Above: Kate and Gerry McCann arriving for day 1 of the court hearing in Lisbon.
(For a detailed report on day 1 of the proceedings see: Joana Morais)
Day 2 of the hearings in which Dr Gonçalo Amaral presents further witnesses in defence of his book "A Verdade da Mentira," The Truth Of The Lie.
J. di Paulo is reporting from the court on behalf of Sky News.
9.59: Gerry McCann outside court: we've heard no evidence Madeleine is dead.
Comment: There seems to be no evidence that Madeleine is alive, apart from "sightings," all over the world, on all 5 continents, sometimes on the same day. No sighting has led to a reliable source.
10.00: Gerry McCann: we're not denying the existence of the dogs, or anything else. It's evidence we're interested in.
Did you hear the one about the dyslexic, agnostic insomniac? Lay awake all night wondering if there was a dog!
Comment: I think there may be a problem with translation. The dogs obviously do exist. And as for evidence, the fact that the dogs alerted to cadaver and blood odour in various places occupied by the McCanns and in their hired car may not in itself be evidence, but both dogs, Eddie, the Enhanced Victim Recovery Dog (Cadaver dog) and Keela, the CSI (blood-sniffing dog) have an almost 100% success record in hundreds of cases all over the world.
10.02: Gerry mccann: this is the legal process we're going through to protect our daughter. We're looking for more information to help the search.
Comment: Pity your daughter wasn't protected when you were enjoying your meals out every evening in Praia da Luz, when she and her siblings were left alone in an unlocked apartment. More in formation? You won't find that in the court room. You have had the police files for over a year. The process being reviewed in court is based on those files.
10.03: Gerry McCann: anyone else with children would do the same.
Comment: The same as what? Leave them alone, set up a fund within days, sell tacky wristbands and T shirts, make a child's eye defect into a "marketing ploy," scarper when made suspects, refuse to return for a reconstruction, return for a court case demanding £1 million? Well, I wouldn't!
10.15: Mr amaral claimed victory outside court, saying the witnesses had borne out his argument.
They do seem to have done, with yesterday's witnesses bearing out these facts: that the police suspected the McCanns from the beginning; that the thesis of Madeleine's having died in the apartment was reached by the investigating teams, following the visits by the two English sniffer dogs. Thus, the evidence presented bore witness to Amaral's book having been based on the investigation, details being in the police files which are in the public domain.
10.38: We're back in court. The first witness is Moita Flores, former senior policeman and noted public figure.
10.41: Flores: this case involves a question of freedom of speech.
10.44: Flores is an acquaintance of Amaral's and wrote the preface to the sequel to his book about Madeleine.
Gonçalo Amaral's second book is "The English Gag," in which he recounts his experience of interference in the investigation by British authorities and lack of co-operation by the British police, who, when asked for background information on the McCanns, provided a report which was one side of A4. This was corroborated by witnesses in court yesterday.
10.50: Flores: PJ investigation was based on well-established principles of police work adhered to all over the world.
10.54: Flores: McCanns have been trying to convince police since the beginning that abduction was the only line of inquiry worth pursuing.
Comment: within hours of Madeleine's disappearance, Kate and Gerry had phoned friends and acquaintances, telling them that the shutters had been "jemmied," the window opened, and Madeleine had been abducted. The Portuguese police subsequently confirmed no evidence of a break-in.
"The McCanns curious behaviour, as witnessed by Inspector Ricardo Paiva, 03 September 2007
To: Coordinator of Criminal Investigation, Lic. Gonçalo Amaral
From: Ricardo Paiva, Inspector
Subject: Disappearance of Madeleine McCann."
(Extracts)
"Gerald McCann on the other hand, insisted constantly on delivering to Ricardo Paiva, letters and e-mails that he received and selected, most of them from psychics and mediums, and that in general held no credible information about the whereabouts of Madeleine and of her alleged abductor."
"Today" (03/09/07), when Ricardo Paiva went to their residence to notify them to be present at the police headquarters to make a deposition, accompanied by their lawyer, if they wished, Kate McCann immediately reacted negatively, making comments like "what will my parents think" and "what will the press say when they find out" and that the "Portuguese police are suffering pressure from the Government to end the investigation immediately".
-" More recently, even before Kate McCann was questioned, in a phone contact between Gerry Mccann and Ricardo Paiva, when referring to the investigation, Gerry stated that he was certain that the Police didn't have any proof that might incriminate them on the death of Madeleine McCann, and added that the police were wasting their time directing the investigation toward the parents."
11.02: Flores: I have spoken to respected experts on crime and none of them agrees it would be possible to pass a child through the window
11.03: Flores: It is not possible to ask an investigator anywhere in the free world to follow the abduction line only.
11.03: Flores: We would all like to find Madeleine alive, but that is another thing.
11.03: Flores: Our constitutional rights cannot be attacked.
11.05: Flores: The good name of the McCann family is not attacked by Mr Amaral's book. The book is about the investigation.
11.11: As on the first day of the case, the McCanns are sitting on the front bench, listening impassively to the proceedings.
11.12: Flores: No judge should be able to order people not to think about a case just because the police investigation has ceased.
11.17: Flores: No-one should be allowed to steal our constitutional rights - rights that were very hard to win. That is what this trial is about.
"Everyone shall possess the right to freely express and publicise his thoughts in words, images or by any other means, as well as the right to inform others, inform himself and be informed without hindrance or discrimination 2.Exercise of the said rights shall not be hindered or limited by any type or form of censorship Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, Article 37.º"
Comment: The documentary is available as a video on YouTube, under, "The Truth Of The Lie."
11.26: Flores: It is not true to say that the police only pursued the line of inquiry that the McCanns were guilty.
Comment: See link at the top of this page to the English translation of Gonçalo Amaral's book, which describes in detail the lines of inquiry.
11.26: Flores: Many, many hours were spent by officers checking out every other possible line of inquiry.
Comment: Refer to English translation as above.
11.27: Flores: A detective has to think about what went through the head of the victim and the criminal.
11.30: Flores: It would have been a very stupid person who tried to pass a sleeping child through the window of the McCanns' holiday flat.
Comment: the opening of the window to the childrens' bedroom of apartment 5A in Praia da Luz was very narrow.
11.30: Flores: The theory about passing the child through the window makes it seem as though someone is trying to fool the police.
11.41: The McCanns' lawyer, Isabel Duarte , is repeating the same question to Mr Flores. Yesterday, she became quite impassioned on their behalf.
Comment: The question itself is not noted in this part of the report from the courtroom.
11.42: The McCanns are both in conversation with their interpreters. Gerry however looks relaxed and smiles as he talks.
Comment: However confident a parent might feel about being in the right in a situation like this, I doubt that many parents would find much to smile about in the tense atmosphere of an important courtroom session.
11.47: Flores: I worked in a different part of the police to Mr Amaral but I know him from the investigation and I respect him a lot.
12.00: Isabel Duarte, the McCanns' top lawyer, leaves the bench and approaches the couple for a quick huddled chat before returning to the fray.
12.04: Flores: This case is pathetic. A citizen is being prevented from freely expressing his opinions in a reponsible way.
Comment: Well said Snr Flores! From my reading of Dr Amaral's book, the opinions are indeed expressed in a responsible way.
12.06: Flores: The McCanns have every right to do everything they can beyond what the Portuguese police did in order to find their daughter.
Comment: That right has never been denied to them. I consider that questions arise concerning how they have gone about this search and the various teams of private investigators they have engaged. When Madeleine disappeared, some local people in Praiada Luz took a week off work to help look for Madeleine: the McCanns themselves did not physically search for their daughter.
See: Who Searched For This Little Girl: Part 1
12.12: Flores: The documentary (based on Mr Amaral's) book is a hypothesis that believers take to be the truth.
12.13: Flores: The book is autobiographical, it traces a period of Mr Amaral's life.
12.16: Flores: Sections of the British media spread propaganda about Mr Amaral.
12.20: Glamorous judge Maria Gabriela Cunha Rodrigues halts the cross-examination of Mr Flores by the McCanns' lawyer, saying it is not relevant.
Comment: No details about the nature of the cross-examination. "Glamorous judge."? If this were a young male judge, would the reporter describe him as handsome or attractive etc?
12.22: Flores: It was a scandal to see such nasty portraits painted of the Portuguese investigators by the British media.
Comment: The British media went overboard with stories about long "boozy lunches," and described the investigators as, "incompetent," and "sardine munchers," as well as describing Portugal itself in terms more appropriate to a Third World Country.
12.27: Flores: Mr Amaral was the victim of a smear campain. He is a good professional with a good technical background.
Comment: Gonçalo has an excellent record in criminal investigation and has a PhD in Law.
(Refer to English translation above.)
12.27: Flores: Mr Amaral was the co-ordinator of the investigation. He was not in the field.
12.40: Duarte: What does the title of the book (by Mr Amaral) mean? Flores: The book is a thesis, not the absolute truth.
12.41: jondipaolo: The proceedings have adjourned for lunch. Back in an hour's time.
(Will be updated regularly as the hearing progresses.)
3 comments:
Who made the "comments" to Gerry Mccann ? was it Amaral ?
Thanks for answer
I am sure we are very grateful that Gerry Mccann finally admits that the dogs exist. But I think he will freak out if one of the twins ever asks if he/she can have a puppy.
......especially an English Springer!
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