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Confirmed by journalist Len Port today,
Goncalo Amaral is set to appeal against
the vast sum of damages awarded against
him in the civil action for defamation
taken out by the parents of Madeleine
McCann.
As we revealed yesterday, Amaral told
us: “We are in the face of a mere battle
in a war that is far from over”.
But today, reaction from Portugal and
elsewhere to the ruling by judge Emília
Melo e Castro has started pouring in,
both via mainstream and social media.
Sol’s columnist Joao Pinto Costa write:
“Former PJ inspector Goncalo Amaral was
condemned to pay €500,000 to the parents
of Madeleine McCann because of the
publication of his book ‘Maddie: The
Truth of the Lie’. Finally, we found one
person who will not make any money from
the disappearance of the English girl.”
Lawyer Joao Grade is quoted on Facebook
as saying: “I read his book and I was
convinced, as I had been before anyway,
that it was not an abduction. The book
does not defame the McCanns, Goncalo
Amaral does not express his opinion, but
an investigative thesis.”
And in the US, criminal profiler Pat
Brown, who has followed the case to the
extent that she travelled over to
Portugal three years ago to lend her
support to Amaral, wrote that the
“devastating ruling” had “nothing to do
with Madeleine. It has been and is about
the state. This is the way the world
works. When there are no compromising
issues like incompetence, misconduct or
corruption, killers are caught, cases
are properly closed and the community is
safer. When it goes awry for whatever
reason, the state and who controls it
will make sure they don’t go under
because of one unfortunate situation.”
Certainly the way the news was leaked to
the press - not from any official court
announcement, but via the McCanns’
lawyer in Portugal Isabel Duarte - opens
the door for an official complaint by
Amaral’s legal team, writes the laidbare
blog under the title “the plot
thickens…”
Meantime, Amaral has posted these words
on the
Projecto Justica Goncalo Amaral
website: “I find the court’s decision is
unfair and questions my right and every
Portuguese citizen’s right to freedom of
expression and of opinion.
“For that reason, I do not resign
myself to the decision and I will appeal
it until the very last judicial
instance.
“If I am able to continue on counting on
your support, I will continue to fight
within the judicial system for the Truth
and achievement of Justice.”
Pledges of support are already coming
through, with even our own site
eliciting comments like the one posted
by a reader by the name of Scargill who
states: “The amount of compensation
seems vastly at odds with non-British
European definition awards and you have
to wonder if there are greater forces at
play here.”
“I feel very sorry for Amaral,” the
reader continues. “He understandably
believes that the McCanns have a case to
answer and he has been very brave in
publishing his opinions.” |
