all very strange",said yesterday to the DN Francisco Pagarete.

With a sad voice,the lawyer refused to make more comments. He did not mention if he is also considering requiring to the MP the withdrawal of the status of arguido of Robert Murat. "It is a situation that I have not yet looked at," noted the lawyer which, as the DN advanced at the time, bet in the closure of the case concerning his client from November 13, 2007, when seven months since he was accused were completed. "I do not intend to make any comment in relation to the statements.I will not react in any way," insisted the lawyer, not hiding his surprise by the considerations outlined by the maximum responsible of the PJ."

It is very interesting to read this news from today's Diario de Noticias after the clamour in the UK press at the weekend to quote from Clarence Mitchell, who appears to have misinterpreted the words of Alipio Ribeiro. The Portuguese police involved in the investigation also seem to think that Ribiero's words have been misinterpreted and they are not very happy about Ribeiro's having made the comments in the first place.

As arguidos, the McCanns gained the right not to answer questions and they took full advantage of that right and apparently left 40 questions unanswered. If their status had remained as, "witnesses," they would have been required to answer all questions.

It seems that the McCanns' arguido status is not about to be lifted and that those police involved in the investigation still believe that Madeleine's parents were involved in her disappearance.

The Search of the lake continues.

Meanwhile, the human rights lawyer,
Marcos Aragao Correia, has his team of divers searching the lake behind the Arade Dam, at a cost of £1,000/day, convinced that Madeleine's body is to be found there.

The Mirror 4/02/08

"
The desolate reservoir in Barragem do Arade - 150ft deep in places - has a beach and a walkway leading to a tower. It matches clues the Portuguese lawyer was given.

Marcos said: "I am convinced this is the place. My sources told me Madeleine was thrown into a deserted lake with murky waters, a beach and lots of trees.

"I believe this would have been the best place for someone to have dumped the body, based on my investigations.

"It's not overlooked, has easy access by car and if you threw the body from the tower the water is 55ft deep there."

The divers have found a length of knotted cord, about 17ft long, which may have come from a window blind, which Mr Correia says may have been used to bind Madeleine's body.

Mr Correia does not believe that Madeleine's parents were involved and neither does Metodo 3, of course, the agency hired by the McCanns to find their daughter. Both Marcos and Metodo 3 are linking the tip-off about the lake to a reported sighting in Silves, which is very close to the lake, two days after Madeleine disappeared. A woman, reported to look like Robert Murat's girlfriend, Mikaela Walczuch, was apparently seen in Silves, handing over a child to a, "male accomplice."

"
Ms Walczuch has never been an official suspect and dismissed the claim as "ridiculous".




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