Friday 25 July 2008

SOS Madeleine McCann: the death of the investigation is announced.

Maddie : la mort annoncé de l’investigation

Le Ministère public portugais a archivé l´affaire Madeleine McCann, le 21 juillet passé, après plus d´un an d’enquête. Gonçalo Amaral, le responsable de la Police Judiciaire qui a dirigé les investigations dans les premiers cinq mois a été écarté l´année passée, en octobre. Il a pris sa retraite et publie aujourd´hui au Portugal un livre dans lequel il révèle des faits inédits et maintient sa conviction : Maddie “est morte dans l´appartement 5A de l´Ocean Club (…) la nuit du 3 mai de 2007” et ses parents ont engendré “une simulation d´enlèvement.”

The Portuguese Public Ministry archived the Madeleine McCann case on July 21st, after more than a year of the investigation. Gonçalo Amaral, the head of the PJ who led the investigations during the first five months was dismissed in October last year. He took his retirement and today, in Portugal, publishes a book in which he reveals (hitherto) unpublished facts and maintains his conviction: Maddie, "died in apartment 5A at the Ocean Club (....) on the night of May 3rd 2007," and her parents created, "a faked abduction."


03f7a8c168eb8cf1d80042c177ef151f.jpgLe 28 juin 2007, les McCann ont demandé l’accord de la Police Judiciaire (PJ), pour qu´un supposé spécialiste en localisation de cadavres vienne à Praia da Luz : le Sud-Africain Danie Krugel, “inventeur” d´une “machine” capable de localiser n´importe quels corps, utilisant uniquement quelques cheveux de la victime. L´équipe d´enquêteurs portugais et britanniques, qui depuis mai cherchait à savoir ce qu’était devenue Madeleine McCann, a reçu la demande du couple avec total surprise. La petite Anglaise, a disparu la nuit du 3 mai, pendant qu’elle dormait avec sa sœur Amélie et son frère Sean, dans l’appartement de vacances loué par ses parents situé dans un ressort touristique, l’Océan Club, à Praia da Luz, Algarve, la région le plus au sud du Portugal. Ses parents et un groupe de sept amis dinaient, dans un restaurant, à une centaine de mètres de distance, c´est d’ailleurs sa mère, Kate, qu’aux alentours de 22 h se rend compte que l´enfant avait disparu.

On June 28th 2007, the McCanns asked for the PJ's agreement, for a supposed expert in locating bodies to come to Praia da Luz: the South African Danie Krugel, "inventor," of a, "machine," capable of locating any body, using only a few of the victim's hairs. The team of Portuguese and British investigators, who had been trying to find out since May what had happened to Madeleine McCann, received the couple's request with total surprise. The little English girl disappeared on the night of May 3rd, while she was sleeping with her sister Amélie and her brother Sean, in the holiday apartment rented by her parents at the Ocean Club tourist resort in Praia da Luz, Algarve, the most southerly region in Portugal. Her parents and a group of seven friends were dining in a restaurant a hundred metres away. It was incidentally her mother, Kate, who at around 22h, realised that the child had disappeared.


5285ee94b97b11bf31c6a329e41b9dcf.jpgJusque-là, Gerry et Kate McCann insistaient sur la thèse que leur fille avait été enlevée, affirmant comme preuve le fait que les volets roulants de l´appartement avaient été forcés. La surprise des enquêteurs est décrite par Gonçalo Amaral, l´homme qui commandait l´enquête jusqu´au 2 octobre de l´an dernier, dans le livre “Maddie : La vérité du mensonge”, qui fut lancé hier à Lisbonne et auquel nous avons eu accès.

Until then, Gerry and Kate McCann were insisting on the idea that their daughter had been abducted, stating as proof the fact that the apartment's shutters had been forced. The investigators' surprise is described by Gonçalo Amaral, the man who led the investigation until October 2nd last year, in his book, "Maddie: The truth of the lie," which was launched yesterday in Lisbon and to which we have had access.

Le couple admettait maintenant, ouvertement la mort de l´enfant, a l´inverse de ce qu´ils affirmaient publiquement”, écrit l´ex-investigateur de la PJ. Gonçalo Amaral a été écarté de l´enquête le 2 octobre, après qu’un journal portugais publie ses déclarations critiquant la police anglaise. Peu de temps après, il demande sa retraite anticipée afin de parler librement, rétablir son bon nom, jusque-là critiqué par les médias britanniques, et “contribuer à la découverte de la vérité”.

"The couple were now openly accepting the child's death, contrary to what they were stating publicly," writes the PJ ex- investigator. Gonçalo Amaral was dismissed from the investigation on October 2nd, after a Portuguese journal published his statements criticising the English police. A short time later, he requested early retirement in order to speak freely, to restore his good name, until then criticised by the British media, and to, "help to uncover the truth."

Dans le livre qui hier a été officiellement présenté, l´ex-investigateur de la PJ décrit, en détail les premiers mois de l´investigation, avec des milliers d´informations qui arrivait à la PJ donnant compte d’observations de la présence de Madeleine dans des pays a des milliers de kilomètres de distance, parfois dans des endroits différents, le même jour et à la même heure – le résultat d´une gigantesque campagne médiatique, monté par les parents, avec la contribution financière d´un groupe de millionnaires britanniques et le soutien du gouvernement anglais, y inclut le premier ministre, qui téléphone régulièrement de Londres au père de l´enfant.

In the book, which was officially presented yesterday, the PJ ex-inspector describes in detail the first months of the investigation, with thousands of reports arriving at the PJ, giving accounts of sightings of Madeleine in countries thousands of miles away, sometimes in different places, on the same day and at the same time - the result of a massive media campaign, mounted by the parents, with the financial help of a group of British millionaires and the support of the English government, including the Prime Minister, who telephoned the child's father regularly from London.

Tournant décisif

Après le voyage de Danie Krugel à Praia da Luz – sans succès — les policiers anglais qui accompagnaient l´investigation ont suggéré l´utilisation de deux chiens spécialement formés pour flairer l´odeur d’infimes particules de sang et détecter l´odeur de cadavre. L´enquête, explique Gonçalo Amaral, était arrivée à une impasse : il n´y avait aucun signe ou indice d´un enlèvement et ils ont décidé d´accepter l´offre anglaise. Au début juillet, Marc Harrison, un des plus qualifiés officiers britanniques, avec une large expérience dans en crimes de ce genre, arrive au Portugal. Pendant une semaine, Harrison a analysé le procès, de bout en bout, a parcouru le petit village de Praia da Luz à pied, a vérifié les distances, les parcours, et étudié les résultats des recherches antérieurs et analyse avec attention tous les témoignages, de tous les témoins.

Decisive turning point.

After Danie Krugel's trip to Praia da Luz - without success- the English police officers who were accompanying the investigation suggested the use of two dogs, specially trained to sniff the odour of minute particles of bloos and to detect the odour of corpses. The investigation, explains Gonçalo Amaral, had come to a standstill: there were no signs or evidence of an abduction and they decided to accept the English offer. At the beginning of July, Marc Harrison, one of the most highly skilled Britsh police officers, with broad experience in crimes of this kind, arrived in Portugal. For a week, Harrison analysed the procedure, from end to end, crossed the little village of Praia da Luz on foot, to check to distances and routes, and studied the results of the previous research and carefully analysed all the witness statements, of all the witnesses.

Le rapport des diligences effectuées par Mark Harrison, d´après Gonçalo Amaral, a présenté comme scénario le plus probable, l´hypothèse de que Madeleine était morte et a proposé un nouveau plan d´action pour l´investigation. Le 30 juillet, des équipes spéciales de la police britannique arrivent à l´aéroport de Lisbonne, avec les chiens Eddie et Keela. Le 3 août, le plan de travail suggéré par Harrison commence. Les nouvelles recherches ont permis d´obtenir des échantillons de sang et de cheveux dans le coffre de la voiture loué par les McCann. Les échantillons sont analysés dans un laboratoire britannique, le Forensic Science Service (FSS). Mais les résultats traînent, ou sont contradictoires ou inconclusifs. Dans le même rapport, souligne l’ex-investigateur, on confirme la présence de 15 des 19 marqueurs de l’ADN de Madeleine, dans les échantillons de la voiture, mais après ils expliquent que ça ne signifie pas que le sang rencontré soit de l´enfant.

The report on the work carried out by Mark Harrison, according to Gonçalo Amaral, presented as the most likely scenario, the idea that Madeleine was dead and proposed a new plan of action for the investigation. On July 30th special British police teams arrived at the airport in Lisbon, with the dogs Eddie and Keela. On August 3rd, the plan of operation suggested by Harrison began. The new research led to samples of blood and hair being obtained from the boot of the car rented by the McCanns. The samples were analysed in a British laboratory, Forensic Science Services (FSS). But the results were slow, or were contradictory or inconclusive. In the same report, the ex-investigator stresses, the presence of 15 out of 19 of Madeleine's DNA markers were confirmed in the samples from the car, but afterwards they explained that this did not mean that the blood matched that of the child.

Parfois, des choses surprenantes arrivent d´Angleterre. Fin aout, la police Anglaise informe la PJ que les McCann n’ont aucune carte de crédit ou de débit à leur nom ou utilisés par eux, ceci en réponse à une demande d’enquête faite par la PJ au mois de mai à la situation financière, sociale et familiale du couple et ses amis, révèle le livre de Gonçalo Amaral. Il s’agit de l’unique information obtenue par la PJ : “La réponse à cette demande n´est jamais venue, mais on savait que la police anglaise disait avoir un fichier complet”, écrit Amaral.

Sometimes, surprising things arrived from England. At the end of August, the English police informed the PJ that the McCanns had no credit cards or debit cards in their names or used by them. Gonçalo Amaral's book reveals that this was in response to a request from the investigation made by the PJ in the month of May about the financial, social and family situation of the couple and their friends. It was the only information obtained by the PJ: "The response to that request never came, but we knew that the English police were saying they had a complete file," Amaral writes.

Rupture finale

784a7a8c63625f0c855c0666109598e1.jpgLa décision d’interroger à nouveau le couple McCann est prise de commun accord et les questions sont élaborés au cours d’une réunion entre les enquêteurs portugais et anglais. Le 6, Kate McCann effectue le déplacement jusqu’aux installations de la PJ. Elle regarde la foule et les journalistes concentrées au centre de Portimão, “elle rit, franchissant la porte, en disant que c´était bon pour le tourisme” raconte l´ex-enquêteur.

Breaking point.

The decision to question the McCann couple again was taken by common agreement and the questions were worked out in the course of a meeting between the Portuguese and English investigators. On the 6th, Kate McCann went to the PJs establishment. She looked at the crowd and the journalists gathered in the centre of Portimao, "she laughs, going through the door, saying that it was good for tourism," the ex-investigator recounts.

Kate, pendant son interrogatoire, refuse de répondre aux questions des enquêteurs, mais son mari répond et rejette toute responsabilité dans la disparition.

Le 7 septembre, les deux sortent de la PJ avec le statut d’arguidos (suspects). C’est à ce moment-là que tout éclate : “Après les interrogatoires du couple et leur sortie du pays, ça a été la débandade finale de la police anglaise.” Ceci après avoir déterminé une stratégie commune, étant donné que l´enquête incluait la police de Leicester et la Scotland Yard : “poursuivre la consolidation des preuves à propos du crime d´occultation de cadavre et simulation de crime, en parallèle avec des diligences qui mèneraient à la localisation du cadavre de Madeleine,” indique Amaral.

During her interrogation, Kate refused to answer the investigators' questions, but her husband replied and denied all responsibility for the disappearance.

On September 7th, both left the PJ with status of arguidos (suspects). It was at the moment that everything broke: "After the couple's interrogations and their leaving the country, that was the final panic by the English police." This was after having worked out a common strategy, given that the investigation included the Leicester police and Scotland Yard: "to pursue the consolidation of evidence about the crime of concealment of a body and faking of a crime, in parallel with work that was being undertaken to find Madeleine's body," Amaral states.


45485e3ca421b57a4fcd91a0a7cb4956.jpgQuelque temps après, en octobre, Amaral est écarté de l´enquête. Le nouveau responsable, Paulo Rebelo, envoyé de Lisbonne, après neuf mois arrive à la conclusion qu´il n´y pas assez de preuves que les trois suspects aient commis un crime. Beaucoup de questions restent sans réponses. Gonçalo Amaral avait déjà laissé des “indices”, dans une précédente interview, en disant “qu´il y a eu plus politique que de police”, dans cette affaire. Dans son livre, il éclaircit des faits, mais il laisse également quelques questions : “Quels sont les pouvoirs qui ont difficulté et nui à l´enquête ?”

A short time later, in October, Amaral was dismissed from the investigation. After nine months, the new head, Paulo Rebelo, sent from Lisbon, arrived at the conclusion that there was not enough evidence that the three suspects had committed a crime. Lots of questions remain unanswered. Gonçalo Amaral had already dropped, "clues," in a previous interview, saying, "there were more politicians than police," in that case. In his book, he clarifies these facts, but he also leaves a few questions: "What are the powers that have difficulty and hinder the investigation?"

Les super chiens – Saumon et air conditionné

Les dépenses annuelles avec Keela, la chienne entraînée pour renifler l’odeur du sang, s’ellevent à quelques 250.000 €. Le salaire annuel du chef de la police du South Yorkshire ne dépasse pas les 163.000 €.

Tel quel Eddie, capable de renifler la moindre odeur de cadavre, ces animaux voyagent uniquement à bord de voitures équipés avec l’air conditionné, ont un vétérinaire à leur coté 24 sur 24 et la base de leur alimentation consiste en saumon fumée.

The super dogs - salmon and air conditioning.

The annual expenses for Keela, the dog trained to sniff the odour of blood, bring in some €250,000. The annual salary of the chief of police for South Yorkshire is no more than €163,000.

Same with Eddie, capable of sniffing the slightest odour of a corpse. These animals only travel aboard cars equiped with air conditioning, have a vet by their side 24 hours a day and their diet is based on smoked salmon.

Les deux chiens ont une carrière remplie de succès, à un tel point qu'ils sont loués, par la police de South Yorkshire, à d’autres forces de police, au prix de 670 € par jour, sans compter les frais - tant des animaux que de leurs entraîneurs.

The two dogs have a highly successful career, any time they are hired, by the South Yorkshire police to other police forces, at a cost of €670 a day, not including expenses - those of the animals and their trainers.

Récemment, Eddie s’est illustré dans une nouvelle affaire de police ou il a détecté la présence de vestiges humains dans un ancien orphelinat de l'Ile de Jersey. Le chien a désigné six endroits, à l'intérieur du bâtiment, que la police britannique est occupée à vérifier. Grâce à l’utilisation du chien, les restes mortels du corps d'un enfant ont été trouvés, dans un de ces endroits, en dessous d'une plaque de ciment d’une épaisseur aux alentours des 10 centimètres. Néanmoins, le quotidien britannique The Telegraph publiait, le 17 septembre de l'année passée, que les avocats du couple McCann prétendaient utiliser, en défense de leurs clients, les décisions d'un tribunal américain qui n'a pas admis les preuves rassemblées avec le recours aux chiens, l'utilisation d'un chien avec un entraînement identique, comparant sa fiabilité au hasard.

Recently, Eddie won fame in a new police case where he detected the presence of human remains in a former orphanage on the Island of Jersey. The dog pointed out six places, inside the building, that the police set about checking. Thanks to the use of the dog, the mortal remains of a child's body were found, in one of these places, under a slab of cement of a thickness of around 10 centimetres. Nevertheless, on September 17th last year, the British daily newspaper, The Telegraph published that the McCann couple's lawyers were claiming to use, in their clients' defence, the decisions of an American court which did not accept the evidence gathered with the use of dogs, the use of a dog with identical training, his reliability appearing to be random.

Plus de politique que de police

83d0db31b72fbae350e60b610289aab6.jpg"(...) eu sei que o vosso gabinete tem tomado um império sobre o nosso, mas sei também que já é tempo de acabar. Se os meus predecessores tiveram a fraqueza de vos conceder tudo quanto querieis, eu nunca vos concederei senão o que devo. É esta a minha ultima resolução; regulae-vos por ella (...)" *

{I haven't a clue what the above is about! I therefore paste here the Google translation:

I know that your firm took an empire on ours, but I also know it is time to end.If my predecessors have had the weakness to give you all how much you want, I can never again grant you what I do. It is this my last resolution; you deal with it (...)" - Letter from the Marquis de Pombal a Lord Chatam, the British government, in 1759, cited in the book of Gonçalo AMaral.}

Faute d’un politicien de la qualité du Marquis de Pombal, le gouvernement portugais n’a pas su donner aux Anglais la réponse qu’aurait pu apporter aux forces de police – aussi bien les Britanniques que les Portugaises – l’espace de manœuvre nécessaire pour mener à bien l’investigation sans s’inquiéter du “politiquement correct” ou de la diplomatie, c’est d'ailleurs ce que confirme Gonçalo Amaral dans son livre.

Without a politician of the Marquis de Pombal's quality, the Portuguese government did not know how to give the English the response which would have brought to the police forces - the British as well as the Portuguese - the manoeuvering space necessary to carry out a proper investigation without worrying about, "political correctness," or about diplomacy. This is anyway what Gonçalo Amaral confirms in his book.

L’ex-coordinateur de l’enquête à la disparition de Madeleine McCann confirme dans son livre, parfois dans les entrelignes, souvent en discours directe, le presence et l’ingérence de la diplomatie britannique dans le travail de la police.

Il fallait écarter Gonçalo Amaral, c’était devenu une priorité pour les McCann, leurs amis et ceux qui leur ont donné protection : en octobre, c’est d’ailleurs le premier ministre britannique en personne, Gordon Brown, qui prend contact téléphonique avec Prior Stuart, le responsable de la police de Leicester, pour vérifier si l’enquêteur avait bel et bien été écarté de l’investigation et des McCann.

à suivre...

The ex-coordinator of the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance confirms in his book, sometimes between the lines, often directly, the presence and interference of British diplomacy in the work of the police.

Gonçalo Amaral had to be dismissed. It had become a priority for the McCanns, their friends and those who had given them protection: in October, it was meantime, the British Prime Minister in person, Gordon Brown, who made telephone contact with Stuart Prior, the chief of Leicester police, to check if the investigator had well and truly been dismissed from the investigation and the McCanns.

To be continued.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

SOS Madeleine McCann: Gonçalo Amaral - I am not afraid.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

25/07/08

Paulo Reis & Duarte Levy

Gonçalo Amaral: I am not afraid.

e7d1cf268bde916ce0d30af4cd671b69.jpg

Gonçalo Amaral is convinced that the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance will be re-opened and denied having any feelings of vengeance towards the McCanns. During the press conference which preceded the official launch of his book, "The Truth of the Lie," the former PJ inspector, original head of the investigation, stated that, "the book is not a personal attack on anyone at all. It is a description of the events, of the witness statements. It is not my personal view. It is about all the work of a team of Portuguese police officers, English police officers and duly monitored by the Public Ministry."

Questioned by an English journalist about the money the inspector will now earn from the tragedy of a child's disappearance, Gonçalo Amaral indicated having received a proposal from an English daily newspaper, for pre-publication of extracts from the book, in exchange, "for a significant sum of money," a proposition which he turned down because, "there are more important things than money - dignity, for example."

On the subject of the decision by the Public Ministry to archive the procedure, the PJ ex-inspector stressed that the press release from the Attorney General of the Republic, "does not talk about evidence," but about, "proof," and Gonçalo Amaral admits that, "in another court, with another Public Minister," perhaps the evidence, "could have another evaluation." On the contents of the book, Amaral says that he has not told everything, given that, besides the fact which he admits of the re-opening of the investigation, he says that there is, "work which could still be carried out," and that to approach those subjects, "would be to call into question the research which supports archiving or taking it further."

On the subject of threats of legal action for defamation - an idea put forward yesterday by Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesperson - Gonçalo Amaral was very clear: "I am not afraid, because I live in a country where the 25th of April* allowed us to take back our rights and our freedom of expression."

Clarence Mitchell, former director of the English government's Media Monitoring Unit, stated that the lawyers for the couple and their friends were busy analysing, "every word of the book, as well as every word published by Portuguese journals," and that, in cases where there is reason for it, they, "will not hesitate to drag Gonçalo Amaral, the journalists and the publishing companies into court." The McCanns' spokesperson promised that this action would be swift, but at the time of Kate and Gerry's choosing.

The ex-coordinator of the Portimao Department of Criminal Investigation tells himself he knows that, "good work," was done and on the constitution of the McCanns as arguidos, dismissed the idea that there was haste, assuring that if he had the opportunity to go back into the past, he would have done some things in connection with the couple and their friends, "sooner."

* 25 April 1974, the Carnation Revolution and the end of decades of dictatorship.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

25/07/08

SOS Madeleine McCann: McCanns' private detectives are suspected of attempted murder.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

25.07.2008


McCann detectives are suspected of attempted murder.

The private detectives hired by the McCanns, belonging to the Catalan detective agency Metodo 3, are suspected of extortion and attempted murder in the course of their work for the British couple. The case is under investigation by the Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC) of the Faro PJ (Algarve), which is also responsible for the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

This is not the first time that Metodo 3's methods have been called into question: Antonio Jiminez, one of the private detectives working for the McCanns, was arrested for involvement in the theft of 400kg of cocaine in the port of Barcelona. The information, an SMM exclusive, was confirmed by the, "Tribunal de Première Instance de Martorell (Barcelone)" (I don't know what court that is!) which remanded Antonio Jiminez without bail, accused of corrupt practice, corruption, bribery and corruption of public officials and associating with criminals.

Working for Metodo 3 since 2005, the detective was responsible for, "special operations," in the context of the work carried out for Kate and Gerry McCann. According to a source from Moroccan Security, it was he who paid witnesses in Morocco and arranged the interviews of those witnesses with a few British journalists.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

25/07/08