Leonor Cipriano sentenced for lying about torture by Portuguese (PJ) police officers

Eight-year-old Joana Cipriano disappeared from the village of Figueira, near Portimão, Portugal, on 12 September 2004 and was later assumed to have been murdered, though her body has never been found. A lengthy investigation ended with the conviction of Joana's mother, Leonor Cipriano and  Leonor's brother, João Cipriano, for murder. Leonor subsequently accused a number of PJ (Polícia Judiciária) officers of having beaten a confession out of her even though a prior confession is not admissible in Portuguese courts.

Today, Leonor Cipriano, who is serving 16 years in prison for the murder of her daughter, was given an additional 7 months sentence for lying about the torture. 

Read the background to the Joana case here (McCann Files) and here (Gazeta Digital)

The Public Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal investigation and ordered a police line-up, with the CID officers named and accused by Leonor Cipriano of beating her;
The line-up took place with Leonor Cipriano behind a two-way mirror and she couldn’t recognize any of the aggressors;
The Public Prosecutor’s Office magistrate that was in charge of the criminal investigation decided to accuse the five CID officers, but didn’t mentioned, in the accusation sent to the Court, that Leonor Cipriano couldn’t identify any of the aggressors, in the police line-up; (Gazeta Digital)

Leonor Cipriano's original lawyer, Marcos Aragão Correia, has recently taken himself to Brazil and Leonor was appointed a public defence lawyer. Marcos Aragão Correia was allegedly paid my Metodo 3, a group of Spanish private investigators hired by Kate and Gerry McCann to search for their daughter Madeleine, to dig the dirt on Gonçalo Amaral, the PJ inspector who worked on both the Joana case and the Madeleine McCann case.

The trial of the PJ inspectors revealed many attempts by Leonor Cipriano's lawyer to discredit Gonçalo Amaral, both professionally and personally. The lawyer, Marcos Aragão Correia - who previously hit the headlines when he organised an underwater seach for Madeleine's body at the Arade Dam, in Portugal - has admitted that Metodo3 ordered him to do "an investigation" into the accusation of torture but he denies he is being paid just to frame Gonçalo Amaral. (McCann Files)

On 22 May 2009 Gonçalo Amaral received an 18-month custodial sentence, suspended for the same length of time, for misrepresentation of evidence. He was acquitted of the charge of failing to report a crime.

Following the delivery of the verdict, Leonor Cipriano's lawyer, Marcos Aragão Correia, said: "Target was hit, Gonçalo Amaral was convicted".

In December 2011, Scotland Yard detectives who are currently working on a review of the Maddie case, removed 30 boxes of files concerning the case, from the Metodo 3 offices in Barcelona. Those boxes of files may reveal what the detective agency, whose previous investigations centred around cases of money laundering, actually did in their alleged search for Madeleine McCann. The agency had no previous experience of searching for missing children. In February this year several detectives employed by Metodo 3 were arrested on charges of spying. 

The McCanns, as we know, have not been too lucky in their choice of detectives in the search for their daughter. Apart from Metodo 3, there was Kevin Halligen, recently extradited to the USA to face charges of fraud.

We now await the start of the delayed libel case being brought by Kate and Gerry McCann against Gonçalo Amaral for alleged defamation in his book "A Verdade da Mentira", in which he detailed the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance and the conclusion of the joint working teams of English and Portuguese police that Madeleine had probably died in apartment 5A at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz. Personally, I don't see how Kate and Gerry McCann can win this case when the highest court in Portugal, the Supreme Court, upheld the decision of the Appeals Court in October 2010 to overturn the ban on Amaral's book. At the time of the successful appeal by Amaral..

The court said the decision to block sales of the book had broken "a constitutional and universal right: that of opinion and freedom of expression."

"The contents of the book do not breach the basic rights of the plaintiffs," the court said, according to the Jornal de Noticías newspaper's website.
"The book is an exercise in freedom of speech," Amaral told Portugal's Lusa news agency. "Portuguese democracy has won, as banning the book was unconstitutional." (The Guardian)

So, let's see where we have arrived at: Leonor Cipriano, her lawyer who has scarpered to Brazil, a bunch of dodgy detectives and a libel trial based on a book which has already been judged by both the Appeals Court and Portugal's Supreme Court not to have breached the McCanns' basic rights. 

Good luck Dr Amaral! This truly is a tangled web! 

Marcos Aragão Correia, Léonor Cipriano's lawyer.

Marcos Aragão Correia, has been making very serious allegations in the courtroom at Faro, in the context of the trial of the five Portuguese police inspectors, involved in the alleged torture of Léonor Cipriano. He has alleged that Leandro Silva, husband of Léonor and Joana's step-father, knew a week beforehand that Goncalo Amaral was going to be dismissed from his job as coordinator of the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance. He has also alleged that British police carried out an investigation into Amaral's background and discovered some questionable details about Amaral's private life: for example that Dr Amaral beat his wife, Sofia, while under the influence of alcohol.

Marcos Aragão Correia, is the lawyer who set up the searches at the Arade Dam, employing divers to hunt for the body of Madeleine McCann, initially reported by him as being the result of a tip-off from some underworld criminals. More recently, Marcos Aragão Correia, has said that the searches at the dam were inspired by a "vision" he had about the Maddie case.

SOS Madeleine McCann "Marcos Aragão Correia has a "vision" of the Cipriano case."

In the present trial of the five PJ inspectors, it would appear that Marcos Aragão Correia is more concerned with discrediting Dr Amaral than of dealing with the matter at hand.

According to the Portuguese newspaper, Correio da Manha, Marcos Aragão Correia, has admitted receiving money from Metodo 3, the private detective agency hired by Kate and Gerry McCann, to help finance the searches at the Arade Dam. In today's copy, he denies that he is now being paid by anyone for representing Léonor in the present case being heard in Faro. The translation below is taken from the Joana Morais blog. (Link to Joana's blog on the right under, "Blogs of interest".)

"They've asked me to get in the Case"

The private detectives agency hired by the McCann couple asked Marcos Aragão Correia to enter in the 'Joana Case'. It is the lawyer, himself, who admits that Metodo3 ordered him to do 'an investigation' to the outlines regarding the [alleged] torture accusation of Joana's mother, by the PJ - the target, between the 5 inspectors, was evident: Gonçalo Amaral. Regardless, the [liar, pardon], the lawyer guarantees that now no one is paying him.

The private detective agency, contacted yesterday by CM, denied any connection whatsoever to the lawyer. The payment was also denied, even though Aragão Correia has already admitted that he received money to pay the 'expenses' when he made the searches to find Maddie's corpse in the dam of Bravura, in Lagos. The lawyer from Madeira [Portuguese Island], told he had a supernatural indication to the whereabouts of the body of the British child and that he had gone to the Algarve at his own expenses.

He entered in contact with the McCann Detectives, which made him a request: "They have asked me to try to get involved in the Case Joana to obtain statements from Leonor and her brother and to try to understand if there was torture, nothing else", he guarantees. This at a time where suspicions have been raised that by defending Leonor, he is being paid by someone who is interested that Gonçalo Amaral is convicted, precisely because he was the Coordinator of the investigation to the Case Maddie, which pointed towards the involvement of the parents in the crime. "I don't get paid in pounds or in euros. I am here for principles, and my objective is to set free Leonor."


Source: Correio da Manhã, by Rui Pando Gomes

Joana Morais.

(Updated) Leonor Cipriano: Fellow inmate says she was beaten up in prison.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

30/10/08

"We beat her up (Leonor) because nobody likes child killers."

"The bruises on Leanor Cipriano's face were not done by the inspectors (PJ)...she was well and truly pasted in prison after her arrival. In prison, nobody likes child killers," states a former fellow inmate of Joana's mother, stressing that after that assault, "Leonor had favourable treatment on the part of the director." The fellow inmate goes further and maintains that there were never any bruises on Joana's face or body even after the assault she was the object of at the Odemira Prison, contradicting the truth of the photos presented to the Faro court.

The revelations made to SMM, according to this former inmate, are not new, but have not been taken into account by the PJ: "When I found out what they had in mind (Leonor and the director) I sent a letter to Faro, but I didn't sign it, because I still had time to serve and I didn't want any problems."

If, since the assaults which she alleged she was the victim of, Leonor has always stated that Gonçalo Amaral. the former coordinator, had never touched her, after the arrival of the lawyer Marcos Aragão, she states the complete opposite, changing her version several times in the course of the trial.

Update: 31/10/08

A case with several dangerous connections.

In the course of the recent court sessions, a former head of prison officers has meanwhile confirmed as abnormal, the behaviour of the director and her strange relationship with Léonor: according to him, the head of the establishment allegedly even suggested that he should change the contents of a report written about Léonor Cipriano's return from the PJ at Faro with a few red marks on her face.

The head prison officer, Antonio Maia, who has been heard as a witness, indicated that he was on duty on October 15th and that Léonor Cipriano, on her return to prison, confirmed to him that she had indeed fallen down the stairs after her interrogation in the PJ building in Faro, because, quoting Joana's mother, she had experienced dizziness after several hours without food. Those are the statements, recorded in Antonio Maia's report, that the director, Ana Maria Calado, allegedly suggested that he change.

To be continued...

Joana Cipriano's mother Leonor sentenced again.

After a request by Marcos Aragao Correia, considered groundless, in the trial brought by the Public Prosecutor against the PJ inspectors, the Second Criminal Court of Faro sentenced Joana's mother to pay a fine of 270 €.

As a reminder, Leonor Cipriano accused the PJ inspectors of having assaulted her during one of the interrogations preceding her sentencing to 16 years in prison for the murder of her daughter Joana. (Read here)

Since he became Leonor's lawyer, Marcos Aragao Correia has continually put forward new requests and new witnesses. Recently the lawyer, himself the subject of several criminal cases, had announced that he wanted to be placed under protection, indicating that one of the inspectors had compared him to a dog that should be given a good smacking.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

19/10/08

SOS Madeleine McCann: Gonçalo Amaral's trial October 24th

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

18/10/08

The Faro Court today appointed the jurors who will try the five PJ inspectors accused of various crimes, notably for having tortured Joana Cipriano's mother, Leonor, sentenced to 16 years in prison for her daughter's murder.

A firefighter, a driver, a receptionist and an administrator are the four citizens chosen as jurors for the trial which will begin on October 24th.

Amongst the PJ inspectors is Gonçalo Amaral, former coordinator of Portimao's Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC), accused of not having disclosed the alleged assaults on Leonor Cipriano. The other accused are Leonel Lopes, Pereira Cristóvão and Marques Bonne, accused of having tortured Leonor Cipriano, while inspector Nunes Cardoso faces the charge of falsification of a document.

As a replacement for João Grade, Marcos Aragão Correia is now Leonor Cipriano's lawyer. Recently, the lawyer made himself known as a protagonist in the Madeleine McCann case, taking legal action againsts the Portuguese postal services, accusing them of not having correctly delivered a recorded letter addressed to the McCanns in which, according to him, he described leads which could help the investigation. He then launched a search of the Arade Dam, several kilometres from where Madeleine McCann disappeared, finding only rubbish and a few animal bones.

Assistant to the Public Prosecutor in this trial, Marcos Aragão Correia, himself the object of several criminal charges, has requested protective measures for his client and himself, saying he has been threatened: the lawyer gave as proof of the threats of which he is allegedly the victim, an article in the popular press where one of the inspectors allegedly compared him to a dog that needed to be smacked.

See also: Marcos Aragão Correia has a "vision" of the Cipriano case.

SOS Madeleine McCann: Marcos Aragão Correia has a "vision" of the Cipriano case.

Marcos Aragão Correia, who made himself known as a protagonist in the Madeleine McCann case, is to be the new lawyer for Léonor Cipriano in the proceedings against the PJ inspectors for having tortured Joana Cipriano's mother.

(Editor's note: there are times when Blogger just does its own thing. So, apologies if the font of the paragraphs following this note seem to change font size and font style and the paragraphs are not clearly defined. I have tried editing many times and what looks like Verdana, text size Normal, with clear paragraphs, looks entirely different when posted, though I save each time I edit. So, rather than delete this article I am inserting this note.)

The Portuguese Public Minister accuses three PJ inspectors of having tortured Joana Cipriano's mother during her interrogation. One is accused of falsifying documents and the fifth, Gonçalo Amaral is accused of non-cooperation and failure to disclose.

Marcos Aragão, who replaces João Grade, is the lawyer who had taken legal action against the Portuguese postal services, accusing them of not having delivered to the McCanns in person, a recorded letter, in which, according to him, he indicated leads which might have helped the investigation. Marcos Aragão, in contact with the Metodo 3 agency, then began searches in the Arade Dam, a few kilometres from the place where Madeleine McCann dispappeared, finding only rubbish and a few animal bones.

Initially, the lawyer claimed to hold information about the location of Madeleine's body, but finally admitted that the searches at the Arade Dam - the lead he was seeking to pass on to the McCanns - were carried out based on a vision, which he allegedly had about the disappearance of the little British girl.

The lawyer was already known in this case, as the author of a report from the Association Against Exclusion by Development, released in April this year, which supported the existence of a crime of torture perpetrated by the PJ. This same report, contradicting statements from Leonor Cipriano's - who has continually changed her version since the start of the trial - accuses Gonçalo Amaral of being present at the time of the alleged assaults. The former coordinator of the PJ's DIC at Portimao, has meanwhile decided to pursue legal action against the lawyer.

A trial that highlights the conflict between the Public Minister and the PJ.

Gonçalo Amaral, former coordinator of the PJ's Portimao Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC), is accused by thr Public Minister of non-cooperation and of not disclosing the alleged assaults on Leonor Cipriano by the PJ inspectors.

After Joana Cipriano's disappearance on September 12th 2004, her mother Leonor, and her uncle João, were sentenced to 16 years in prison for murder and concealment of a corpse. (Read the details here.)

According to the inspectors' witness statement, after her interrogation, Joana's mother had managed to evade the attention of the inspectors and, stating that she wanted to commit suicide, threw herself down the stairs. Injured, she was then driven by the inspectors to see a doctor and then taken to prison.

A letter from another prisoner, sent to the authorities about the accusations made against the inspectors, reinforces that version: according to that witness, Joana's mother had admitted to fellow prisoners that she had fallen down the stairs, but that, after a meeting with the prison's director, she had changed her version, stating that she had been tortured and that she expected to receive compensation.

Confronted by Gonçalo Amaral, Leonor Cipriano stated that the former coordinator of the PJ's DIC at Portimao had never assaulted her. In spite of several confrontations with the other inspectors, Joana's mother never managed to identify them as being her attackers, which has not stopped the prosecutor from going ahead with the trial, admitting that he too could not guarantee that it was the right inspectors or if the assault had actually taken place.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

9/10/08