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Maddie cop
thanks all those who have supported him
this far
In a statement that points to the agony
endured through five horrendously
difficult years, former PJ detective
Gonçalo Amaral has written a public
statement to thank all those who have
stood beside him, and stood up for him,
with donations of support that have made
his court battle possible.
As we reported last week, the
long-running civil case for defamation
against Amaral taken out by Kate and
Gerry McCann looks at last like coming
to a close (see:
portugalresident.com/as-dust-settles
).
On Monday, Amaral posted a personal
message on the “Projecto Justiça Gonçalo
Amaral” blogspot, reiterating the fact
that the judge’s decisions on “the
material facts” would appear to run in
his favour.
“The period for legal allegations ensue”
before a verdict, he explains, which he
“envisions” will translate into his
“longed-for acquittal and the consequent
lifting of the attachments that have
caused me such extensive financial
difficulties over the past five years”.
What none of the mainstream news stories
have ever really tackled is the extent
to which Amaral has been financially
hamstrung since the McCanns lodged their
civil action in 2009.
Talking to me in 2011, he said: “I’ve
been left with no chances; no way of
paying my debts; liens on my property.
I’ve had to move away from my family in
order to protect them.”
In this week’s message - only the fourth
to be posted during the five-year battle
- he reiterates the fact that the case
has sought to “asphyxiate” him
financially and push him to a “civil
death”, a position where he would be
“unable to react judicially”.
“After five years, the parents of the
child that mysteriously disappeared on
the 3rd of May of 2007 in the Algarve
were not able to fully achieve what they
intended. I am alive, I'm able to
financially sustain the civil suit,
although not much more than that…,” he
says.
Set against a side-bar that gives the
banking details for the Lisbon bank that
holds his Legal Defence Account, Amaral
tells his supporters “it has been only
due to your help that I have been able
to financially sustain the ongoing
lawsuit, which nonetheless cannot be
said about my extremely strangled
personal life”.
Stressing that he is battling on both
financial and emotional levels, the
former university graduate in juridical
and criminal sciences concludes:
“Concerning my emotional crisis, I ask
you to understand that this whole
struggle is not, for me, about the
fundamental discovery of the truth -
because, no matter how optimistic I may
be, I can never forget that the demand
for damages amounting to €1.200.000 that
was filed by the couple, if absurdly it
is granted, will completely destroy me
on all levels.”
It is a statement that shows that no
matter what the decision of Judge Emília
Melo e Castro, there will be no winners
in this agonising chapter of the case
that has taken up so many column inches
over the years - and which has cost two
police forces well over €12 million and
rising.
For Gonçalo Amaral’s full message in
English, see:
http://pjga.blogspot.pt/ |
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