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A JUDGE in
Portugal yesterday banned the
sale of a controversial book which accused
Madeleine McCann's parents of
being behind their daughter's disappearance.
Gerry and
Kate McCann, both 41, won an
injunction ordering Portuguese bookshops to strip the shelves of 'The
Truth About the Lie', by the disgraced former head of the police
investigation
Goncalo Amaral.
In his book Mr Amaral claims Madeleine died in the family's
rented holiday apartment in the
Algarve in May 2007. He accuses
her parents of disposing of their daughter's body.
The judge's decision follows a secret court hearing last week in
the capital
Lisbon. Mr Amaral and his
publisher, Guerra & Paz, will be fined €1,000 a day each if they breach
the order.
The 49-year-old former chief inspector was also banned from
making public statements supporting his discredited theory.
Mr Amaral was not warned about the behind-closed doors court
hearing last week. If he appeals the judge's decision a full hearing
will take place.
The McCanns' lawyers estimate Mr Amaral has personally made more
than €1m profit from the worldwide sales of his book and an accompanying
TV documentary, which was also banned yesterday.
The injunction bans Mr Amaral, who was thrown off the Madeleine
case in October 2007 after five months in charge, from offering his book
to publishers outside Portugal.
'The Truth About the Lie' has sold 330,000 copies in seven
languages, including 180,000 in Portugal where it sold out 12 print runs
and made the publishers around €2m. It has sold another 150,000 copies
in
Brazil,
France,
Germany,
Italy,
Spain and
Holland.
The 50-minute documentary was watched by a fifth of the
Portuguese population when it was first screened in April this year. It
sold another 75,000 copies on DVD.
The court order does not prevent foreign publishers who have
already bought the rights to the book from selling it.
Celebrity
However, it does ban Mr Amaral and his publisher from touting it
to new publishers abroad.
Publisher Guerra & Paz said they had not yet been informed of the
judge's decision.
Publishing director
Mario Sena Lopes said: "We have
not been told anything about this decision.
"We were not even informed there was a hearing last week.
"I cannot comment on a ruling I know nothing about."
Mr Amaral, a father of three, has become a celebrity in Portugal
on the back of his book.
The McCanns are suing Mr Amaral for at least €1m for defamation
and for breaching their human rights.
A writ filed in Portugal in June says the couple have been
"totally destroyed from a moral, social, ethical, emotional and family
point of view" as a result of Mr Amaral's lies.
In it the couple accuse Mr Amaral of being a self-obsessed,
manipulative money-grabber with no morals. They believe they have a
clear-cut case for defamation as they have already been cleared of any
wrongdoing by Portugal's attorney general
Jose Pinto Monteiro.
The defamation case is expected to go to trail in Lisbon next
summer.
- Tom Worden |
