Translation of SOS Madeleine article of Monday 4th February.
"McCann toujours suspects"
Magistrats et Inspecteurs de la Police Judiciaire (PJ) n’ont pas apprécié les déclarations du Directeur National de la Police Judiciaire, Alipio Ribeiro, même si aujourd’hui des sources proches du responsable de la police ont réaffirmé qu’il y a eu mauvaise interprétation de ces propos : les mots du directeur auront été dans le sens dont, si Kate et Gerry avaient été maintenus comme témoins, "peut-être ils ne seraient pas partis pour Angleterre. Ils auraient été plus coopérants avec la Justice".
Magistrates and Inspectors of the PJ, did not appreciate the statements of the Director of the Police Judiciaire, Alipio Ribeiro, even if today, sources close to the head of police have confirmed that there has been a misinterpretation of what he said: the words of the director would have been in the sense of, if Kate and Gerry had been kept as witnesses, "perhaps they would not have left for England. They may have been more co-operative with the Justice." (Prosecutor?)
"A Algarve, la plupart des Inspecteurs de la PJ ont accueilli les déclarations du leur directeur avec surprise car la ligne d’enquête n’a pas changé et si l’investigation semble au point mort, aux yeux du public, plusieurs diligences sont en cours même si la plus importante, affirme un des responsables à Portimão, "reste l’interrogatoire aux amis du couple".
In the Algarve, most of the Inspectors of the PJ have received the statements of their director with surprise because the line of the enquiry has not changed and if the investigation seems to be at a dead end, in the eyes of the public, several researches are underway, even if the most important, as confirmed by one of the sources in Portimao is that, "there remains the interrogation of the friends of the couple."
"Les inspecteurs continuent à suspecter le couple d’avoir occulté le corps de leur fille dans la nuit du 3 mai dernier, confirme le même responsable pour qui "l’enquête est bien un travail de patience" comme l’a dit Alipio Ribeiro : "Sur ça il ne s’est pas trompé".
The inspectors continue to suspect the couple of having hidden the body of their daughter on the night of May 3rd last year, confirms the same source, for whom, "the enquiry is indeed a work of patience," as Alipio Ribeiro has said: "He is not wrong about that.
"Au mois de septembre dernier, plusieurs sont les inspecteurs qui ont demandé la prison provisoire de Kate et Gerry McCann, ayant déjà, à l’époque, la ferme conviction qu’il y avait assez de preuves pour justifier cette mesure : "Aujourd’hui nous avons beaucoup avancé dans l’enquête et nous sommes certains de que les parents de Madeleine et leurs amis peuvent expliquer ce qu’est arrivé à l’enfant", affirme le responsable, pour qui "le départ du couple de Praia da Luz est venu compliquer les choses. Nous sommes obligés de dépendre du bon vouloir des autorités britanniques".
Last September, there were several inspectors who requested the temporary imprisonment of Kate and Gerry McCann, already maintaining, at that time, the firm conviction that there was enough evidence to justify this measure: “We have now made significant advances in the inquiry and we are certain that Madeleine’s parents and their friends can explain what happened to the child”, the source affirms, saying that for him “the couple’s departure from Praia da Luz has complicated things. We are obliged to depend upon the goodwill of the British authorities.
"Au mois de septembre le Procureur du Ministère Public de Portimão, José Magalhães e Menezes, à décidé de les constituer arguidos sans avoir recours à la prison préventive, laissant la porte ouverte pour leur départ vers le Royaume-Uni comme l’avaient demandé les autorités britanniques via leurs représentants diplomatiques au Portugal."
In September, the Portimao Public Ministry Attorney, José Magalhães e Menezes, decided to name them arguidos without taking the step of preventative imprisonment, leaving the door open for their departure to the UK as the British authorities had requested via their diplomatic representative in Portugal.
"Réactions : "Tout ceci est très étrange"
"Francisco Pagarete, l’avocat de Robert Murat, s’est refusé à commenter les déclarations du directeur de la PJ soulignant que "tout ceci est très étrange". L’avocat du britannique, arguido depuis le 14 mai dernier, avoue sa surprise avec les déclarations d’Alipio Ribeiro mais préfère attendre l’évolution de l’enquête avant de décider s’il y a une réaction à prendre."
Reactions: "All of this is very strange"
Francisco Pagarete, Robert Murat’s lawyer, has refused to comment on the statements made by the PJ Directors, emphasising that “all of this is very strange”. The lawyer for the British man, who has been an arguido since 14th May, declares his surprise at the statements made by Alipio Ribeiro, but prefers to wait for developments in the inquiry before deciding if he should respond.
"Pour éviter ce genre de situations : retenue et réserve dans le discours", conseille le président du Syndicat des magistrats du Ministère Publique, Antonio Cluny, pour qui il est "inquiétant" de voir un responsable de la PJ parler sur un procès encore en cours."
“In order to avoid this type of situation there must be discretion and reserve in speech” advises the president of the Public Ministry Magistrates' Union, Antonio Cluny, who finds it “troubling” to see a PJ official talk about an ongoing inquiry."
"Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, professeur universitaire de Droit et commentateur politique, à affirmé sur la première chaine de télévision portugaise que les déclarations d’Alipio Ribeiro sont "très graves". Ancien Ministre et Conseiller d’Etat, Marcelo accuse Alipio Ribeiro d’avoir "tué l’investigation de la police quand il a dit qu’il y aurait eu précipitation en constituer le couple McCann comme arguidos dans le procès".
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, University professor of law and political commentator, has stated on Portuguese television that Alipio Ribeiro’s statements are “very serious”. Former Minister and State Advisor, Marcelo accuses Alipio Ribeiro of having “ killed the police investigation when he said that there was haste in declaring the McCann couple as arguidos in the case”
http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/
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.
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".
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".
Sunday, 3 February 2008
Alípio Ribeiro quoted out of context?
It seems that the world's media has latched on very quickly to Clarence Mitchell's understanding of what Alípio Ribeiro said in that preview of his radio interview. Sky News has reported the PJ as being, "hasty," in declaring the McCanns arguidos, official suspects in the disappearance of their daughter, and quotes Clarence Mitchell's request for arguido status to be lifted.
Sky News Sunday 3rd February
"The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell welcomed the senior officer's comments and called for the couple to be formally cleared.
Sky News Sunday 3rd February
"The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell welcomed the senior officer's comments and called for the couple to be formally cleared.
He said: "Now that the national director of the Policia Judiciaria apparently accepts that they should not have been made arguido, it follows that there is no case for Kate and Gerry to answer."
I don't think that's what Ribeiro said, though. He said that given he obstacles created in the UK, it might have been a better tactic to have proceeded with the investigation without the McCanns having been made arguidos at that point. That is not the same as saying that the McCanns should not have been made arguidos.
Having been browsing the 3 Arguidos forum this morning, I came across a slight, but significant difference in the translation of what Ribeiro is reported to have said about being hasty.
In this extract from SOS Madeleine McCann, I translated, "sans faire savoir que les parents sont suspects," as, "without naming the parents as suspects."
"Dans l’enquête McCann, vu les obstacles qui nous ont été crées au Royaume-Uni, la meilleur tactique aurait été de continuer l’investigation sans faire savoir que les parents sont suspects", affirme une source de la Police Judiciaire à propos des déclarations de leur Directeur National, rajoutant "qu’en ce moment l’investigation est devenue un combat entre David et Goliath"
A poster, using the ID, "braindead," suggests, "...without revealing that the parents were suspects." Now, this may not seem like a huge variation, but there is a subtle difference in my opinion. Revealing might indicate that the investigation would have continued under Portuguese secrecy laws, from the point of view of the McCanns being the main suspects. Naming might indicate that otherwise the McCanns would not have been suspects at all in the disappearance. Literally translated, "sans faire savoir," would be without making known. So, perhaps, "revealing," is a better translation and gives more of an indication that the PJ, in retrospect might have wanted to keep their cards up their sleeves for a while longer.
I guess we're waiting now for the radio broadcast today at midday. I do hope the transcript gets online quickly!
Madeleine McCann: Lawyer pays divers to search the Arade Dam
Correio da Manha 2nd February carries a story about the lawyer Marcos Aragon Correia, who claims to have been contacted by an, "underworld source," on May 6th, three days after Madeleine disappeared, with information that Madeleine had been killed and her body had been dumped in a lake, the description matching that of the Arade Dam. Neither the Portuguese nor the British police have shown interest in searching the lake, according to the lawyer. So, he is funding a search himself by the looks of it. Or maybe someone else is funding the search, but who would do that?Since last Thursday, according to Correio da Manha, Aragon Correia has had a team of divers searching the lake. The report states that there are five divers from a company based in Lagos. The lawyer insists that the dam is the most likely place where Madeleine's body will be found. The team found a strange rope apparently, about 5 metres long and made up of belts and other items tied together. This was found under a bridge at a depth of about 7 metres. (The lake is 61m at its deepest point.)
Correio da Manha 2/02/08
Saturday, 2 February 2008
Maddie: police conducting a battle between David and Goliath
Published in the French language blog SOS Madeleine McCann today, Saturday February 2nd.
http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/
"Maddie: La Police mène un combat entre David et Goliath "Dans l’enquête McCann, vu les obstacles qui nous ont été crées au Royaume-Uni, la meilleur tactique aurait été de continuer l’investigation sans faire savoir que les parents sont suspects", affirme une source de la Police Judiciaire à propos des déclarations de leur Directeur National, rajoutant "qu’en ce moment l’investigation est devenue un combat entre David et Goliath"
In the McCann inquiry, given the obstacles that have been created in the United Kingdom, the better tactic would have been to continue the investigation without naming the parents as arguidos," said a source from the PJ about statements by their National Director, adding that, "at the moment the investigation has become a battle between David and Goliath."
"Le Directeur National de la Police Judiciaire (PJ), Alípio Ribeiro, a considéré hier qu'il a y eu "précipitation" dans la constitution de Kate et de Gerry McCann comme arguidos dans le procès de disparition de leur fille. Alipio Ribeiro confirme également la bonne direction suivi par les enquêteurs soulignant qu’il s’agit d’une investigation ou il faut en avoir de la patience.
The National Director of the Judicial Police (PJ), Alípio Ribeiro, considered yesterday that there had been "haste" in constituting Kate and Gerry McCann as arguidos in the disappearance of their daughter. Alipio Ribeiro also confirms that the right direction is being followed by the investigators and that this is an investigation and we must be patient.
"Les déclarations du Directeur de la PJ ont été faites au cours de l’enregistrement du programme "Diga Lá Excelência” de la Radio Renascença qui sera transmis demain midi, ou il est interrogé par les journalistes Celso Paiva et Paula Torres.
The statements by the Director of the PJ were made during the recording of the, "Diga Lá Excelence" programme on Radio Renascença which will be broadcast tomorrow afternoon, in which he is questioned by journalists and Paula Paiva Celso Torres.
"Police invité "a agir avec humanité"
(Mise à jour) Clarence Mitchell, porte-parole de Gerry et Kate McCann, a rapidement réagi aux déclarations du Directeur National de la Police Judiciaire affirmant que le couple a "très bien accueilli les commentaires d’Alipio Ribeiro dans lesquels il accepte que les officiers de la police portugaise sous son autorité ont agi à la hâte en désignant les McCann comme suspects officiels". Clarence Mitchell va plus loin, et avant même de prendre connaissance de l’entièreté de l’entrevue d’Alipio Ribeiro, invite les autorités judiciaires portugaises à enlever leur statut d’arguidos, agissant avec "humanité"
Police asked "to act with humanity"(Updated) Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for Gerry and Kate McCann, responded rapidly to the statements by the National Director of the Judicial Police stating that the couple had, "welcomed comments from Alipio Ribeiro in which he accepts that Portuguese police officers under his authority had acted in haste in designating the McCanns as official suspects." Clarence Mitchell went further, and before even knowing Alipio Ribeiro's interview in its entirety, invited the Portuguese authorities to remove their status as arguidos, with "humanity."
"L’ancien directeur de l’Unité de Surveillance des Médias britanniques, devenu responsable en relations publiques du couple McCann, a réagi via le site internet Find Madeleine, maintenant avec un nouveau design. Le site, qu’a adopté un look plus soigné et plus rose, maintien la vente de bracelets et t-shirts mais n’affiche plus la situation financière du Fond Madeleine."
The former director of the British Media Monitoring Unit, who became responsible for public relations for the McCann couple, responded via the Find Madeleine web site, which now has a new design. The site has adopted a more low-key look and more pink, maintaining the sale of bracelets and T-shirts but no longer including the financial situation of the Madeleine Fund.
******************************************
I think maybe Clarence should wait for the interview to be radio interview to be broadcast before he leaps in with what he understands Alipio Ribeiro to be saying. From the above preview, it would appear that Ribeiro is saying that the timing of designating the McCanns as official suspects was bad in view of the subsequent behaviour of certain people in the UK, which has hampered the investigation. It appears that he is saying that if the McCanns had not been made arguidos at that point, the investigation could have proceeded quietly and without hindrance.
It appears that Clarence has not noticed in the above reported preview of the radio interview that Ribeiro is also saying that the right direction is being followed in the investigation. In my opinion, that direction does not include the lifting of the arguido status for Kate and Gerry, especially as it has been reported that the rogatory letters, which had been returned to Lisbon, are now ready and will be re-sent through the proper channels and not through Eurojust.
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Mumia Abu-Jamal; ruling near on jury.
"Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury
A U.S. court is weighing race and other issues in death sentence.
In the nearly 26 years since his conviction for the murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner, the international tempest over Mumia Abu-Jamal has fixed primarily on this question: Did he do it, or was he framed by Philadelphia police?Yet inside the chambers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Abu-Jamal's innocence or guilt is not the issue. Since May, three judges have been weighing whether to reinstate his death sentence, overturned in 2001. If they do, his last hope will be the U.S. Supreme Court, which hears fewer than 2 percent of all petitions filed each year.
The Third Circuit's decision, expected soon, will be based on knotty constitutional questions relating to the fairness of his 1982 trial in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court and subsequent state appeals:
Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday 27th January 2008
Here we read that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is deliberating on the question of whether Mumia Abu-Jamal had a fair trial in 1982, when he was found guilty of the murder of a police officer.
Who is Mumia?
"Mumia Abu-Jamal was serving as the President of the Association of Black Journalists at the time of his arrest. He was a founding member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Black Panther Party as a teenager. Years later he began reporting professionally on radio stations such as NPR, and was the news director of Philadelphia station WHAT. Much of his journalism called attention to the blatant injustice and brutality he watched happen on a daily basis to MOVE, a revolutionary organization that works to protect all forms of life--human, animal, plant--and the Earth as a whole."
The Scene
In 1981, Mumia worked as a cab driver at night to supplement his income. On December 9th he was driving his cab through the red light district of downtown Philadelphia at around 4 a.m. Mumia testifies that he let off a fare and parked near the corner of 13th and Locust Streets. Upon hearing gunshots, he turned and saw his brother, William Cook, staggering in the street. Mumia exited the cab and ran to the scene, where he was shot by a uniformed police officer and fell to the ground, fading in and out of consciousness. Within minutes, police arrived on the scene to find Officer Faulkner and Mumia shot; Faulkner died. Mumia was arrested, savagely beaten, thrown into a paddy wagon and driven to a hospital a few blocks away (suspiciously, it took over 30 minutes to arrive at the hospital). Mumia somehow survived.
The Trial
The trial began in 1982 with Judge Sabo (who sent more people to death row than any other judge) presiding. Mumia wished to represent himself and have John Africa as his legal advisor, but before jury selection had finished, this right was revoked and an attorney was forcibly appointed for him. Throughout the trial, Mumia was accused of disrupting court proceedings and was not allowed to attend most of his own trial. Sabo lived up to his nickname of “Prosecutor in Robes.”
The Evidence
The prosecution claimed that the shot which killed Faulkner came from Mumia Abu-Jamal’s legally registered .38-caliber weapon, contradicting the medical examiner’s report that the bullet removed from Faulkner’s brain was a .44-caliber. This fact was kept from the jury. Moreover, a ballistics expert found it incredible that police at the scene failed to test Mumia’s gun to see if has been recently fired, or to test his hands for powder residue. One of the most damning prosecution claims was that Mumia confessed at the hospital. However, this confession was not reported until nearly two months after December 9th, immediately after Mumia had filed a brutality suit against the police. One of the officers who claims to have heard the confession is Gary Wakshul. However, in his police report on that day he stated, “the Negro male made no comments.” Dr. Coletta, the attending physician who was with Mumia the entire time, says that he never heard Mumia speak.
The Witnesses
The star prosecution witness, a prostitute named Cynthia White, was someone no other witness reported seeing at the scene. During the trial of Billy Cook (Mumia’s brother) just weeks before Mumia’s trial, White gave testimony completely contradictory to what she stated at Mumia’s trial. Her testimony at Billy Cook’s trial placed someone at the scene who was not there when police arrived. This corroborates the other five witness accounts that someone fled the scene. In a 1997 hearing, another former prostitute, Pamela Jenkins, testified that White was acting as a police informant. Other sworn testimony revealed that witness coercion was routinely practiced by the police. In 1995, eyewitness William Singletary testified that police repeatedly tore up his initial statement--that the shooter fled the scene--until he finally signed something acceptable to them. The following year, witness Veronica Jones came forward to testify that she had been coerced into changing her initial statement that two men fled the scene. Witness Billy Cook, who was present the whole time, has stated very clearly that Mumia is absolutely innocent.
The Sentence
Due to police manipulation of witnesses, fabrication of evidence, and the rights of the defense severely denied, Mumia was found guilty. He was sentenced to death during the penalty phase based solely on his political beliefs. Mumia has been unjustly separated from his family for twenty-two years, with the threat of death looming over his head.
New Witnesses
In 2001, court stenographer Terri Maurer-Carter came forward and stated that in 1982, before Mumia’s trial began, she heard Judge Sabo say, “Yeah, and I’m going to help them fry the n****r.” He was referring to Mumia. This backs up evidence of judicial bias and racism in Mumia’s case. In the same year, esteemed Philadelphia journalist Linn Washington stated that on the morning of December 9th, 1981, he went to the scene to report on it--and no police were present. This backs up prior claims that police didn’t handle the crime scene properly.
The Confession
In 1999, Arnold Beverly confessed to killing Officer Faulkner. This confession is validated by a lie detector test administered by eminent polygraph expert Charles Honts. Despite concrete evidence supporting this confession, the Philadelphia District Attorney has refused to investigate, and the courts have not even allowed it to be heard. The injustice continues . . .
The Decisions
On December 18th, 2001, Judge Yohn issued a decision on the Habeas Corpus petition
in Federal District Court. He upheld Mumia’s unjust conviction, but challenged the sentencing phase (the death sentence). This means there could be a new sentencing hearing after all appeals are resolved, but the only options are life in prison with no possibility of parole or another death sentence. This is not justice. There is massive evidence of Mumia’s innocence and he should be absolutely free. Mumia’s legal team
filed an appeal of this decision in January of 2002. Mumia remains on death row until
all appeals by both sides are heard.
Judge Pamela Dembe’s November 21, 2001, rejection of Mumia’s request to reopen the PCRA hearings was appealed by Mumia’s legal team. Judge Dembe based her decision almost entirely on the Peterkin case, which has just been overturned! On October 8, 2003, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the appeal, stating that the Beverly confession cannot be heard due to time limitations. The court also stated that Terri Maurer-Carter’s testimony is irrelevant. The struggle continues.
The Movement
A broad international movement has formed in support of Mumia. Celebrities such as Danny Glover, Ossie Davis, and Susan Sarandon, world leaders like Nelson Mandela, Danielle Mitterand (former First Lady of France), and Fidel Castro, governing bodies
such as the Japanese Diet, 22 members of the British Parliament, and the European Parliament have all recognized the blatant injustice in this case and have called for a new trial at the very least. Millions of people throughout the world have taken to the streets to protest his unjust imprisonment.
Mumia’s case has been a unifying point for many social struggles because it concentrates issues vitally important to our future, such as the rise in prison populations, police brutality, the death penalty, persecution of political dissent, and the continuation of white supremacy and racism in the U.S. From death row, Mumia has continued to speak out for all who are oppressed through his journalism. He has published four books, and his weekly columns are published throughout the world. His case is one of the most important social justice fights of our time.
Write To Mumia
Mumia Abu-Jamal
AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370
http://www.freemumia.com/who.html
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
From way back in September; how Kate McCann explained the corpse odour on her clothes.
While it's gone quiet in the press and there seems to be nothing new coming out of Portugal about the Madeleine investigation, apart from news that the rogatory letters have not left Lisbon, I thought I'd have a look back at some interesting news items from earlier in the case. While searching I found an article in SOS Madeleine about the alleged corpse odour on Kate McCann's clothes and how she came up with an explanation. (More about that article later!) So what about those dogs? From Breaking News archives, news about the dogs being flown in to help.
Breaking News archives August 9th, 2007
"A pair of elite police sniffer dogs attached to an English police force has been helping Portuguese police in their hunt for missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann, it has emerged.
The specially-trained English springer spaniels Eddie and Keela were reportedly flown to Praia da Luz in the Algarve last week to take part in the investigation."
Eddie and Keela, those amazing sniffer dogs, trained by South Yorkshire Police were brought into the investigation of Madeleine McCann's disappearance at the beginning of August, 2007. Keela is specially trained to detect traces of blood which are not visible to the human eye, even after items have been washed repeatedly in biological washing powder. She is reported to have found traces of blood in the McCanns' holiday apartment and in the Renault Scenic, rented by the McCanns 25 days after Madeleine disappeared. Eddie is a, "Victim recovery dog," described in the press as a, "cadaver dog," who is trained to detect a specific odour which is given off by a corpse about two hours after death. Eddie is said to have detected the corpse odour in the McCanns' holiday apartment and in the Renault Scenic.
So, how did Kate respond? "Oh my God, how did that get there, if this is true?" Or maybe, "I do not beleive that my daughter is dead and no one who drove that vehicle would have harmed her." Or, when told about the odour on her clothes? "I work one and a half days a week as a GP. How could a death odour get on my clothes?" No, Kate didn't say any of those things. A one and a half days a week GP came across several corpses, six I think, just before going on holiday.
SOS Maddie 7th September, 2007
"Kate McCann justifie l’odeur de cadavre dans ses vêtements
Kate McCann justifie l’odeur de cadavre, détecté par les chiens pisteurs britanniques, dans une paire de jeans, son t-shirt et dans la peluche de Madeleine, affirmant que, comme médecin, elle était présente au moment de plusieurs décès avant son départ en vacances vers le Portugal."
Kate McCann justifies the corpse odour on her clothes.
Kate McCann justifies the corpse odour, detected by the British sniffer dogs on a pair of jeans, her T shirt and on Madeleine's stuffed toy, stating that as a doctor, she was present at the moment of several deaths before her holiday departure to Portugal."La maman de Maddie, travaille deux jours par semaine à Leicester, ou elle aurait – comme l’a affirmé aux enquêteurs de la Police Judiciaire – été présent au moment de la mort de six personnes, jusqu’avant ses vacances. La peluche de Madeleine, affirme Kate McCann, aurais été avec elle, à plusieurs occasions, dans son local de travail (à suivre)
Maddie's mother works two days a week in Leicester, where she had--as she stated to the PJ investigators, been present at the moment of death of six people, just before her holiday. Kate McCann stated that Madeleine's stuffed toy had been with her on lots of occasion at her place of work. (More to follow)
"Un procureur discret
José de Magalhães e Meneses, c’est le Procureur du Ministère Publique qui a la charge de l’enquête à la disparition de Madeleine McCann. Agé de 50 ans il est considéré comme très compétent, pondère et discret."
A discreet prosecutor
José de Magalhães e Meneses is the prosecutor of the Ministère Publique, who is in charge of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Aged 50, he is considered to be very competant, a deep thinker and discreet.
There was a thread in the now vanished Daily Mirror forum, "The hunt for Maddy," which had the title, "April carnage in Rothley...." The discussion on that thread was stimulated by the quote from a retired (I think!) GP who was quoted as saying that in his full-time practice he never came across that number of corpses in a short period of time. So, why all those dead people for Kate McCann, a part-timer, working one and a half days a week as a locum GP? It was suggested by a couple of Daily Mirror posters that surely the regular partners in the GP practice would attend to certify the deaths of patients. Or, since the above quoted article states that Kate was present at the moment of death, maybe she was just very unlucky that they all died just as she was visiting. That doesn't, though, explain the corpse odour, as the odour detected by Eddie is given off only after a couple of hours following death. So, if Kate was present at the moment of death, why would she be hanging about for a couple of hours afterwards, and carrying her daughter's favourite toy, Cuddle Cat, while she was in proximity to the corpses?
Let me get this straight. According to the report in SOS Madeleine, Kate stated that she had been present at the moment of death of six people just before going on holiday, and that she often took Cuddle Cat to work with her. So, each time, she was there for at least two hours after that moment of death and Cuddle Cat was on or about her person while she was near the corpse. Did Kate wear jeans to work as a GP? Was Cuddle Cat stuffed into the pocket of her jeans or being carried? A doctor attending the death of a family member wearing jeans and toting a stuffed toy? I think I'd make a complaint!
Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann hindering the investigation.
From The Mirror, Tuesday 29th January, 2008
"Police fury at Madeleine McCann parents"
"Police in Portugal claim Kate and Gerry McCann are hindering the probe into missing Madeleine by releasing sketches of the possible kidnapper.
http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/
"Nouveau suspect dans l'affaire maddie: "Et moi qui croyais être le seul fou"
New suspect in the Maddie case: "And I thought I was the only madman."
"C’est ce qu’affirme Joaquim José Nóia Agostinho, le portugais que la presse britannique s’est empressée de signaler comme étant ressemblent au croquis divulgué par les McCann d’un suspect que, présument, pourrait "avoir l’information clé pour aider à localiser Madeleine".
The British newspaper asserts that Gail Cooper, the witness who originated sketch, did not recognize her suspect but says that Joaquim Agostinho "is nearly like him" and that she would like it if the Portuguese police would interrogate him"
"Joaquim Agostinho n’est pas le premier portugais signalé comme ressemblent au croquis mais, jusqu’à maintenant, tous ont été écartés comme suspects, ce que n’empêche pas la police de s’attendre à voir d’autres visages apparaître dans les média : "ceci va continuer car il y a un nombre incalculable de personnes qui pourraient lui ressembler ", affirme une source de la Police Judiciaire, soulignant que la ligne d’enquête reste la même, "malgré toutes les manœuvres de diversion".
Joaquim Agostinho is not the first Portuguese man reported to resemble the sketch, but until now all the others have been eliminated as suspects, which does not prevent the police from expecting to see other faces appearing in the media: "This will continue because there is an incalculable number of people who could look like this sketch", confirms a police source, underlining that the line of the investigation remains the same, " despite all of the diversionary manoeuvres"
On Saturday 26th January, SOS Maddie reported that a sighting in Chile had turned out to be a false lead! Surprise surprise!
And today, Tuesday 29th January, 2008, the sighting in Argentina!
"Nouveau témoignage mais rien ne fait croire que Maddie serait en Argentine"
New witness statement, but there is nothing to make us believe that Maddie could be in Argentina.
Un témoin, Javier Vidable, assure avoir vu Madeleine McCann, le 23 janvier dernier, dans la localité de Villa Unión, en Argentine. L’enfant serait accompagnée par deux adultes décris comme "très nerveux".
"Police fury at Madeleine McCann parents"
"Police in Portugal claim Kate and Gerry McCann are hindering the probe into missing Madeleine by releasing sketches of the possible kidnapper.
Detectives say officers have checked out several sightings of the "creepy" stalker that came to nothing, wasting their time.
The latest, a builder in Gibraltar, was quizzed after a tip-off but ruled out. One detective said the drawings were too vague and could "identify dozens or hundreds of people".
But McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell hinted more sketches could be on the way "if we get any more information".
Good God! So, there might be more! Since Gail Cooper came forward recently and told Metodo 3 about the, "creepy man," she saw walking along the beach in Praia da Luz, we've had the pig farmer:Ryan Parry In Pedragosa 25/01/2008
Pig farmer Joaquim Jose Marques (Pic:Solarpix)
"Police hunting the "creepy" stranger seen near the resort where Madeleine McCann was snatched have questioned an oddball pig farmer who lives three miles away.
Officers first interviewed Joaquim Jose Marques 20 days after Madeleine vanished but ruled him out as a potential suspect.
Now, they have interviewed him for a second time after Kate and Gerry McCann released a sketch of the scruffy stranger seen acting suspiciously around Praia da Luz in the days before the abduction.
Dreadlocked Marques, in his early 30s, yesterday defiantly refused to answer questions, yelling: "Leave me alone. Look at this face, is this the face in the picture?"
Portuguese police doubt he is the man in the sketch. And McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "As far as we are concerned, the hunt for him continues."
Mirror Creepy Stranger Story 25/01/08
Then there was the man that Gail Cooper was convinced was, "the spitting image," of the man she saw in Praia da Luz, only this man affirms that he has never been near the resort.http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/
"Nouveau suspect dans l'affaire maddie: "Et moi qui croyais être le seul fou"
New suspect in the Maddie case: "And I thought I was the only madman."
"C’est ce qu’affirme Joaquim José Nóia Agostinho, le portugais que la presse britannique s’est empressée de signaler comme étant ressemblent au croquis divulgué par les McCann d’un suspect que, présument, pourrait "avoir l’information clé pour aider à localiser Madeleine".
L’homme, révèle l’hebdomadaire Barlavento, habite le village de Altura, où il est né, et ne connaît Praia da Luz que de nom car il n’y a jamais mis les pieds."
So goes the statement of Joaquim jose Agostinho, the Portuguese man that the British press has pointed out as resembling the sketch of a suspect shown by the McCanns, whom they have decided could, " have key information to help find Madeleine".
The weekly, Barlavento reveals that the man lives in the village of Altura, where he was born and only knows Praia daLuz by name because he has never set foot there.
"Dans le village où il est très populaire, l’opinion est unanime : l’homme, qui bénéficie d’une pension par démence, est inoffensif et sort très rarement du village ou il passe son temps entre les petits boulots et les bars, ou il est également connu comme une personne sans problèmes.
In the village where he is very popular, opinion is unanimous: the man, who gets disability benefits, is inoffensive and very rarely leaves the village where he spends his time between little jobs and the bars, where he is equally known as a person who doesn't give trouble
"Poursuivi constamment par les journalistes du News Of The World, Joaquim ne comprends pas la situation et pour lui l’histoire "à l’air d’une blague de carnaval".
C’est d’ailleurs le journal britannique qu’avance que Gail Cooper, le témoin à l’origine du croquis, n’a pas reconnu son suspect mais que Joaquim AGostinho "est presque comme lui" et qu’elle voudrait bien que la police portugaise l’interroge.
The British newspaper asserts that Gail Cooper, the witness who originated sketch, did not recognize her suspect but says that Joaquim Agostinho "is nearly like him" and that she would like it if the Portuguese police would interrogate him"
"Joaquim Agostinho n’est pas le premier portugais signalé comme ressemblent au croquis mais, jusqu’à maintenant, tous ont été écartés comme suspects, ce que n’empêche pas la police de s’attendre à voir d’autres visages apparaître dans les média : "ceci va continuer car il y a un nombre incalculable de personnes qui pourraient lui ressembler ", affirme une source de la Police Judiciaire, soulignant que la ligne d’enquête reste la même, "malgré toutes les manœuvres de diversion".
Joaquim Agostinho is not the first Portuguese man reported to resemble the sketch, but until now all the others have been eliminated as suspects, which does not prevent the police from expecting to see other faces appearing in the media: "This will continue because there is an incalculable number of people who could look like this sketch", confirms a police source, underlining that the line of the investigation remains the same, " despite all of the diversionary manoeuvres"
On Saturday 26th January, SOS Maddie reported that a sighting in Chile had turned out to be a false lead! Surprise surprise!
And today, Tuesday 29th January, 2008, the sighting in Argentina!
"Nouveau témoignage mais rien ne fait croire que Maddie serait en Argentine"
New witness statement, but there is nothing to make us believe that Maddie could be in Argentina.
Un témoin, Javier Vidable, assure avoir vu Madeleine McCann, le 23 janvier dernier, dans la localité de Villa Unión, en Argentine. L’enfant serait accompagnée par deux adultes décris comme "très nerveux".
Le porte-parole de la police de La Rioja (Argentine), contacté par SOS Madeleine, à confirmé l’existence du témoignage, qu’aurais été fait à la police trois jours après que le témoin aurais aperçu l’enfant, soulignant que l’interrogatoire des autres personnes présentes dans l’hotel fait croire à un enfant plus âgé qui lui ressemble vaguement.
A witness, Javier Vidable, is convinced that he saw Madeleine McCann, om January 23rd in the town of Villa Union in Argentina. The child was accompanied by two adults, described as, "very nervous."
The spokesman for the police in La Rioja (Argentina) contacted by SOS Madeleine, confirmed the existence of the witness statement, which was made to the police three days after the witness had seen the child, emphasizing that others present in the hotel believed that it was an older child who vaguely resembled Madeleine.
Portuguese newspaper, "Diario de Noticias," Tuesday 29th January; translation courtesy of Ozzy, at the 3 Arguidos forum. According to this report, the PJ is still on track to visit the UK and re-interview Kate and Gerry and the rest of the Tapas Crew, in spite of what is seen as, "diversionary tactics," of numerous sightings and suspects, which the police are obliged to follow up and eliminate.
"The PJ are waiting to travel to Rothley at any moment, following the cartas rogatorias which have already been sent. The purpose – to be present at the interrogation of the McCanns, suspected of accidentally killing their daughter and hiding the body.
The PJ still want to seize Kate’s original diary – to be able to bring to court Kate's comments about how difficult it is to deal with a hyperactive child. They also want to once more examine the soft toy which had a death smell as indicated by the cadaver dogs in July."
It appears from this report that the rogatory letters have been received by the UK authorities and that the PJ's visit will take place in the near future. It seems though that these letters were sent a couple of weeks ago, but there does not seem to be any indication of why there is a delay in the visit by the PJ and the interviews taking place. I have read on more than one internet forum the theory that the UK authorities are, for some reason, holding up the process.
So, really, however many new witnesses Metodo 3 discover, or however many old ones they manage to rediscover, the investigation by the PJ is proceeding along the lines of re-interviewing the McCanns and friends in order to clear up inconsistencies in their statements about what happened on the evening of May 3rd, 2007.
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Enfants Kidnappes: L'Affaire Madeleine McCann (Updated Saturday 26th January)
Enfants Kidnappes is a Belgian web site devoted to children who are missing, perhaps kidnapped. A very interesting article, today Tuesday 22nd January about Madeleine McCann, repeats some of the information on the SOS Madeleine French language web site. Most of this information is new to me as I am not aware of its having been published by any UK newspaper or journal.
http://www.kidnapping.be/maddie/maddie.html
"Nous vous avions parlé il y a quelques semaines, du fait que la police détenait de nouvelles preuves. Nous connaissions ces preuves mais le secret avait été demandé. Nous attendions que l'info soit dévoilée par nos sources avant d'en parler. En effet, ici, à l'Association Enfants Kidnappés nous ne faisons pas la course à l'article, nous ne sommes pas journalistes et notre but n'est pas la recherche du scoop. C'est ainsi que nous étions au courant que la PJ portugaise savait quand et comment Madeleine à été sortie de l'appartement de vacances à Praia Da Luz. La PJ sait également où la petite Madeleine est restée durant les premiers jours! Reste à trouver l'endroit où, selon la PJ, le corps de Madeleine serait en ce moment."
We told you a few weeks ago that in fact the police were holding new evidence. We know what this evidence is but secrecy has been requested. We are waiting for the info to be disclosed by our sources before we talk about it. In fact, here at the Association Enfants Kidnappes we are not in a competition for the publication (article), we are not journalists and we are not looking for a, "scoop." Thus we were made aware that the PJ knew when and how Madeleine was taken out of the holiday apartment at Praia Da Luz. The PJ also (equally) knows where little Madeleine stayed during the first days. According to the PJ, the place where Madeleine is at the moment is still to be found.
"Selon toute vraisemblance, cet endroit serait au Portugal. D'autres éléments avaient déjà conforté cette piste. Souvenez vous, nous vous avions aussi parlé de ce cellier où une serviette sur laquelle des vestiges de sang appartenant à Madeleine a été trouvé. C'est également là, que la PJ a retrouvé divers produits "fait maison" qui pourraient être utilisés dans la conservation d'un corps. Toutefois la police n'a pas confirmé qu'ils avaient bien été utilisés à cela. Nous ne passerons pas en revue tous les éléments que la police détient et qui les confortent dans la thèse du décès, vous les connaissez déjà. D'autres éléments troublants vous seront bientôt divulgués, dès que nous aurons reçu le feu vert. Ainsi, la thèse de l'homicide involontaire pourrait bien glisser vers la thèse de l'homicide tout court.
Est-ce à dire que les parents sont coupables...."
In all likelihood this place would be in Portugal. Other details have already confirmed this train of thought. Remember, we have also talked about the barn where a towel bearing traces of blood belonging to Madeleine was found. It was also there that the PJ found various DIY products which could have been used in the preservation of a body. However, the police have not confirmed that they have been used for that. We will not review all the details which the police hold and which confirm for them the idea of death; you know those already. Other troubling details will be disclosed soon, as soon as we receive the green light. Thus the theory of involuntary homicide could very well slide toward the theory of murder. Does this mean that the parents are guilty......?
(To be continued....Tomorrow I will finish the translation!)
Right! I'm going to finish this translation! Saturday 26th January!
"Les parents sont-ils coupables ?
A l'heure actuelle, la PJ ne retient que 3 "arguidos", même si nous savons que deux autres personnes pourraient être placées sous ce même statut très bientôt, à savoir Gerry, Kate et Robert Murat. Les éléments recueillis par la PJ accusent-ils les parents ? L'affaire est complexe. La PJ est en train de déterminer qui à fait quoi et avec qui, qui était où et pourquoi, comment s'est déroulée la soirée etc etc. Si la PJ trouve l'endroit où, d'après eux, le corps de la petite Madeleine devrait se trouver, ils pourront déterminer comment elle est décédée... élément qui semble être le seul qui manque au puzzle. Coupable ? Complice ? Victime ? Nous devrons attendre le procès pour éclaircir tous les détails de cette affaire. Mais, peut-on penser à un procès équitable ?"
At the moment, the PJ keep three people as, "arguidos," although we know that two others could be placed under the same status very soon, named as Gerry, Kate and Robert Murat. Does the evidence gathered by the PJ place accusation on the parents? The case is complex. The PJ is in the process of determining who did what and with whom, who was where and why, how did the events of the evening proceed etc etc. If the PJ find the place where, according to them, the body of Madeleine must be found, they can determine how she died....evidence which seems to be the only missing piece of the puzzle. Guilty? Complicity? Victim? We will have to wait for the trial to clear up all the details of this case. But, can a fair trial be considered?
"En effet, les avocats des parents ne pourraient-ils pas jouer sur un droit fondamental de l'accusation ? Un principe bien connu, en droit, est que toute personne est supposée innocente tant que l'on n'a pas fait la preuve de sa culpabilité. Chaque citoyen a droit à un procès équitable devant un jury impartial et sans "à priori"! Or peut-on trouver quelques personnes capables de constituer un jury populaire n'ayant pas déjà son intime conviction face à la médiatisation de l'affaire ? Comment trouver un jury neutre et objectif ? Trop d'éléments du dossier sont déjà connus, médiatisés, déformés et enfin, trop de gens ont déjà tirés leurs propres conclusions sans la moindre connaissance en matière d'enquête criminelle ou en ce qui concerne le dossier même de l'affaire McCann. Pourra-t-on parler, alors, de procès équitable ?"
In fact, could the parents' lawyers not play on a fundamental right of the accusation? A principle well known in law is that all people are presumed innocent while there is no proof of guilt. Every citizen has the right to a fair trial before a jury and without presumption of guilt. Is it possible to find a few people capable of making up a jury, who have not already made up their minds because of the media coverage of the case? How can a jury be found which is neutral and objective? Too much evidence in the prosecution file is already known, through the media, distorted and finally too many people have already drawn their own conclusions without the slightest knowledge of the processes of criminal investigation or of those concerning the police file on the McCann case. Can we then speak of a fair trial?
(I have translated some of the French quite loosely. Please feel free to improve on my version!)
http://www.kidnapping.be/maddie/maddie.html
"Nous vous avions parlé il y a quelques semaines, du fait que la police détenait de nouvelles preuves. Nous connaissions ces preuves mais le secret avait été demandé. Nous attendions que l'info soit dévoilée par nos sources avant d'en parler. En effet, ici, à l'Association Enfants Kidnappés nous ne faisons pas la course à l'article, nous ne sommes pas journalistes et notre but n'est pas la recherche du scoop. C'est ainsi que nous étions au courant que la PJ portugaise savait quand et comment Madeleine à été sortie de l'appartement de vacances à Praia Da Luz. La PJ sait également où la petite Madeleine est restée durant les premiers jours! Reste à trouver l'endroit où, selon la PJ, le corps de Madeleine serait en ce moment."
We told you a few weeks ago that in fact the police were holding new evidence. We know what this evidence is but secrecy has been requested. We are waiting for the info to be disclosed by our sources before we talk about it. In fact, here at the Association Enfants Kidnappes we are not in a competition for the publication (article), we are not journalists and we are not looking for a, "scoop." Thus we were made aware that the PJ knew when and how Madeleine was taken out of the holiday apartment at Praia Da Luz. The PJ also (equally) knows where little Madeleine stayed during the first days. According to the PJ, the place where Madeleine is at the moment is still to be found.
"Selon toute vraisemblance, cet endroit serait au Portugal. D'autres éléments avaient déjà conforté cette piste. Souvenez vous, nous vous avions aussi parlé de ce cellier où une serviette sur laquelle des vestiges de sang appartenant à Madeleine a été trouvé. C'est également là, que la PJ a retrouvé divers produits "fait maison" qui pourraient être utilisés dans la conservation d'un corps. Toutefois la police n'a pas confirmé qu'ils avaient bien été utilisés à cela. Nous ne passerons pas en revue tous les éléments que la police détient et qui les confortent dans la thèse du décès, vous les connaissez déjà. D'autres éléments troublants vous seront bientôt divulgués, dès que nous aurons reçu le feu vert. Ainsi, la thèse de l'homicide involontaire pourrait bien glisser vers la thèse de l'homicide tout court.
Est-ce à dire que les parents sont coupables...."
In all likelihood this place would be in Portugal. Other details have already confirmed this train of thought. Remember, we have also talked about the barn where a towel bearing traces of blood belonging to Madeleine was found. It was also there that the PJ found various DIY products which could have been used in the preservation of a body. However, the police have not confirmed that they have been used for that. We will not review all the details which the police hold and which confirm for them the idea of death; you know those already. Other troubling details will be disclosed soon, as soon as we receive the green light. Thus the theory of involuntary homicide could very well slide toward the theory of murder. Does this mean that the parents are guilty......?
(To be continued....Tomorrow I will finish the translation!)
Right! I'm going to finish this translation! Saturday 26th January!
"Les parents sont-ils coupables ?
A l'heure actuelle, la PJ ne retient que 3 "arguidos", même si nous savons que deux autres personnes pourraient être placées sous ce même statut très bientôt, à savoir Gerry, Kate et Robert Murat. Les éléments recueillis par la PJ accusent-ils les parents ? L'affaire est complexe. La PJ est en train de déterminer qui à fait quoi et avec qui, qui était où et pourquoi, comment s'est déroulée la soirée etc etc. Si la PJ trouve l'endroit où, d'après eux, le corps de la petite Madeleine devrait se trouver, ils pourront déterminer comment elle est décédée... élément qui semble être le seul qui manque au puzzle. Coupable ? Complice ? Victime ? Nous devrons attendre le procès pour éclaircir tous les détails de cette affaire. Mais, peut-on penser à un procès équitable ?"
At the moment, the PJ keep three people as, "arguidos," although we know that two others could be placed under the same status very soon, named as Gerry, Kate and Robert Murat. Does the evidence gathered by the PJ place accusation on the parents? The case is complex. The PJ is in the process of determining who did what and with whom, who was where and why, how did the events of the evening proceed etc etc. If the PJ find the place where, according to them, the body of Madeleine must be found, they can determine how she died....evidence which seems to be the only missing piece of the puzzle. Guilty? Complicity? Victim? We will have to wait for the trial to clear up all the details of this case. But, can a fair trial be considered?
"En effet, les avocats des parents ne pourraient-ils pas jouer sur un droit fondamental de l'accusation ? Un principe bien connu, en droit, est que toute personne est supposée innocente tant que l'on n'a pas fait la preuve de sa culpabilité. Chaque citoyen a droit à un procès équitable devant un jury impartial et sans "à priori"! Or peut-on trouver quelques personnes capables de constituer un jury populaire n'ayant pas déjà son intime conviction face à la médiatisation de l'affaire ? Comment trouver un jury neutre et objectif ? Trop d'éléments du dossier sont déjà connus, médiatisés, déformés et enfin, trop de gens ont déjà tirés leurs propres conclusions sans la moindre connaissance en matière d'enquête criminelle ou en ce qui concerne le dossier même de l'affaire McCann. Pourra-t-on parler, alors, de procès équitable ?"
In fact, could the parents' lawyers not play on a fundamental right of the accusation? A principle well known in law is that all people are presumed innocent while there is no proof of guilt. Every citizen has the right to a fair trial before a jury and without presumption of guilt. Is it possible to find a few people capable of making up a jury, who have not already made up their minds because of the media coverage of the case? How can a jury be found which is neutral and objective? Too much evidence in the prosecution file is already known, through the media, distorted and finally too many people have already drawn their own conclusions without the slightest knowledge of the processes of criminal investigation or of those concerning the police file on the McCann case. Can we then speak of a fair trial?
(I have translated some of the French quite loosely. Please feel free to improve on my version!)
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Maddie: New sketch reveals face of kidnapper suspect.
(Images above from left to right: sketch of man seen in roadside cafe in Belgium, August 2007, with a child who looked like Madeleine; composite image of Belgian sighting and latest suspect; sketch of latest suspect. )
The News of the World was the first with the news of the new suspect in the Madeleine McCann case.
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/2001_maddie.shtml
"Granny Gail Cooper, 50, was staying just 600 YARDS from the McCann family's Portuguese holiday flat when she had THREE separate chilling encounters with the moustachioed mystery man."
Mrs Cooper's sightings of the, "creepy man," were on April 20th and April 22nd.
Jane Tanner, friend of the McCanns, who was on holiday with them and who described a man she claimed to have seen carrying a child at around 9.10pm has commented on the latest sketch.
"Jane has now told the McCanns: "The man in the new suspect picture strongly resembles the person I saw on May 3rd."
Yet Jane's previous descriptions ranged from a, "man carrying a bundle that could have been a child," to a very precise description of the way the man was carrying a child in, "distinguishable," pyjamas just like the ones Madeleine was said to have been wearing on the evening she disappeared. The sketch drawn from Jane's description did not have a face as Jane said it was too dark to make out his features, but now she can identify a man with a very, "distinguishable," moustache!
On the same day that Mrs Cooper first saw them man as he was walking alone along the beach in the rain, the man who, "..made my blood run cold," turned up on her doorstep, saying that he was collecting money for an orphanage. She was very suspicious of him and if the New of the World is correct, her feelings were spot on.
"We can confirm the orphanage does NOT exist and that there is no evidence of the fatal car crash. Mrs Cooper saw the man a third time, two days later on April 22, as she lunched with her husband Jonathan at Bar Habana on the beach."
The NOTW can confirm that the orphanage does not exist? So, how about this Daily Mail report from September 7th, 2007?
Daily Mail 8th September 2007
"Nor is it the initially well-meaning, but now ill-advisedly slick publicity campaign being masterminded by failed Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate and party activist Justine McGuinness - a freelance PR who recently had to be dissuaded from arranging a photocall for Kate McCann at a Portuguese orphanage."
Would that be the orphanage that doesn't exist?
We now have a suspect who looks remarkably like the late George Harrison and yet another witness who is a health care worker. How come so many of these witnesses work for the health service? The woman who spotted a child in Morocco was a health care worker, as was the woman who spotted the child at the roadside cafe in Belgium. Maybe there was a special offer from Thompson's or some other tour company for health care professionals during April and May 2007 and Europe and North Africa were crawling with them. By any kind of law of averages, would most of the sightings be by people who worked in health care otherwise? Maybe just another of those funny things, eh Gerry?
(See images at top of post. The image on the left is of the man seen at a roadside cafe in Belgium in August 2007 with a child who looked like Madeleine. The image on the right is a sketch of the latest suspect. In the middle is a composite with the latest sketch superimposed on the sketch of the man seen in Belgium)
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Government ready for Wilders' film fall-out
Protest against the Danish cartoons, London February 2006"Friday 18 January 2008
Government security experts have drawn up a 20-page document detailing how to deal with the expected fall-out of the anti-Koran film being made by MP Geert Wilders, the Volkskrant reports on Friday.
The paper says the document, marked 'state secret' has been circulated to need-to-know ministers only.
There are also instructions for diplomatic staff so that they will be ready to deal with protests and embassy evacuation plans have been drawn up, the paper says.
Ambassadors in Islamic countries are currently talking to their contacts about the film. While stressing that freedom of speech is an important in the Netherlands, they are also making it clear that Wilders’ opinions are not shared by the government, the paper says.
The film is due to be screened at the end of the month.
© DutchNews.nl"
Whether the Wilders' film is aired on TV, Wilders' web site or YouTube, I guess we can expect to see the Islamic hordes taking to the streets of Amsterdam and possibly other cities in the Netherlands, as well as cities in Islamic states. We can expect to see those hordes burning flags and effigies and torching embassies. Those who would deny freedom of speech and opinion to others are not usually slow to express their hatred with the confidence their religion gives them to threaten and to kill in the name of that religion.
Wilders' film, in my opinion, will seek to show that embedded at the very heart of the Muslim religion is hatred for all people of other faiths and clear instructions from the Prophet Mohammed to annihilate any and all who do not bow in submission to Allah.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WLoasfOLpQ
Video of Wafa Sultan in which she talks about a, "A clash between civilisation and backwardness."
Wafa Sultan, "Terrorism and Islam."
(Wafa Sultan is a psychologist who lives in Los Angeles.)
Thursday, 17 January 2008
Geert Wilders receives death threats over film about the Qur'An
"Dutch member of parliament Geert Wilders is working on a provocative tv movie on the Qur'an. It is Mr Wilders' next step in his fight in what he sees as highly dangerous islam. He recently pleaded for a ban of the Qur'an, which he calls fascist. Wilders compared the Holy Book of Islam to Hitler's Mein Kampf. The politician says his film shows similarities with Submission, a film made in 2004 by Theo van Gogh and Ayaan Hirsi Ali."
http://www.groepwilders.com/default.aspx
Geert Wilders has received as many as 40 death threats in a single day and is now under 24 hours/day security.
"December 21, 2007 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - Dutch MP and leader of Holland's "Party for Freedom," Geert Wilders, is being denied his right to freedom of expression by a coalition of Islamists and leftists who wish to stop the production of his upcoming film, which takes a critical look at Islam. Mr. Wilders has been the object of death threats for years made by extremist Muslims - he sometimes receives as many as 40 in a single day. As a result, he must have 24 hour security and is being forced to live under near house arrest in his own country.
Expatica.com articles
In response to the proposed film by Wilders, the Muslim ex-Ambassador to the Netherlands, Noor Farida Ariffin said this week, "The ‘Film of Geert Wilders will unavoidably cause extreme violence' and 'if the film is shown the Dutch can expect numbers of dead Dutch people'. 'The uproar about the Danish cartoons will be nothing in comparison"
Dutch Labour Party politician, Bouchra Ismaili, is quoted in Pipeline as saying that the native Dutch people are the foreigners in the Netheralnds!
"January 16, 2008 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - The European press is reporting an incident in which Moroccan born Dutch councilwoman Bouchra Ismaili responded to an email query by a native born citizen, suggesting that he, "drop dead convert to Islam...you are the foreigners here."
What kind of religion is so sensitive to criticism that people are threatened and people are killed for taking a critical look at it? Surely in the 21st Century, people of faith could be responding with, "My faith is not shaken by your criticism." Not Islam, though. A few cartoons and its loyal followers are out on the streets, burning flags and torching buildings. The religion of peace?
http://www.groepwilders.com/default.aspx
Geert Wilders has received as many as 40 death threats in a single day and is now under 24 hours/day security.
"December 21, 2007 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - Dutch MP and leader of Holland's "Party for Freedom," Geert Wilders, is being denied his right to freedom of expression by a coalition of Islamists and leftists who wish to stop the production of his upcoming film, which takes a critical look at Islam. Mr. Wilders has been the object of death threats for years made by extremist Muslims - he sometimes receives as many as 40 in a single day. As a result, he must have 24 hour security and is being forced to live under near house arrest in his own country.
The threats on Mr. Wilders' life must be taken seriously, they are real and ongoing. The inciteful actions of his opponents - including those who have now started an anti-Wilders ["Stop the de Verwildering"] movement, outrageously labeling him as "evil," - are putting his life in even further jeopardy.
In November 2004 Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh was assassinated while on his way to work by Mohammed Bouyeri, the son of a Moroccan Muslim immigrant family. During his trial Bouyeri claimed that he brutally murdered van Gogh, shooting and then nearly decapitating him with a butcher knife because he thought van Gogh's film, "Submission," slandered Islam. Bouyeri stated that the penalty for such an offense must be death."
Wilders film, which will be about 10 minutes long will analyse particular parts of the Qur'An, which he claims are encouraging the radicalisation of young Muslim men and encouraging terrorist activity. If no TV company in the Netherlands will show the film, it will be available on Wilders' party's web site and on YouTube.
"Wilders hopes the film will demonstrate that the Koran, the holy book revered by Muslims, is a "terrible and fascist" book that continues to inspire people to commit atrocious acts. The cabinet voiced its concerns last November about possible repercussions that the film could have in the Netherlands and abroad."Expatica.com articles
In response to the proposed film by Wilders, the Muslim ex-Ambassador to the Netherlands, Noor Farida Ariffin said this week, "The ‘Film of Geert Wilders will unavoidably cause extreme violence' and 'if the film is shown the Dutch can expect numbers of dead Dutch people'. 'The uproar about the Danish cartoons will be nothing in comparison"
Dutch Labour Party politician, Bouchra Ismaili, is quoted in Pipeline as saying that the native Dutch people are the foreigners in the Netheralnds!
"January 16, 2008 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - The European press is reporting an incident in which Moroccan born Dutch councilwoman Bouchra Ismaili responded to an email query by a native born citizen, suggesting that he, "drop dead convert to Islam...you are the foreigners here."
The email sender Jos Parbleu, told Holland's Algemeen Dagblad newspaper that he was "shocked," adding that "this is a sign of what a disastrous situation has hit the country."
Ismaili said she wrote the comments "in a surge of anger" after hearing someone yell anti-Moroccan comments during the day."
On an internet forum, a Dutch woman wrote this,
"In an unbelievable tirade of hatred in response to an e-mail she received from a Dutch person who wrote nothing more literally than quoting what two fundi muslims had said: 'YOU DUTCH DESERVE A HUGE BOMB ATTACK'.
Therefore keep your eyes on The Netherlands around the 28th of January when Geert Wilders' film/video will be shown wherein 'The Big Bad Wolf 'Allah' of the Quran and the horrific effects he and 'his messengerboy Muhammed' have - worldwide.
And please come and help us should the need arise to defeat the Islam hordes - and hit them back home to wherever they came from."
Watch out for Wilders' film. Remember, if Dutch TV will not handle it because of threats of Dutch people dying as a consequence, the film will be available on Wilders' Freedom Party's web site and on YouTube.
http://www.groepwilders.com/default.aspxWhat kind of religion is so sensitive to criticism that people are threatened and people are killed for taking a critical look at it? Surely in the 21st Century, people of faith could be responding with, "My faith is not shaken by your criticism." Not Islam, though. A few cartoons and its loyal followers are out on the streets, burning flags and torching buildings. The religion of peace?
Iran chops off hands and feet of five robbers.
"Using strict enforcement of Islamic law, the judicial authorities in southern Iran amputated the right hands and left feet of five convicted robbers this week."
Daily Mail January 11th, 2008
"The double amputations came as it was revealed there have been 23 public executions since the start of the year as part of what the government said was an effort to "deter other troublemakers". The amputations were believed to be the first in Iran for many years. The courts ordered the right hand and left foot cut off, in line with ancient custom so that it is difficult, if not impossible, for the condemned to walk, even with a cane or crutches"
So, not really into rehabilitation, then, the wonderful Islamic state of Iran? I heard on Radio 4 on Monday, in "Beyond Belief," a Muslim man describing Islamic Law as God's Law. Well, it is surely a savage God who does not allow for a person to change, to redeem himself. How does the man who cannot walk, even with a cane or crutches earn a living? Is that man condemned to beg on the streets for the rest of his life? I don't suppose the Islamic state will provide him with a wheelchair, a prosthetic foot, or a car adapted for his use to get to a job of work.
So, if the five robbers owe a debt to society, as some might say they do, how do they ever repay that debt? I guess their only use to the society of Iran may be as that deterrent to other troublemakers, though I would doubt it. It's that old adage I think, "Rather be hung for a sheep as a lamb," and as in England hundreds of years ago when people could be hanged for stealing a lamb, the robber who knows that capture may result in double amputation, may just decide that he might as well kill any witnesses.
While I believe that people who commit serious crime should be punished, I also believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to change and to show that they can become a useful member of society.
Daily Mail January 11th, 2008
"The double amputations came as it was revealed there have been 23 public executions since the start of the year as part of what the government said was an effort to "deter other troublemakers". The amputations were believed to be the first in Iran for many years. The courts ordered the right hand and left foot cut off, in line with ancient custom so that it is difficult, if not impossible, for the condemned to walk, even with a cane or crutches"
So, not really into rehabilitation, then, the wonderful Islamic state of Iran? I heard on Radio 4 on Monday, in "Beyond Belief," a Muslim man describing Islamic Law as God's Law. Well, it is surely a savage God who does not allow for a person to change, to redeem himself. How does the man who cannot walk, even with a cane or crutches earn a living? Is that man condemned to beg on the streets for the rest of his life? I don't suppose the Islamic state will provide him with a wheelchair, a prosthetic foot, or a car adapted for his use to get to a job of work.
So, if the five robbers owe a debt to society, as some might say they do, how do they ever repay that debt? I guess their only use to the society of Iran may be as that deterrent to other troublemakers, though I would doubt it. It's that old adage I think, "Rather be hung for a sheep as a lamb," and as in England hundreds of years ago when people could be hanged for stealing a lamb, the robber who knows that capture may result in double amputation, may just decide that he might as well kill any witnesses.
While I believe that people who commit serious crime should be punished, I also believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to change and to show that they can become a useful member of society.
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Retardo3 Do it Again!
A brief quote from a Spanish newspaper today.
Madeleine is not in Morocco or Bosnia or Belgium and she is not at the bottom of the lake. She's in Spain (again!)....or maybe Belgium, according to the latest theory from Metodo3, the agency hired by the McCanns.
"The private detective agency from Barcelona Method 3, contracted by Gerry and Kate McCann, are investigating thoroughly the Costa Blanca, from Valencia to Alicante. According to Francisco Marco, head of Method 3, Madeleine was selected by "spotters" in circles of paedophiles and then abducted "to order". She was later carried via Morocco to Spain or Belgium, a country with a sad record on child prostitution. "
(The above unashamedly lifted from the DM forum, with thanks to, "Ern.")
El Semanal Digital
Well, we've recently had hordes of witnesses turning up after eight months, claiming to have seen Madeleine in the clutches of Robert Murat's girlfriend, to have seen Bundleman, or to have seen a child just like Madeleine somewhere in the world. All seem to have been dismissed by the PJ as not credible or have been investigated and not useful and the body in the lake was reported and dismissed some time ago. I suppose if you're being paid £50,000/month, you've got to come up with something, especially if your company has moved to plush new offices! And well, the PJ may be arriving in the UK any day, or if the rumour on the DM forum is true, the PJ flew into Birmingham airport today, Tuesday, around lunchtime. So, I guess there might be a bit of panic brewing and the need to come up with something!
Let's hope the PJ will be interviewing the Tapas Crew very soon. Two new arguidos could be named? Wonder who? I'll put my Pennies Jar on Jane Tanner and Russell O'Brien, based on JT's changing stories, the tapas staff member saying she never left the table and Russell O'Brien's having been absent from the table most of the evening and if JT is involved, then I don't see how he could not be, or at least not know about it. So, folks, there's probably about a fiver in my Pennies Jar. Wonder if the local bookies if offering odds!
Madeleine is not in Morocco or Bosnia or Belgium and she is not at the bottom of the lake. She's in Spain (again!)....or maybe Belgium, according to the latest theory from Metodo3, the agency hired by the McCanns.
"The private detective agency from Barcelona Method 3, contracted by Gerry and Kate McCann, are investigating thoroughly the Costa Blanca, from Valencia to Alicante. According to Francisco Marco, head of Method 3, Madeleine was selected by "spotters" in circles of paedophiles and then abducted "to order". She was later carried via Morocco to Spain or Belgium, a country with a sad record on child prostitution. "
(The above unashamedly lifted from the DM forum, with thanks to, "Ern.")
El Semanal Digital
Well, we've recently had hordes of witnesses turning up after eight months, claiming to have seen Madeleine in the clutches of Robert Murat's girlfriend, to have seen Bundleman, or to have seen a child just like Madeleine somewhere in the world. All seem to have been dismissed by the PJ as not credible or have been investigated and not useful and the body in the lake was reported and dismissed some time ago. I suppose if you're being paid £50,000/month, you've got to come up with something, especially if your company has moved to plush new offices! And well, the PJ may be arriving in the UK any day, or if the rumour on the DM forum is true, the PJ flew into Birmingham airport today, Tuesday, around lunchtime. So, I guess there might be a bit of panic brewing and the need to come up with something!
Let's hope the PJ will be interviewing the Tapas Crew very soon. Two new arguidos could be named? Wonder who? I'll put my Pennies Jar on Jane Tanner and Russell O'Brien, based on JT's changing stories, the tapas staff member saying she never left the table and Russell O'Brien's having been absent from the table most of the evening and if JT is involved, then I don't see how he could not be, or at least not know about it. So, folks, there's probably about a fiver in my Pennies Jar. Wonder if the local bookies if offering odds!
The Ocean Club Apartment clips on YouTube
Well worth watching. Video clips of the apartment, the path where Jane Tanner said she saw Bundleman and the route to the Oean club and the tapas bar.
Ocean Club Apartment Clips
New Video on YouTube: "Madeleine McCann - The McCann Infantile Memory"
Madeleine at christmas 2006A lovely, but very sad new video.
Madeleine McCann - The McCann Infantile Memory
Worth watching.
Eurojust confirms request to re-interview the Tapas group
From the blog written by Paulo Reis, Gazeta Digital, 15the January, 2008
http://gazetadigitalmadeleinecase.blogspot.com/
"A spokesman from Eurojust confirmed to The Press Association that Portuguese authorities made a formal request to the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency to help in the process of questioning again the group of British citizens that was at Ocean Club, with Gerry and Kate McCann, when Madeleine vanished.
A PJ team is scheduled to fly to UK, soon, to follow the questioning by Leicester police, according to Press Association. Eurojust role is to help investigators and prosecutors in European Union for information and assistance in crime cases involving more than one country."
European Judicial Cooperation Unit (EUROJUST)
Gazeta Digital, 14th January 2008.
No evidence of Canary islands connection to the Madeleine case.
"The line of inquiry in Madeleine’s case remains the same and is focused in the group of British citizens that were with the child’s family. There is no indication that the person arrested in the Spanish Islands has been in Portugal”, according to the same source."
Also on 14th January, Paulo Reis asserts that two more people could be named official suspects, arguidos, and that without diplomatic intervention the McCanns would not have been allowed to leave Portugal in September, but would have been arrested and charged.
"If it wasn’t the diplomatic intervention, the McCann wouldn’t be authorized to leave Portugal and would have been charged and arrested on September”, a source from Polícia Judiciária said. With the bureaucratic aspects for a new questioning of the Tapas Group finished, Police admits that two more formal suspects could be named, “if the questioning takes place as we expect."
Paulo Reis quotes a police source as saying that the McCanns publicity campaign was intended to draw attention from Praia da Luz, where, the PJ believe the answer to the disappearance of Madeleine MCann is to be found.
"Clear intention
“The campaign set up in the Media, since the beginning, was planned and had a specific intention: to take the case out from Praia da Luz,” the PJ source said. This intention was already clear months ago, on July last year, when detectives in charge of the investigation told the Portuguese Press that “all clues related to foreign countries have been investigated and dismissed”. At the time, it was also clear to PJ that “the key to solve the case was at Praia da Luz.”
There has been speculation on vaious internet forums about the possible date for the arrival of the PJ in the UK. There has also been speculation that no one is coming, but according to Gazeta Digital and The Peterborough Telegraph, (quoting the Press Association) it has been confirmed that Eurojust has been approached and that the PJ will be arriving on our shores pretty soon!
Peterborough Telegraph
" Portuguese investigators seeking to re-interview friends of Madeleine McCann's parents, from Leicestershire, are in contact with the UK authorities via an intermediary.Portuguese police seeking to re-interview the "Tapas Seven" are reportedly in contact with the British authorities via Eurojust.
They are understood to be poised to fly to the UK to sit in on fresh questioning of the friends by British police.
The seven were on holiday in Praia da Luz in the Algarve with Kate and Gerry McCann when their daughter vanished last year."
http://gazetadigitalmadeleinecase.blogspot.com/
"A spokesman from Eurojust confirmed to The Press Association that Portuguese authorities made a formal request to the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency to help in the process of questioning again the group of British citizens that was at Ocean Club, with Gerry and Kate McCann, when Madeleine vanished.
A PJ team is scheduled to fly to UK, soon, to follow the questioning by Leicester police, according to Press Association. Eurojust role is to help investigators and prosecutors in European Union for information and assistance in crime cases involving more than one country."
European Judicial Cooperation Unit (EUROJUST)
Gazeta Digital, 14th January 2008.
No evidence of Canary islands connection to the Madeleine case.
"The line of inquiry in Madeleine’s case remains the same and is focused in the group of British citizens that were with the child’s family. There is no indication that the person arrested in the Spanish Islands has been in Portugal”, according to the same source."
Also on 14th January, Paulo Reis asserts that two more people could be named official suspects, arguidos, and that without diplomatic intervention the McCanns would not have been allowed to leave Portugal in September, but would have been arrested and charged.
"If it wasn’t the diplomatic intervention, the McCann wouldn’t be authorized to leave Portugal and would have been charged and arrested on September”, a source from Polícia Judiciária said. With the bureaucratic aspects for a new questioning of the Tapas Group finished, Police admits that two more formal suspects could be named, “if the questioning takes place as we expect."
Paulo Reis quotes a police source as saying that the McCanns publicity campaign was intended to draw attention from Praia da Luz, where, the PJ believe the answer to the disappearance of Madeleine MCann is to be found.
"Clear intention
“The campaign set up in the Media, since the beginning, was planned and had a specific intention: to take the case out from Praia da Luz,” the PJ source said. This intention was already clear months ago, on July last year, when detectives in charge of the investigation told the Portuguese Press that “all clues related to foreign countries have been investigated and dismissed”. At the time, it was also clear to PJ that “the key to solve the case was at Praia da Luz.”
There has been speculation on vaious internet forums about the possible date for the arrival of the PJ in the UK. There has also been speculation that no one is coming, but according to Gazeta Digital and The Peterborough Telegraph, (quoting the Press Association) it has been confirmed that Eurojust has been approached and that the PJ will be arriving on our shores pretty soon!
Peterborough Telegraph
" Portuguese investigators seeking to re-interview friends of Madeleine McCann's parents, from Leicestershire, are in contact with the UK authorities via an intermediary.Portuguese police seeking to re-interview the "Tapas Seven" are reportedly in contact with the British authorities via Eurojust.
They are understood to be poised to fly to the UK to sit in on fresh questioning of the friends by British police.
The seven were on holiday in Praia da Luz in the Algarve with Kate and Gerry McCann when their daughter vanished last year."
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