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Gerry and Kate McCann were constituted arguidos on September
7, 2007 and then returned home |
Maddie: WikiLeaks reveals the conversation between the British and
North-American ambassadors
Goncalo
Amaral,
the former coordinator of the investigation to the
disappearance of
Madeleine McCann in
Praia da Luz,
on the night of May 3, 2007, is not surprised with the Wikileaks
disclosure of the cable sent by the US ambassador in Portugal, Alfred
Hoffman Jr, to Washington.
In that letter, of September 28, 2007, the diplomat reported on a
conversation with his British counterpart, Alexander W. Ellis, in which
the latter said that the "British police had obtained evidence against
the McCanns". The former coordinator of the Judiciary Police admits that
he felt "political pressures during the investigation" and is now asking
for the creation of a commission of inquiry in the Portuguese Republic
Assembly, alleging that political interference in a criminal
investigation undermines the Rule of Law.
"There was political influence as to the direction of the investigation
and in the process archival," said Goncalo Amaral to CM. The former
coordinator of the investigation - removed from it at its final stage -
further adds: "Before the passivity, and almost complicity of the
government
[Portuguese] still in
office, it is imperative, within the Portuguese Republic Assembly, to
create a commission of inquiry, in order to investigate the influences
and political manoeuvring which has led to the discontinuation of the
investigation and to the process archival. At stake is the Rule of Law."
As to the disclosure that it would have been the British police to have
gathered evidence against the couple,
Gerry and
Kate McCann
(the missing
girl's parents),
Amaral is peremptory: "They didn't gather any evidence". The former
coordinator acknowledges the good cooperation of the English police
officers sent to the Algarve at the time, but adds that "whomever was in
England had other ideas."
And he gives examples: "The English police even held back the statement
made by
Katherine Gaspar about a potential
paedophile [David Payne] in the group on holiday in Luz". And he recalls
that David ended up being questioned in England without the PJ's
inspectors present. It should also be remembered that the credit
information requested by the Police never received a reply. And Amaral
also says that "there are strong suspicions" that the FSS lab results in
England were manipulated. And that they were well known at the date of
the cable. The laboratory conclusions devalued the evidence that was
found in the apartment and in the couple's car by the British
dogs,
specialized in sniffing
blood
and cadaver odour.
SCENT OF DEATH
They were first offered in May and then provided with some reservation
back in August 2007, the dogs 'Eddie' and 'Keela' signalled the cadaver
odour and found blood traces in the apartment from where Maddie
disappeared and inside the trunk of the car rented by the McCanns.
ABDUCTION WITHOUT EVIDENCE
Goncalo Amaral says that there is no evidence of abduction in the
process other than the statements of Jane Tanner, who was on holiday
with the McCanns in Praia da Luz. "She recognized several people as the
perpetrators of the abduction and she lied blatantly," said the former
PJ coordinator.
"I FELT PRESSURED": Goncalo
Amaral, former coordinator of the Portuguese Judiciary Police
Correio da Manha – Did you
feel political pressures during the investigation?
Goncalo Amaral
– I did, yes. I was confronted, by way of the national PJ directory,
with a question that coincided with the thought of the Attorney
General's Office, at the time, that not all processes have a conclusion.
- How do you explain the
political interference?
– The initiative was started by the McCanns, through their family
contacts, in order to defend themselves.
– Does the cable disclosure
surprise you?
– No. I only hope that the Portuguese Justice hears both ambassadors.
They are potential witnesses.
COUPLE CREATE A NEW
INVESTIGATION TEAM
A new team of investigators hired by the McCanns and constructed of
Portuguese and English elements, headed by a former British policeman is
already in the Algarve according to TVI. The couple allege to be
interested in reviewing the constant sightings that appear in the
process. But Goncalo Amaral dismisses them: "These parents aren't
searching for their daughter. They only care about their own image." And
he argues that, otherwise they would ask for the reopening of the
process, as he himself defends. "Just a letter. They would only and
solely have to pay for the price of the stamp," quips the former
coordinator of the investigation. |
