SOS Maddie 2/05/08: the McCanns call on witnesses to violate the secrecy of justice

I just could not believe what I was reading on the BBC's web site this morning. Kate and Gerry McCann, suspects in the disappearance of their daughter, are calling on anyone who gave information to the PJ, Crimestoppers, or the British police, to get in touch and give them the same information. The McCanns are saying that the police are not giving them any information. Well! That may be because you are, what's the word? Suspects! The police do not usually share such information with suspects unless the case goes to trial and then the defence lawyers apply for their right of disclosure. Until then, witness statements, as far as I know, are not usually shared with the suspects! Good God! Who do those two think they are and how come they're getting away with potentially interfering with witnesses?

Later, at lunchtime, I was in a shop in Nuneaton, when I noticed a banner headline on one of the, "red tops." Beneath a photo of a very doleful-looking Kate McCann was a quote about their having to find Madeleine themselves. Excuse me, but what have they been paying Metodo 3 to do? I thought they had been looking for Madeleine. Then there was the quote from Kate the other day, that sometimes she feels like giving up the search for Madeleine. Now, according to that newspaper, they're about to start!

And what about that information given out this week? Why weren't Kate and Gerry out searching on the night Madeleine disappeared, along with the locals and the police? They were praying all through the night! Right! Well, I have found it's actually possible to pray on the move, wherever you happen to be. You really don't need to be on your knees in your room or in a church.

Anyway! SOS Maddie article from Duarte Levy today makes some very good points....as usual!

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

McCann appellent les témoins à violer le secret de justice

Kate et Gerry McCann, arguidos dans l’enquête à la disparition de leur fille Madeleine, ont lancé un appel à tous les témoins qui ont fourni des informations à la Police Judiciaire dans le cadre des investigations, leur demandant de prendre contact avec le nouveau numéro de téléphone mis en service aujourd’hui au Royaume-Uni.

The McCanns call on witnesses to violate the secrecy of justice.

Kate and Gerry McCann, arguidos in the investigation into their daughter Madeleine's disappearance, have launched an appeal to all the witnesses who gave information to the PJ in the framework of the investigations, asking them to make contact with the new telephone number set up today in the UK.

Faute d’avoir réussi à avoir accès au dossier de la Police Judiciaire, encore sous secret de justice, le couple cherche à prendre connaissance de ce que les témoins ont pu dire à la Police Judiciaire.
"Ce que nous vous demandons de faire c’est, si vous avez fourni des informations à la police (britannique), à Crimestoppers, ou à la police portugaise, nous vous demandons de nous les communiquer également," à demandé Gerry McCann.

Not having succeeded in gaining access to the PJ's file, still under the secrecy of justice, the couple are looking to find out what the witnesses could have said to the PJ.
"This is what we are asking you to do, if you have given information to the police (British) to Crimestoppers, or to the Portuguese police, we are asking you to communicate that to us too," Gerry McCann asked.

Selon une source du Ministère Public à Lisbonne, "l’appel lancé par le couple McCann équivaux à une incitation au crime, car tous les témoins doivent respecter le secret de justice et ne doivent pas révéler des informations du dossier, excepte dans les cas prévues par la loi."

According to a source at the Public Ministry in Lisbonne, "the appeal launched by the McCann couple is equivalent to inciting a crime, because all the witnesses should respect the secrecy of justice and should not reveal information from the case, except in cases allowed by the law.

Le nouveau numéro (00 44 845 8384699), formellement présenté ce vendredi par des entrevues de Kate et Gerry McCann préenregistrées dans un hôtel de Londres, remplace la ligne mise en service par Metodo 3 à Barcelone (Espagne) et qui n’a jamais apporté la moindre information crédible à propos de la disparition de Madeleine.

The new number (00 44 845 8384699), formally presented this Friday in interviews with Kate and Gerry McCann, pre-recorded in a London hotel, replaces the number set up by Metodo 3 in Barcelona (Spain) and which never provided any credible information about Madeleine's disappearance.

Madeleine a disparu le 3 mai 2007, quelques jours avant son quatrième anniversaire, de l’intérieur de l’appartement de vacances choisie par ses parents à l’Océan Club, un complexe touristique à Praia da Luz, au sud du Portugal, sous gestion de la société britannique Mark Warner.

Madeleine disappeared on May 3rd 2007, a few days before her fourth birthday, from inside the holiday apartment chosen by her parents at the Ocean Club, a tourist complex at Praia da Luz, in the south of Portugal, which is under the management of the British company, Mark Warner.

Kate et Gerry McCann, après avoir échoué à obtenir l’abandon, par les autorités portugaises, de leur statut d’arguidos, se plaignent de ne pas avoir eu accès aux informations sous secret de justice.

Kate and Gerry, after having failed to obtain the lifting of their arguido status by the Portuguese authorities, are complaining about not having had access to information under the secrecy of justice.

Malgré l’intervention du responsable en communication, Clarence Mitchell, ancien responsable de l’Unité de Surveillance des Médias du gouvernement de Tony Blair et Gordon Brown, et la pression exercé par la diplomatie britannique auprès des autorités portugaises, les avocats du couple au Royaume-Uni et au Portugal n’ont pas réussi à prendre connaissance de la nature exacte des éléments réunis par la Police Judiciaire et ses collègues du Leicestershire.

In spite of the intervention of their media spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, former head of the government's Media Monitoring Unit, of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and the pressure exerted by British dipolmats on the Portuguese authorities, the couple's lawyers in the UK and in Portugal have not succeeded in finding out the exact nature of the evidence gathered by the PJ and their Leicestershire colleagues.

Toujours sans aucune aide des autorités britanniques, Robert Murat demande des comptes aux médias

Le Correio da Manhã et le Journal de Noticias sont les premiers médias portugais à devenir la cible des procès en justice du britannique Robert Murat, premier arguido dans l’enquête à la disparition de Madeleine McCann, qui les accuse de diffamation. Selon son avocat, Francisco Pagarete, le 24 Horas et les chaines de télévision TVI et RTP seront les prochains à se joindre à une énorme liste ou figurent déjà tous les grands médias britanniques.

Still without any help from the British authorities, Robert Murat asks for compensation from the media.

Correio da Manha and the Journal de Noticias are the first Portuguese media to become the target for legal action by the British man Robert Murat, first arguido in the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, accusing them of defamation. According to his lawyer, Francisco Pagarete, 24 Horas and the television channels TVI and RTP will be next to join an enormous list, on which all the major British media already figure.

Le montant des indemnisations prétendues n’a pas encore été révélé car le britannique donne préférence aux négociations en privé avant d’avancer vers les salles des tribunaux.

Au Royaume-Uni, Robert Murat a déjà accusé de diffamation 13 journaux et une chaine de télévision. Le britannique, qui n’a jamais reçu au Portugal la moindre aide de son ambassade ou consulat, demande aux médias de son pays la somme record de 2 millions de livres, plus de 2,5 millions d’euros, une des plus grandes indemnisations dans l'histoire du Royaume-Uni.

The amount of compensation claimed has not yet been revealed because the British man is giving preference to private negotiations before going to the courts.

In the UK, Robert Murat has already accused 13 newspapers and a television channel of defamation. The British man, who has never received the slightest assistance from his ambassador or consul in Portugal, is demanding from his country's media the record sum of 2 million pounds, more than 2.5 million Euros, one of the largest claims in UK history.