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Portugal's Supreme
Court has ruled that comments on the
case published by Goncalo Amaral were
"within acceptable limits". |
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Madeleine McCann, from
Leicestershire, went missing
in 2007 |
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The
lead officer in the Madeleine McCann
case will not have to pay compensation
to her parents over a book he wrote
about her disappearance, Portugal's top
court has ruled.
The
country's supreme court has upheld the
acquittal of former detective Goncalo
Amaral, who was sued for libel by Kate
and Gerry McCann after he accused them
of faking her abduction and concealing
her body.
Mr Amaral
was originally ordered to pay 606,000
euros to the couple after the two-year
trial came to an end in 2015.
However
the conviction was overturned in April
last year after he won an appeal against
the ruling.
Lawyers for the McCanns then took the
case to Portugal's top court, which has
now ruled that the allegations are
protected under laws covering freedom of
expression |
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Goncalo Amaral leaving a
court in Lisbon in 2014 |
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Judges
have reportedly decided Mr Amaral's
claims are not abusive and remain
"within acceptable limits in an open and
democratic society".
In
defence, Mr Amaral argued that claims in
his book, The Truth of the Lie,
originated from the police investigation
into the little girl's disappearance. |
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Kate and Gerry McCann
talking to journalists in
2014 |
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While the
decision in Portugal is final, it could
be appealed before the European Court of
Human Rights.
Madeleine,
from Leicestershire, was three years old
when she went missing while on a family
holiday in Portugal in May 2007.
Her
disappearance triggered one of the most
high profile missing persons
investigations in British history. |
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