Tel: +44 (0) 20 7324 2522
Address:
Index on Censorship
Free Word Centre
60 Farringdon Road
London EC1R 3GA
UK
My email to Index on Censorship:
Hello.
I would urge you to look into the case of Gerry and Kate McCann, whose daughter "disappeared" in Portugal on May 3, 2007.
The Chief detective in the case was Dr. Goncalo Amaral, a 20+ year veteran of the Portuguese police (PJ). Amaral was removed from the case after 6 months. It is believed that pressure from the UK was behind that development.
Portugal has very strict laws regarding Judicial Secrecy and serving police officers cannot discuss the cases in public. Dr. Amaral decided to quit the PJ in order to allow himself to legally speak freely about the investigation.
He had been the victim of an unbelievable smear campaign by the British media and felt that it was essential that the public was aware of the facts of the case, facts which led to Dr. Amaral and colleagues concluding that Madeleine McCann was not abducted, that she died in the McCann apartment and that her parents concealed her body.
Having followed the case since May 2007, I am able to explain much of the information made public in the case. The police files are available online and have been laboriously translated from Portuguese to English. The files include the witness statement of Martin Grime, police dog handler, and information regarding the alerts made by "Eddie" (a world-renowned cadaver dog) and Keela (a blood dog). Eddie alerted to the McCann apartment, items belonging to them and to the rental car they hired a month after Madeleine went missing. The files include the witness statement of an Irishman (Martin Smith) who witnessed a man carrying a sleeping (or unresponsive) child that night, and who later was 80% certain the man was Gerry McCann.
There is much more I could explain, however that is not the point of this email, and there are sites all over the internet to research the case.
The point of this email is censorship.
To sum it up:
Madeleine "disappeared" in May 2007
Dr. Goncalo Amaral was removed from the case in October 2007.
Dr. Amaral wrote "Maddie: a Verdade da Mentira" ("Maddie: the Truth of the Lie") and it was published in July 2008
The McCanns filed a lawsuit against publication of the book (by then a best seller in Portugal) in May 2009
"The Truth of the Lie" was temporarily "banned" by a Portuguese court in September 2009, copies were removed from the shelves and Amaral was not allowed to speak about the book or its contents.
In February 2010, the ruling to ban the book was upheld by a Portuguese District Court
Dr. Amaral appealed that decision.
In October 2010, the Lisbon Appeals Court overruled the lower court's decision and the ban on "The Truth of the Lie" was lifted.
There has been a "news blackout" of sorts regarding the lifting of the ban - I've compiled a list of news coverage regarding this issue on my blog. If you are interested, it is here: http://newsoutlines.blogspot.com/p/media-coverage-truth-of-lie-by-goncalo.html
The books are in the custody of the McCann's Portuguese lawyer, Isabel Duarte.
Duarte has refused to comply and has stated that the she will not return the books - Quote: “I am the faithful retainer of the book and whilst I am not forced to deliver it, I will not deliver it in any way. Until there is a final, definitive solution.”"
Isabel Duarte announced today that the McCanns lodged an appeal with the Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice on Nov. 5th against the Lisbon Appeals Court ruling overturning the ban on "The Truth of the Lie".
I expect that the British and Irish media will now publish articles about the ban having been overturned, however, it is essential to understand that BBC, the Press Association and others made NO mention of the lifting of the ban.
If you analyse the list on my blog, I think it speaks for itself.
I'm gathering examples of the responses received by concerned citizens to their complaint letters regarding the news blackout and will be publishing them on my blog as well. (They've been posted on other blogs and on forums discussing the case.)
As your website states that your organisation is "Britain’s leading organisation promoting freedom of expression", I am hoping you will take an interest in this case.
Thank you.
"Winnower"
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