http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/
By Duarte Levy 21/10/09 (Comments in gray are mine and not those of Duarte Levy.)
"Gonçalo Amaral is the only citizen who persists in not respecting the court's injunction."
Note: at the last moment, the showing of the W9 programme on the Maddie case was canceled and replaced for legal reasons, following the intervention of lawyers acting for the McCann couple.
The participation of Gonçalo Amaral, former coordinator of the Judiciary Police, who led the investigation into Maddie's disappearance, in a television programme, in this case in France, got the little English girl's parents so worked up that, according to a representative of the couple's campaign, they are now accusing the ex-inspector of "not respecting the court's decision," threatening that this fact, "will not go unanswered."
In spite of an injunction by Lisbon's Civil Court, which bans him from speaking about several aspects of the Maddie case, Gonçalo Amaral is (should have been!) the special guest on the, "Criminal Investigations," programme, which the W9 channel will show today at 8.35pm and which will also be available on the internet. (I guess that's what got the McCanns rather worked up! Fancy all those internet users in the UK being able to hear what Gonçalo Amaral has to say!)
"No matter where in the world, Gonçalo Amaral is banned from speaking about the theory he presents in his book...Whether it's in Portugal or Burundi," Isabel Duarte, the lawyer representing the McCann couple, who obtained the injunction that also bans the sale of the book, "Maddie: A Verdade da Mentira," told 24 horas. (in France: Maddie: L'Enquête Interdite) as well as the distribution of the documentary based on it.
The decision by the judge of Lisbon's Civil court rules Gonçalo Amaral, as well as the publishers Guerra e Paz and Valentim de Carvalho, are banned from speaking publicly about the theory presented by the former PJ inspector on the Maddie case - reading the decision, the former PJ inspector and his publishers are prohibited from reproducing, talking about, or giving an opinion or interview that might support that theory.
The French television programme, to which 24 Horas has had access, is presented by journalists Sidonie Bonnec and Paul Lefèbre, "and claims to present the French viewers with a real idea of what happened to Maddie," a representative said, adding that, "the channel also presents Amaral's unpublished (in France) documentary, which supports the parents' guilt." The ex-inspector is then called upon to comment on a different version of the events which is supported in a report produced in England.Called on to comment, the lawyer Isabel Duarte told 24 Horas that, "the citizen Gonçalo Amaral persists in not respecting the court's injunction," admitting that this subject is going to be presented before the court, but that, "the date for the hearing is not yet known."
"No definitive decision is going to be known this year," the lawyer said.
The McCanns want to ban Amaral's book abroad.
Amaral, who had already told 24 Horas that nobody was going to silence him, "if the McCanns want to prevent the book from being translated into English, they are seriously fooling themselves," now runs the risk of seeing, "A Verdade da Mentira," banned abroad. At least that is the intention of the McCanns' lawyers.
Isabel Duarte, who is only dealing with this case in Portugal, confirmed for 24 Horas that, "the couple's lawyers in England are dealing with this question."
The first countries targeted will be Spain, France and The Netherlands.
Ed Smethurst, the McCanns' English lawyer, has already acknowledged that the Lisbon Civil Court's ban on the sale of the book, "A Verdade da Mentira," deals with the first phase of the legal action and that other legal actions were planned in further phases.
