SOS Madeleine McCann: English version of Amaral's book under negotiation.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

23/07/08

Version anglaise du livre de l’inspecteur Amaral en négociation

“Guerra e Paz”, l'éditeur du livre de l’ancien responsable de l’enquête a la disparition de Madeleine McCann, “négocie la publication d'une version anglaise.” L’information a été confirmée par un porte-parole de la société.

Interrogée à propos des commentaires du porte-parole des McCann, Clarence Mitchell, affirmant que le couple pourrait intenter un procès en justice pour diffamation contre l'auteur et l'éditeur, en fonction du contenu du livre, la même source a indiqué que “la société ferait connaitre sa position publiquement dans un futur proche.”

English version of inspector Amaral's book under negotiation.

"Guerra e Paz," the publishers for the book by the former head of the investigation into Madeleine MCann's disappearance, "is negotiating the publication of an English version." The information has been confirmed by a spokesperson for the company. Questioned about comments by the McCanns' spokesperson, Clarence Mitchell, stating that the couple may bring legal action for defamation against the author and the publisher, depending on the content of the book, the same source indicated that, "the company would make its position known publicly in the near future."

Le livre, “La vérité du mensonge” sera présenté officiellement demain après-midi, à Lisbonne, chez “El Corte Inglés”. Le quotidien Correio da Manhã, le principal journal portugais, avec un tirage moyen de 117.000 exemplaires vendus par jour, sera proposé demain à la vente accompagné du livre.

The book, "The Truth of the Lie," will be officially presented tomorrow afternoon, in Lisbon at, "El Corte Inglés." The daily Correio da Manha, the leading Portuguese newspaper, with an average circulation of 117,000 copies sold every day, will be offered for sale tomorrow with a copy of the book.

They took my 97 quid and all I got was this! (Part One) (Updated)

With the news today that 3,000 passport workers were going on strike, I thought I'd resurrect the two posts about my experience with their service! Just so that folks can see what kind of service they are possibly going to be offered should they decided to go by the expensive, "Fast Track," or, "Premium," route!


Let me start at the very beginning!


A few months ago, my son and his partner travelled on Eurostar to Belgium. I just happened to mention that I would quite fancy trying out Eurostar and my son told me that he had a special offer on tickets and why didn't we all (son + partner + me) go to Paris sometime before the offer expired? Great idea. I love Paris!

So, that was how it all started and I shall tell you how I ended up paying £97 for the above receipt, which would shame a, "Pound shop," for its lack of professional quality, losing three days' wages and not getting to Paris! Oh, and being treated in a manner, which can only be described as, "shabby," by the London Identity and Passport Service.

Ok, so we have a plan! We are all going to Paris! My son booked the seats on Eurostar and gave me time and date. All I needed then was a passport. My old one, which I had not used since 1999, and which expired in April 2007, was somewhere around the house, but a search of the obvious and not-so-obvious places did not result in finding it. No matter: it would have been useful to have the old one in applying for a new one, but a new application would have to be made anyway. I hadn't seen that passport for a number of years and had no idea in what, "safe place," I might have put it!

So, I collect a passport application form from the Post Office and discover that I need a UK passport holder to countersign. No problem! I ask a friend who has known me for around 10 years, but unfortunately, he can't find his passport. Time is getting on and I have around three weeks to get my passport after several weeks of his not finding his passport and not finding his passport!

So, I ask someone who has known me for around 17 years, but who does not live in my town. I meet up with this person on a shared holiday. He signs the form, but has forgotten to bring his passport. He will phone me with the passport number. It is now just over two weeks before the planned date of departure for my Eurostar experience.

The friend phones with the passport number and the following day I go to the Post Office to make use of their, "Check and send," (or words to that effect!) service. I complete form LSO1, lost passport form, and the woman at the PO counter checks my application form. There are problems! My photograph is not full-face and the woman notes that the passport number has obviously not been written in by the person countersigning.

Right! It's now just under two weeks to the planned trip! I need to get another person, who has known me for more than 2 years, to countersign another form. I ask the licensee at my local shop. He, being a very kind person, helps in my time of need. I go back to the Post Office to have the form checked! Everything is OK apart from the fact that my signature is a fraction of a millimetre onto the brown border!

So, I go back to my friendly local shopkeeper and he signs another form for me. There is now 10 days to go until Eurostar leaves St Pancras at 11am on Friday 13th June. I phone the national passport service helpline. I am told that if I want my passport for the day before the trip, which is, of course necessary, given the time the train leaves, I will have to have an interview at a passport office before 12 noon on Thursday 5th June, that being the latest time for the guaranteed delivery of my passport by Thursday 12th June. An appointment is made for 11.45 on Thursday 5th June at the London office of the Passport and Identity Service.

I could do without all this because I work for an agency, which means I don't go to work, I don't get paid and this means a day off. However, my very kind son has booked a treat for his mother and I really don't want to let him down. My son really is a very kind person.

Anyway, I have my appointment, I am told to arrive at least 10 minutes early, and I find a Google map for the address and postcode given: 89 Eccleston Square, SW1V 1PN.


View Larger Map

I will refer to this map a little later.

I set off really early on the morning of Thursday June 5th, allowing time for late-running trains, crossing London on the tube, and finding Eccleston Square. I arrive at Victoria at just after 11.05, with what looks like a short walk from the station to Eccleston Square. (Please now refer to map. Eccleston Square is a, "U," shape with a blue marker on the right-hand arm of the, "U." )

11.10, I start at the nearest point on Eccleston Square, the left-hand arm of the, "U," and finding low numbers, assume that number 89 must be near the other end! However, at the other end of the, "U," is number 70-something! I turn right into Belgrave Road to see if the numbers continue, but they do only for one or two buildings. I turn left, back into Eccleston Square, thinking there must be some logic to this, somewhere! The blue marker on the right-hand arm of the, "U," denotes where I then spotted a police van! Great! They should know!

There are two uniformed officers in the van, and I approach the passenger side, which is nearest to the kerb. The officer in the passenger seat looks at me and does nothing! I signal for him to lower the window. He does. "Can you tell me where the passport office is, please?" The officer points in the direction towards the base of the, "U," in the opposite direction to Belgrave Road. "It's on the corner round there," he says.

So, off I go. It's now 11.20 and I reassure myself that I will, indeed, arrive 10 minutes early. I walk right round Eccleston Square, and I don't find number 89 or the passport office, and I walk up the left-hand side of the, "U," towards Belgrave Road, where I spot a workman outside one of the houses. "Can you tell me where the passport office is, please?" He points towards Belgrave Road and tells me to cross the road and it's on the corner. (Please refer once again to the map. The passport office is located by the blue marker on what is denoted as Belgrave Road.)

I arrive at the passport office at 11.25, with certain expectations of what constitutes an, "interview." Hah! That's as sensible as my thinking that 89 Eccleston Square would be in the road indicated by that name on the map!

Through the heavy glass doors I go, and come face-to-face with a group of security guards, who point me towards a glass booth on my left. I go over there and tell the person behind the glass that I have an appointment. I am told to see the security guards. I do and they show me the way to the metal detector, which I pass through, having placed my bag on a conveyor belt, and my bunch of keys in a plastic basket. I am then directed to another reception desk, a very high one that, at 5' 0", I can hardly see over. I give my reference number and I get a numbered ticket, just like the cheese counter at Sainsbury's! "Go to the second floor. Lift over there." says the person allocating the numbers. I do!

On the second floor there are rows of seats, with a few people sitting there. There are two large screens, one with a list of numbers, denoting who is waiting. This is more like Argos than Sainsbury's cheese counter! A bot voice is calling out numbers one after the other and telling the holders which cubicle to go to. My number comes up and I go to the cubicle as directed.

As I said, I had certain expectations of what constitutes an, "interview." The cubicle I arrived at was more like a public phone booth, with glass panels on either side, and a woman sitting behind a counter, in an elevated position. So, there I am, again, 5' 0" having to raise my arms to place my forms on the counter. I wait for some kind of introductory greeting from this person who is supposed to be interviewing me, something like, "Hello," maybe. She puts on an impatient face and says, "Got your form?"

"Got your form?" Well, I would expect a more courteous standard of communication at the cheese counter at Sainsbury's! I pass the form over. "Your old passport is lost?" This woman is looking more and more irritated! "I've completed an LSO1. Would you like it?" Curl of the mouth and, "Has it been checked?" "Yes," I say, "It was checked at the psot office." The woman extends a hand and I place the form in it.

While I stand there thinking, "What on earth have I come to?" the woman taps away on her keyboard and compares what is on my form to what she is reading on her monitor. I ask if she is managing to access my old passport details. After a few seconds, she says, "Yes." I ask is everything ok then? She says, "Yes."

"Have you got proof of ID and address?" Yes, I have brought my birth certificate, my marriage certificate, my driver's licence, and a bank statement. I ask which the woman would like to see and she asks for the bank statement. I locate the envelope and hold it out.

The woman looks at me as though I am passing something contaminated and says. "Take it out of the enveolpe." Now, I may be old-fashioned, but I would have expected something like, "Would you mind taking it out of the envelope, please?", even if you never know who might be trying to spread dreadful diseases like anthrax, even a 5' 0" grandma of one! And if I were a terrorist, cunningly disguised as 5' 0" grandma of one, would such a command, issued in a seemingly disgusted tone of voice, put me off spreading anthrax?

Anyway, bank statement gets taken out of the envelope and passed over. I ask if my birth certificate is needed. "No." Then, after a few key strokes, I am handed a flimsy piece of paper and told to pay at one of the cubicles opposite. The person at this other cubicle takes my £97 in cash, and hands me, in return, the receipt copied at the top of this post. I am told that my passport will arrive on Thursday 12th June, sometime between 8am and 6pm. I look at the flimsy receipt and it occurs to me that a receipt from a, "Pound shop," would have more detail and look more professional. This is what I get to show that I have travelled here and been through an, "interview," with the, "Got your form?" woman? Having arrived at 11.25, for an 11.45 interview, my 3"x5" piece of paper bears the time, 11.32.

I leave the passport office, feeling somewhat peeved at the lack of courtesy shown, but glad that it's over, and my passport will arrive the day before my trip.

So, gentle reader, if you have read thus far, I thank you and I will create a little break and carry on in part 2!

They took my 97 quid and all I got was this! (Part 2) Updated!

With the news today that 3,000 passport workers were going on strike, I thought I'd resurrect the two posts about my experience with their service! Just so that folks can see what kind of service they are possibly going to be offered should they decided to go by the expensive, "Fast Track," or, "Premium," route!

(Here it is, again! What I got for my 97 quid!)

"Terrorist," granny in funny hat found with nail scissors in her toilet bag! OMG!!!

(That hat had a flower on it! Obviously suspect!)

So, we come to Wednesday June 11th. On that day, I decided that I'd better get my Euros and my travel insurance, since I had no idea when, between 8am and 6pm the following day, my passport would arrive. I return home with my holiday spending money and a travel insurance pack, at around 6pm. I check my messages on 1571 and I have a strange one, of which this is an accurate transcript! (Identifying details crossed out. Lots of, "ers," and, "ums," not included!)

"Hello Miss, eh, Mrs xxxxxx. This is London Identity and Passport Service. I have to give you a call regarding your forename. In your previous passport, the one that was lost, we managed to get the file and it has got your forename is xxxxxxx, your surname is (as?) xxxxxx. I am unable to add xxx....xx....xx, xxxx, Weed (sic!) because it is not in your previous passport and you have not stated in your application form on Section 8 that you wanted forenames to be added as a forename. You only wrote your old passport was lost at home somewhere. That was it. We have got to do according to the procedure for you..er..for us to implement the same name, xxxxxxx xxxxxx.

If you are not happy, well you have to send me* a letter, otherwise you will not receive your passport in time. We have got to go according to the old passport, which is xxxxxxx xxxxxx.

OK. Bye bye now."

*Me? Who?

Telephone number recorded on caller ID as, "Number withheld."

Now, I had big trouble trying to understand the message this person had been trying to convey, in heavily accented English, but after listening to it quite a few times, I finally decided that from the underlined section I could extrapolate that if I was happy and I didn't send, "me," a letter, that I would get my passport on time.

OK, so now we have arrived at Thursday June 12th, the day that my £97 is supposed to guarantee delivery, by courier, of my passport! Another day off work, which I lose another day's pay for, but I really don't want to disappoint my very kind son, who has booked the trip as a treat, knowing how much I love Paris!

I am up early on the morning of Thursday June 12th, ready to receive my passport at any time from 8am onwards. Well, time grinds onwards; I have lunch and still no passport, but I'm not getting worried yet. I spend the afternoon at my PC, not concerned until around 4.30pm, I decide that I will just check to reassure myself that the passport is coming.

I phone the national number given on the Passport and Identity Service web site. I am told that my passport was printed on Wednesday, but it has not gone to the courier. This worries me somewhat, but the person on the helpline tells me to wait until 6pm, since passports are sent to the courier at regular intervals throughout the day.

At 6pm, no passport! I call the national helpline and I am told that they have no way of knowing where my passport is, only that it has not gone to the courier, and I cannot contact the London office as their phone line closes at 5pm. All I can do is call the London office after 9am on the Friday morning. This causes some upset and I ask the person how I can travel to London for a 10.30 check-in at St Pancras if I cannot even talk to anyone before 9am? I am told that this is all that can be suggested. I take up the offer to make a complaint and ask for the response in writing.

Now, if I had not found the, "Fast track," service, guaranteeing a 7 day service for £97, I would have reluctantly told my son that I was very sorry, but I did not have a passport, couldn't go, and wished him and his partner a happy trip. I would have been disappointed, but life is full of disappointments. However, having found the, "Fast track," service, I thought I was going to be able to travel with my son and make sure his kindness was appreciated!

So, I have to make a decision. I have already spent £97, lost two days' wages and spent some considerable time on this. I decide that the only hope of getting my passport is to travel to London on the Thursday evening and be at the passport office by 9am, where hopefully my passport will be waiting, since at 6pm it had not gone to the courier.

This is what I did. My son met me, I stayed overnight, and my son accompanied me to the passport office, arriving there before 9am, my son carrying my heavy bag. Ever hopeful! Get the passport, straight on to St Pancras! Yes, I was wearing my funny hat, with the flower on! Travelling on Eurostar for the first time was a best hat occasion!

Through the glass doors, past the security guards to the glassed reception, tell the person I want to find out where my passport is, get sent back to the security guards, directed to metal detector. I have to go to the second floor. My son suggests that I go ahead and he follows me, carrying my bag. I go to the next reception desk and get my, "cheese counter," ticket. As I turn back, I realise that there is some kind of altercation over at the metal detector. I hear my son say, "It's my mother's bag. She's just over there." I don't hear what the security person, who has a grip on my bag, is saying, but I then hear my son say, "Why are you talking to me like that?" He sounds very offended.

So, over I go, to try to find out what is happening. My son has a hand on my bag and the security person is holding the bag tightly. I ask what is the problem and I am told that there is a pair of scissors in the bag, showing up on the metal detector. Right! I am told that I must remove the scissors! I can't recall there being a pair of scissors in my bag, but Mr Security is not going to let go of my bag until I remove those scissors! Even my funny hat does not convince this man that I am really a harmless granny, not about to stab someone with the scissors I claim not to know about!

With Mr Security still determined not to let go of my bag, I rummage through my underwear, having decided that the only thing likely to contain scissors is my toilet bag and sure enough, there's a small pair of nail scissors at the bottom of it. I remove the scissors and place them in the polythene bag being held open by another security guard. I then have to wait while a receipt is written for my nail scissors.I rearrange my underwear....the items in the bag!

So, finally up to the second floor, where I wait for my number to come up, and I walk to the cubicle indicated by the bot voice. Once again, it's the cubicle that looks like a public pay phone. I describe the problem to the man behind the elevated desk and he goes off to see if he can find out where my passport is. He comes back twice to give me an update, each time telling me that he has not yet found any information. I go to let my son know what is happening. He is sitting out in the rows of seats, under the two large screens with the lists of numbers. I go back to my cubicle and wait. The man finally returns, after about 10 minutes, and tells me that the passport is on its way to my home address...around two and a half hours of travel from where I am in Victoria, and therefore ruling out my getting to St Pancras for a 10.30am check-in!

At this point what I feel is that I have let my son down. This is what upsets me. He has gone to some considerable trouble to organise a treat for me and I can't go because I have no passport. I feel like an idiot for all the assumptions I have made about interviews and guarantees! We have a cup of tea, my son and I, he goes on to St Pancras to meet up with his partner, and I make my way home, lugging my heavy bag and my handbag in which is my travel insurance document and my Euros. I still have those Euros. They are symbolic, not of my missed holiday, but of my shabby treatment by the Passport and Identity Service and I can't even bear to look at them.

When I arrive home, I write a letter of complaint. Two weeks later, I receive an acknowledgement and the information that my complaint will be dealt with, within two weeks.

Yesterday, I received a letter. Here are a few details:

"Please be assured that we set high standards of Customer Service including the care of applications and supporting documents and the response to enquiries and complaints. All our staff are trained and encouraged to meet these standards and I am sorry that you did not share this experience. However, given the volume of passport applications dealt with on a daily basis, unfortunately some human error does occur."

Now, would that person call my interviewer's rudeness, "human error."?

"Our system shows that you submitted your application on 05th June, 2008, and your passport was printed on 11th June, and then delivered on the 13th which was, indeed, the day after the passport was due."

The gentleman signing the letter then goes on to say that he is very pleased to say that he is sending me, under separate cover, a refund of £25! After all that! A refund of 25 quid! TWENTY-FIVE QUID! That's more of an insult than no refund at all! Three days of lost wages; one for my travel to the so-called, "interview,"; one for sitting here like an idiot waiting for the delivery that didn't come; one for going to London trying to take possession of my passport. Add to that thoroughly discourteous service, for which the staff are said to be trained (!!!) and I am offered TWENTY-FIVE QUID! It's not even better than a slap in the face with a wet fish!

I suppose there is always my 3"x5" flimsy, would-shame-a-pound-shop receipt! My passport was waiting when I arrived home, about two hours after my train would have left St Pancras. It remains unopened. And I am offered twenty-five quid! Well, the man who dictated that letter may be pleased, but I am certainly not! I am not so upset about the missed holiday as I am about the losses incidental to a contracted service not being delivered. It was that guarantee which led to the application and the journeys to London. So, losses are incidental to that guarantee.

That was my, "Fast track," to Victoria and home! Zut alors! And the passport office is pleased to offer me a refund of £25!!!!

My son had a brilliant time on his first trip to Paris. I had been hoping to show him my favourite places, but hey! My twenty-five quid should be on its way soon. What more could I want?

This from a government office! Part of the Home office? I do get better service from the cheese counter at Sainsbury's! And I always end up with something more than a flimsy receipt to show for my hard-earned cash that I hand over. At least I get some good quality cheese to enjoy!

And Mr Sainsbury's staff always say, "..please," and, "..thank you," and, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Maybe Mr Sainsbury could do some training for the London Passport and Identity Service, starting with, "The customers are paying your wages. They are entitled to some courtesy for the money they pay for the service. Repeat after me. 'Can I have your form, please?'

If only the passport service was run like the cheese counter at Sainsbury's! If Mr Sainsbury's staff behaved like those at the passport office, I am sure that they would be on their way out the door in double-quick time! But then, Mr Sainsbury knows that Customer Service is a very important part of any business. The passport service calls me a, "customer," but I sure didn't end up feeling like one!

SOS Madeleine McCann: Gonçalo Amaral's book says it all!

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

23/07/08

SOS Madeleine McCann: Gonçalo Amaral accuses the McCanns of simulating an abduction.

“Les McCann ont simulé l’enlèvement”

C’est l’accusation faite par l’ancien coordinateur du Département d’Investigation criminelle (DIC) de Portimão de la Police Judiciaire (PJ), Gonçalo Amaral dans son livre “Maddie la Vérité du Mensonge.”

Écarté de l’enquête à la disparition de Madeleine, Gonçalo Amaral croit que les parents ont simulé l’enlèvement et dissimulé son corps après un accident à l’intérieur de l’appartement.

À suivre...

"The McCanns simulated the abduction."

This is the accusation made by the former coordinator of the PJ's Portimao Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC), Gonçalo Amaral, in his book, "Maddie The Truth of the Lie."

Dismissed from the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, Gonçalo Amaral believes that the parents simulated the abduction and concealed her body after an accident inside the apartment.

To be continued.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

22/07/08

Enfants Kidnappés: does the archiving of the file mean the end of the investigation?

http://kidnapping.be/affairemaddie211/index.html

The end of the investigation. 22/07/08

The PJ have assured, this Tuesday, that they will continue to follow all leads concerning Maddie's disappearance. On Monday, the PGR announced the archiving of the file, the said, "Maddie case," and the lifting of the arguido status of the only three suspects in this case. The Public Minister decided to, "archive the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, in the absence of proof that the suspected people had committed the least crime," stated the press release from the PGR. In consequence, the MP decided to, "suspend," the status of the parents and of the Luso-British man, Robert Murat. The MP also made clear that the case could be re-opened, "if new evidence appeared," and he confirmed that anyone who had a legitimate interest (that means: legally or judicially valid) would have access to the documents of the investigation as soon as the legal deadline expired. Then what?

The Maddie case will sink into oblivion until, by chance, a detail appears miraculously in broad daylight? Until someone at work trips over the little girl's body? Until someone confesses? Of course not! It would seem that this is not the way followed by members of the PJ. The Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC) of Portimao is going to be briefly strengthened in order to cope with the possibility of new leads or new sensitive details to be analysed within the context of the Maddie case. For some time already, there has been a sense of excitement on the part of the PJ. New leads would seem to be checked in total secrecy. It is not to be ruled out that the PJ are holding something. Whatever it is, the case remains open. Indeed, little Madeleine's disappearance is not resolved. To my knowledge, neither the little girl nor her body has been found. And as long as we do not find Madeleine or her body, the case will remain open!

Police failure?

The fact that 14 months after the opening of the investigation, the PJ don't know what happened to Madeleine is, for many, considered as a failure. And it is true, it is a failure. The fact that the police have not cornered the person or people who committed a crime or an offence, is a failure. But the PJ can be criticised for nothing, absolutely nothing. They have not skimped on resources and since the investigation was placed in the hands of the PJ, it has been pursued in a very professional manner. The PJ have kept on course in the face of an excessively high profile media case. Dealing with extremely heavy and totally shameful political pressure within the context of the disappearance of a child. Faced with a perfectly oiled PR and marketing machine. Faced with unprecedented financial power. Against all odds, the PJ have kept their professionalism, their thoroughness and impartiality.

Proof, if anything, of the objectivity of the final report. It is easy to criticise after the facts! To say: "but they should have done this or that." Criticism often made by people who did not even know that such and such a procedure existed! Thus we strongly condemn the press of any kind and their cheap hacks for not having the slightest notion on the subject of police procedure when we read articles of the type: "The PJ have committed a very serious error! They should have immediately set up a security barrier. To prevent the crime scene being contaminated...." Of course, a security barrier would have been the best thing to do. It is also universal procedure!!!! In use by all the police forces of the world! The lowliest candidate, having taken his exam to become a police inspector knows it! But to begin with, it did not look like a crime! It looked like a child had wandered off, nothing more. It looked like a four year-old child left alone in a foreign country and who would be lost in the surrounding countryside trying to join her parents. At the outset, no one in law enforcement thought it was an abduction. And that is normal! It is the procedure. The criteria for a kidnapping were not met and according to the PJ have still not been!

Justified suspicion?

For several months people have been talking about a basic principle of our democracy, which is the idea of, "presumption of innocence." One of the last bastions of democracy is the police, whatever some may say. Without the police, we can only imagine the rate of thefts, rapes, murders, crimes and offences in all categories etc. One of the operating principles of a police force rests with the idea of , "justified suspicion." What is justified suspicion? It is a set of worrying details, placed end to end, which in any event, allows the consideration whether someone is guilty or implicated in something. The details in the possession of the PJ and contained in the file allow the investigators to have, "justified suspicion," with regard to the parents. It is through this kind of element of suspicion that the police can follow a lead then bring together all the factors and finally end up with one or several pieces of evidence. The line between justified suspicion and solid evidence is sometimes thin, especially for an individual. Thus, a picture worth more than a thousand words, I suggest the following parallel to you.


In summer, a night patrol hear the sound of glass during their rounds, a few metres away, just round the corner. In under five seconds, the police officers are at the scene of the offence, a dead-end road from which no one can flee without passing the police patrol officers. On the scene, the team find two individuals wearing gloves, backs turned towards a stationary vehicle with a window which has just been smashed. On the ground, next to the two individuals, there is a car radio with wires hanging out and on the other side of the two individuals, the kit for the perfect petty thief. There is no other exit and no one could flee without being seen by the patrol officers who were nearby. The police officers get out of their vehicle, arrest the two individuals who are given the status of, "suspect." The ticket will be drawn up as, "theft from a vehicle."

To you, to me, to the intervening police officers, it is clear that the individuals are the guilty parties. The magistrate, however releases them in the absence of evidence. In fact, they plead their innocence and claim that they went to the scene after having heard the noise of glass and that the objects near them do not belong to them and as no one saw them commit the offence, not even the police officers, there is no proof. There is justified suspicion in the eyes of the police, but there is no proof in the eyes of the magistrate. There is doubt. The suspects are no longer that and are released.

There is a small explanatory illustration of what is justified suspicion. In the Maddie case, the first justified suspicion appeared, in the eyes of the investigators, from the first evening, during Madeleine's disappearance itself. That suspicion seemed obvious to the professionals when Kate, after having waited 10 minutes in the apartment, went back ALONE, leaving the twins asleep in the apartment where, according to her, a crime had just been committed, saying: "they've taken her, they've taken her," but without protecting her two other children from a predator who could have been still hiding on the scene or coming back to take the twins. A mother would have wakened her little ones and would have taken them with her to protect them from danger. And there was the first suspicion of the police. Others followed to swell the ranks.

The fact that the PGR decided to archive the case and to suspend the status of the three suspects does not make anyone innocent and based on the presumption of innocence, does not make anyone guilty either!

Kate McCann

"We welcome the news, even if there is no reason to rejoice," stated a very emotional Kate McCann in a brief statement read in the village of Rothley, in Central England, where the couple live. "We will never give up." : Madeleine's parents hope that from now on the archiving of the case, "in the absence of evidence," will allow them to relaunch the international campaign which has lost momentum.

Alipio Ribeiro

The former PJ director, Alipio Ribeiro, thinks that the Maddie case was archived, "too hastily." He stresses that the hunt for a child can last several years. "The hasty archiving can harm, perhaps permanently, an ultimate solution." "A case of the disappearance of a child cannot be closed, for lack of evidence, so soon after the tragedy," Alipio Ribeiro said in a note published by the Diario Economico. "The length of the investigation is not the length of the news item or its media reports, still less when it is about the disappearance of a child," says M. Ribeiro, who resigned in May last years, saying he was, "exhausted by the media coverage of his role." He ended his interview stating: "perhaps it would have been more appropriate to suspend the status of the suspects and, within a certain context, to continue the investigation."

Gonçalo Amaral.

Ex-inspector Gonçalo Amaral, who led the investigation, before being replaced in October for having criticised his British colleagues, considers that the archiving of the judicial procedure does not mean that the little girl's parents have been cleared. "This is not a declaration of innocence. The Public Minister has not said they are innocent." was his reaction on Tuesday. Gonçalo Amaral, now retired, who placed the McCann couple under investigation, will present the book he has written on the Maddie case on Thursday - "The Truth if the Lie." In this book, he promises, "facts," to support his conviction that, "Maddie died in the apartment," in Praia da Luz where she was sleeping on the night of her disappearance.

A Nose for Crime: those amazing dogs working with the police.

First of all, a reminder. Tonight on ITV1, 8pm, "Send in the dogs," starring Eddie and Keela, those wonderful doggies who have helped police forces all over the world.

Now, a wonderful treat! Thanks to gestalt at the 3Arguidos forum (Yes, it's still going!) this video, which shows the amazing skills of three dogs, referred to as, "The Doberman Gang." From just over 2 minutes into the video.

http://www.k9forensic.org/view-nose.htm

Watch and be properly impressed.

SOS Madeleine McCann: PJ Refuse to abandon the Maddie case in spite of the, "McCann case."

SOS Madeleine McCann 21/07/08

PJ refuse d’abandonner l’affaire Maddie malgré “l’affaire McCann

La Police judiciaire n’est pas prête d’abandonner l’enquête à la disparition de Madeleine McCann malgré l’annonce du cabinet du Procureur-Générale de la République (PGR) de que le procès serait archivé.

Le Département d’Investigation criminelle (DIC) de Portimão de la Police judiciaire (PJ), qui a enquêté la disparition de Madeleine, “va être renforcé brièvement”, a confirmée une source de la police en déclarations à l’Agencia Lusa.

The PJ refuse to abandon the Maddie case in spite of the, "McCann case."

The PJ are not ready to abandon the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in spite of the announcement from the office of the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) that the process would be archived.

The Portimao Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC) of the PJ which has investigated Madeleine's disappearance, "is going to be strengthened briefly," a police source confirmed in statements to the Lusa agency.

Selon la même source, le renforcement des moyens de la PJ à Portimão prétend faire face à l'éventualité de nouvelles pistes ou éléments susceptibles d'être analysés dans le contexte de l’affaire Maddie.

La Direction nationale de la PJ, dirigée par Almeida Rodrigues, a donné des instructions de forme à que toute piste en rapport avec l’affaire Madeleine “soit immédiatement investiguée”.

According to the same source, the strengthening of the resources of the Portimao PJ is intended to cope with the possibility of new leads or sensitive details to be analysed within the framework of the Maddie case.

The National Directorate of the PJ, led by Almeida Rodrigues, gave instructions about the way in which every lead in connection with the Madeleine case, "is immediately investigated."

La décision du Ministère public (MP) d’archiver l'enquête à la disparition de Madeleine McCann et de lever le statut d’arguidos à ses parents, Kate et Gerry McCann, n’a pas été accueillie avec surprise par les enquêteurs de la PJ ou de la police britannique : une partie des enquêteurs affirment “avoir été victimes d’un accord qui les dépasse et que ne tiens pas compte des intérêts de la victime, Maddie”.

“L’affaire Maddie est devenue l’affaire McCann, nous passons d’une enquête de police à une affaire de protections politiques et manipulations de la justice,” accuse un officier britannique en déclarations à SMM.

The decision of the Public Minister (MP) to archive the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance and to lift the arguidos status of the parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, was not greeted with suprise by the PJ investigators or the British police: one of the investigators affirmed, "having been the victims of an agreement which goes over their heads and which does not take account of the interests of the victim, Maddie."

"The Maddie case has become the McCann case, we have gone from a police investigation to a case of political protection and manipulation of the law," a British police officer accuses in statements to SMM.

Duarte Levy & Paulo Reis

21/07/08

SOS Madeleine McCann