Media Links ONLY - No Discussion

[colomom]

this morning in 24Horas:

http://www.24horasnewspaper.com/total.php?numero=2706&link=08

Copied from: http://helpmadeleine.proboards79.com/index.cgi?board=latest&action=display&thread=1182386581&page=44 post #645

Special team created to try to solve a very complicated "puzzle"

PJ believes it has all the case's pieces

It has not been decided yet when the PJ is returning to England to question the McCanns and their friends again. But everything points to it happening this week already. This diligence will be fundamental to finally understand what happened on the evening of May 3.

In the possession of all the evidence but yet unable to interpret them. This is the conviction of the persons that are reponsible for the investigation into the Madeleine McCann case. "All we need is to decipher the enigma and to put the puzzle together, which is not being easy", a senior judicial member of staff who is connected to the investigations told 24Horas.

According to the same source, the team that is led by Paulo Rebelo continues to analyse the process in order to find "a conducing thread that allows to solve the case", or in other words, to finally understand what happened on May 3 in Praia da Luz, near Lagos, Algarve.

"We are trying to rationalize over everything that is included in the process. A multidisciplinary team has been created, which involves technicians from the PJ's Scientific Police lab, inspectors from homicides and from missing persons, and also from the National Institute for Legal Medicine", the same source says.

The case "is indeed a veritable puzzle and with several pieces that don't fit. Starting with the witnesses' depositions, and ending with the results from the tests that have been performed, nothing fits. We know the solution of the case lies in our hands, but we are unable to establish the links between the clues that were collected during the investigation", a source that is connected to the process said.

Everything ready to go to England

The hopes of the team of 20 investigators that are working on the Maddie case are now focused on the new questionings of the McCann couple and of the other witnesses that were heard over the days that followed the disappearance of the British child.

"Only the execution of the rogatory letters may definitely clear the case. But that fact is not guaranteed. If everyone refuses to make a statement, which is perfectly possible, we will be empty-handed. It's a case that could drag on for years and it may never be proved what really happened to that child", added another judicial source that has been participating in the diligences that are being made to find Madeleine.

The letters with the questions that are to be asked are finished, and a PJ team should be heading for Leicester as soon as this week in order to execute them, although this fact is not confirmed officially.

"As the tests that were made in England were insufficient, it was decided to advance immediately with the rogatory letters. In order to overcome the bureaucracy that is demanded for this diligence, we have used the diplomatic channels and everything is set to advance", the judicial source concluded.

 

[april4sky]

Kate and Gerry McCann: Beyond the smears

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle3040094.ece

For six months David James Smith has examined the evidence surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann for The Sunday Times Magazine.

It seems important to make it clear right away that I do not suspect the McCanns harmed Madeleine, nor do I think they disposed of their daughter’s body if, as the PJ believe, she died in an accident that night in their apartment.

This is not a mere prejudice on my part. I have spent a long time considering and examining every unpleasant scenario.
The McCanns are not my friends and I have no axe to grind with Portugal, its police or its media.
To me, the McCanns are genuine people in the grip of despair – the accusations against them are ludicrous and a cruel distraction from the search for their daughter.
---------------
Excellent article. IMO

 

[Pinkhammer]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/28/nmccann128.xml

Kate and Gerry McCann may not find out why they became arguidos, or see the evidence against them, until next July.

 

[april4sky]

SISTERS TELL POLICE: WE SAW MURAT NEAR THE APARTMENT

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/29716/Sisters-tell-police-We-saw-Murat-near-the-apartment

TWO fresh witnesses have told police investigating Madeleine McCann’s disappearance they saw suspect Robert Murat in Praia da Luz on the night she vanished.

The sisters say Murat was outside the Ocean Club complex half an hour after the girl was reported missing from her family’s holiday flat there on the night of May 3.

They bring to eight the total number of witnesses to contradict Murat’s claim that he had spent all that evening at home with his mother.

 

[colomom]

http://tinyurl.com/ypsuvv


PORTUGAL RESIDENT: 09.12.07

Updated: 06 December 2007

New adverts in Spain to find Madeleine


Forensic sketch of Madeleines probable abductor.

THE FIND Madeleine Fund has started a 112,290 euro advertising campaign in Southern Spain which will also target North Africa and Portugal.

And, according to Gerry McCann, the fund is also contributing with 70,183 euros per month to support the private investigation being carried out by a Barcelona-based firm.

Writing in his blog on the Find Madeleine Campaign website, Gerry McCann believes the campaign will also show they do not subscribe to “unhelpful comments” recently made about the media’s role in helping to find missing children, referring to criticism about the media coverage of the Madeleine case.

Madeleine McCann’s father quotes the president of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to underline the importance of the media sympathy about their cause.

According to Ernie Allen, “there is no more likely source of information than some average, caring, alert citizen, somewhere in the world, informed and motivated by a photo or intense media coverage of a missing child”.

It is now 218 days since Madeleine went missing from her bedroom in a holiday apartment of Praia da Luz.

The Portuguese police continue to keep a very low profile and are maintaining the secrecy of the investigation.

<continues>

 

[colomom]

this morning (12/19/07) in Correio da Manha:

http://www.correiodamanha.pt/noticia.asp?id=270457&idCanal=10

Controversy: English say that Jose Manuel Anes attacked the PJ
Family lobby is powerful

After contacting Jose Manuel Anes, the 'Daily Mail' yesterday only published two of the four questions that were asked. "One of them was even distorted. I made a generic appreciation on criminalistics, without criticising the Madeleine case specifically." What the criminalist said, "but was not published", he told CM, is that "the McCanns have a founding, moral guilt because they abandoned their children - and that there is a powerful, influential family lobby that has conditioned the information".

The newspaper also cites from the interview that the former specialist from the Scientific Police Lab, aged 63, published in the book 'The Guilt of the McCanns', which "was now distorted in the British press".

The criminalist confirmed to CM that he said that "rivers of money can be spent in analyses, but if the crime scene is not adequately preserved, nothing can be done - it's a complete waste of time". He only guarantees that he always kept "the due distances from the specific case". He only made "a generic appreciation about criminal investigation".

Yesterday, the "distorted" statements from Jose Manuel Anes could be read in the 'Daily Mail'. The specialist said that no suspect will face trial in this case due to the mistakes that were made by the police in the hours that followed the crime. The defense lawyers would demolish the scientific evidence that would be presented. Clarence Mitchell, the couple's spokesman, immediately reacted publicly: "It's alarming to listen to Mr Anes."

(...)

 

[colomom]

http://tinyurl.com/ypsuvv

Portugal Resident 12.20.07

Quiet period before new enquiries

By: CEC&#205;LIA PIRES

cecilia@portugalresident.com

PORTUGUESE POLICE contacted their UK counterparts this week to arrange new interviews with Gerry and Kate McCann and the friends who were with them at Praia da Luz in May.

The questioning is expected to take place after Christmas, saving the parents of missing Madeleine from more anguish over the festive holiday.

While the whereabouts of Madeleine and the circumstances of her disappearance remain a mystery, a Metodo 3 private investigator was quoted this week by a British tabloid as saying that Madeleine &#8220;will be home by Christmas&#8221; and that they know who has taken her from the holiday apartment of Praia da Luz.

<continues>

 

[colomom]

in Diario de Noticias this morning (12/27/07):

http://dn.sapo.pt/2007/12/27/sociedade/processo_maddie_deve_arrastarse_seis.html

Maddie process may drag on for six months

In January, the inquiry into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann completes eight months, which is the maximal time limit that the Penal Process Code considers. Therefore, this month is seen by several jurists and also by members of the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) as a "decisive" date. But the Public Ministery (PM) may extend the investigation deadline.

The problem lies in knowing for how many months the process will go on, taking into account the fact that that institution does not know what type of crime was comitted.

According to what was explained to DN by the penal process expert (...) Carlos Casimiro, "the outcome of this process depends exclusively on the definition of the type of crime that was comitted against Madeleine McCann". The magistrate refers that "the PJ keeps two hypotheses - abduction and homicide. The extension of the deadlines for the investigation depends on the type of crime that is committed". Within this context, he explained, "even for each type of crime there are different time limits for the extension of the investigation, because there are also different kinds of abductions and of homicides". "The crime of abduction may be a simple sequestration that lasts a few hours, and within the crime of homicide there is a vast typology. For each one there are specific timings".

According to Carlos Caismiro, if the investigators do conclude that Maddie was indeed murdered, but everything is kept open as to the author of the crime, the PM may ask for an extension of the inquiry in January, for another three months. When that period ends, if the same unknown factor remains, the PM may request a second extension, which can also reach a maximum of three months. After that, there are only two hypotheses: archiving for lack of evidence, or the more "predictable" option, from the point of view of this magistrate, which is "the delay of the investigation in a desperate attempt to search for evidence so the accusation can be formally made".

Carlos Casimiro remembered that "we are confronted with a highly mediatised case on an international scale, and the image of our country is at stake". On the other hand, he stressed, "the Policia Judiciaria has been perfectly ridiculed since the beginning of this process, namely by the British media, therefore its reputation and high level of professionalism has to be preserved".

After the broadcast, on the 23rd, of the video that was made by the McCanns on their first Christmas since their daughter went missing, which contained images of the enthusiastic girl opening her presents last year, the Spanish private detectives' agency Metodo 3, which works for the couple in the investigation into her disappearance, has received 347 calls containing alleged informations about her whereabouts.

These new informations are now being analysed by the detectives at Metodo 3, one by one. According to what DN could establish, that agency "discards no piece of information, no matter where it comes from".

At the moment, the investigators are especially focused on Portugal and Morocco, in the city of Marrakesh.

 

[colomom]

in Diario de Noticias yesterday (12/26/07):

http://dn.sapo.pt/2007/12/26/sociedade/judiciaria_investiga_telefonemas_mor.html

Judiciaria investigates phonecalls from inhabitants in Praia da Luz

Almost eight months after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) is checking every phonecall, both from the fixed and the mobile networks, that were made after 9.30 p.m. on May 3 in that village, DN has established.

The purpose is to find out who talked to whom on the night that the British child was taken from the apartment at The Ocean Club resort. One of Luz's inhabitants, who resides close to the Church and approximately 100 meters from the building where the Russian Sergey Malinka, a witness in the process, lives, was approached on the 18th of this month, at approximately 1 p.m., by two PJ investigators, when she was home having lunch with her son.

According to what the family told DN, the inspectors, who carried two A4 sheets with a series of phone records, confronted the woman, who asked to remain unquoted, with the indication of a phonecall that she had made on the evening of May 3, at 9.50 p.m. The inspectors wanted to know who was the receiver of that call. The woman's son ended up clarifying that the mobile phone number was that of his father. And the woman confirmed to the policemen that she had called her husband at that time. The Judiciaria also wanted to know who was the child that was in that apartment at the time; the woman responded she was the child's "nanny".

This diligence from the Judiciaria took no longer than five minutes, and the investigators informed the family that they were checking with many other local inhabitants who they had called on the night that Maddie disappeared. A situation that was found strange by the people, who question "how it is possible to remember, almost eight months later, who they phoned on the evening of May 3?".

The task looks difficult for the investigation anyway, as Luz has a fluctuating population of approximately one thousand inhabitants, mostly foreigners, who are joined by migrants, mainly from the North of the country. At the time when Maddie disappeared, approximately 70&#37; of the villas in that tourist location were not occupied. On the other hand, many of the people who own a house in Praia da Luz and could have been there on the night of May 3 and made phonecalls, may even be travelling at this time of the year, as local inhabitants pointed out for DN.

It is remembered that the police are still waiting for the mobile phone records of the calls that were made by the McCann couple and the group of friends that were spending their holidays with them. A complex situation, given the fact that those mobile phones belong to English operators.

 

[colomom]

in Correio da Manha this morning (12/28/07):

http://www.correiodamanha.pt/noticia.asp?id=271449&idCanal=10

Defamation: Christian Ridout can sue them
Metodo 3 persecutes a false suspect

After having failed all their promises to the McCann couple, the Spanish detectives from Metodo 3 now persecute the former DJ from a bar in Praia da Luz, Christian Ridout, who has not been seen in the Algarve for two years and who has "nothing to do" with the disappearance of Madeleine, a source that is connected to the process has guaranteed to CM. "The experts risk a process for defamation and calumnious denunciation.

The persecution by the detectives, according to the 'Daily Mail', is confirmed by the couple's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell. The suspect's photograph "is all over the internationalmedia", our sources remind us, and the impact "in terms of image is terrible for someone who has been discarded" by the case's legitimate investigators.

The British citizen, aged 30, worked at the Plough and Harrow bar, but left to Spain by car in 2005 - the 'Daily Mail' announces that the VW Golf was abandoned at the airport in Seville and Christian has apparently returned to England. But the detectives' suspicions are justified with supposed messages "with obscene language" that the British reportedly sent to a 12-year-old girl over several months.

"He offered himself to pick up my daughter at school", her mother recalls for the newspaper and "suggested the most revolting sexual acts to her". The 42-year-old woman says she only discovered what was happening after two months and menaced him, "therefore he fled". He was never seen in the Algarve again but his family remains in Praia da Luz.

The day after Maddie disappeared, on May 3, a man asked for Christian at the bar - two years later, "maybe he's in the area", it could be read in the 'Daily Mail' yesterday. CM knows that "this possibility was considered, among others, but was soon dismissed".

Interrogated

The McCann couple and their friends will probably be interrogated between January and February, as the rogatory letters will be sent from the PGR to the British authorities at the beginning of the year.

Harassed child in 2005

Christian Ridout, aged 30, has apparently sent obscene messages to a 12-year-old girl, in 2005. He left Praia da Luz two years ago, but the McCanns' detectives persecute him.

 

[colomom]

in Jornal de Noticias today (12/30/07):

http://jn.sapo.pt/2007/12/30/tema_de_domingo/rapto_acidente_mortal_crime_perfeito.html

Abduction, deadly accident or perfect crime?

Probably no incident that occurred in Portugal has ever had such a repercussion, and over such a long time, all over the world as the still mysterious disappearance of Madeleine McCann, on the 3rd of May, in Praia da Luz, Algarve. Still today, after almost eigth months, there is rarely a day when there are no news published about the case. But almost everything remains unclear. What happened that night? Is the little girl dead, or still sequestered? What is the real involvement of the parents? And, if she is dead, where is the body?

The 'invasion' of the British media - which dragged the media from almost every country along - made Portugal enter the news even in the most remote corner of the world. The monumental media campaign that was built by the parents, with the objective support of the British government, at the highest level, led to the indication of hundreds of clues and sightings of the child, then 3 years old, which would end up revealing themselves as false.

But the drama that surrounds the destiny of the little girl with the mark in her eye increased notoriously when, in late July, early August, the investigation started to point at the parents, doctors Kate and Gerry McCann, as possible suspects of a probably accidental death. And why? Because two English dogs, of 'springer spaniel' breed, that are unique in the world, detected residues of blood and cadaver odour in the apartment where the McCann family spent their holidays. The gathering of these clues lead to believe that Maddie died on the location where it was said she had been abducted from - and her cadaver concealed.

Meanwhile, the wave of solidarity with the couple had reached gigantic proportions. A Fund of millions of euros was started to help in the search for Madeleine, and even the Pope had received the McCann family during a visit. But, with the parents as suspects, were we facing an enormous fraud?

The key to the mystery seemed to lie in the samples of biological fluids and hair that were collected also from a car that had been rented by the couple, and sent to Birmingham, in England, where a laboratory is located that is considered to be one of the most sophisticated in the world. But the results were inconclusive, and raised the possibility that the residues may belong to relatives, after all.

Still, as soon as the first test results were known, Kate and Gerry were interrogated and made arguidos by the Policia Judiciaria. The silence when faced with questions that concerned the residues that had been collected by the dogs and the investigators raised more suspicions over a couple that had taken care of an extremely professional relationship with the media since the very beginning - controlled by press aides that were connected to the British government.

This fact, in association with governmental contacts and connections between Gerry and the English prime minister, Gordon Brown, has also elevated a police case to the political level. Even the Portuguese prime minister, Jose Socrates, admitted that the case was included in a conversation with Brown.

What was - and is - at stake is the image of the Portuguese Justice itself, and the effectiveness of the criminal investigation. Even the investigators, and their personallives, were under the media scrutiny. This contributed to the removal of Goncalo Amaral, one of the investigation's coordinators, and his substitution by Paulo Rebelo, one of the PJ's top officers. Now, the investigation is verifying again all the possible explanations for whatever happened that night. But, until today, we are apparently looking at a perfect crime.

 

[colomom]

in 24Horas this morning:

http://24horasnewspaper.com/total.php?numero=2729&link=09

Judicial deadlines generate confusion in the Maddie case

Murat could stop being an arguido as soon as tomorrow

If the judge that is reponsible for the Maddie case does not declare the process' special complexity, it may become public as soon as tomorrow

The Maddie case could become public as soon as tomorrow. On the 3rd of January, eight months have been completed since the English girl disappeared, and according to the new Penal Process and Penal Code, that is the deadline to accuse the first arguido in the case - Robert Murat. But a confusion has set in concerning the deadlines, which could lead to everything staying the same. Because nobody knows exactly whether the time frame is counted from the day that Maddie disappeared, or from the day that Murat was made an arguido, on the 14th of May. If that is the case, it will be a few days until the process becomes public.

But there is another factor that might change all this: the Public Ministery could, during today, declare a special complexity to the process, thus extending the investigation's deadline.

"Until now, we have not been notified about any request from the Public Ministery to have the process declared exceptionally complex. Apart from that, there would have to be strong bases for this to happen, namely the possibility of criminal association or of terrorism, which is not the case", Francisco Pagarete, Murat's lawyer, stated to 24Horas.

But this lawyer does not know himself where he stands at the moment: "I don't know when the process was opened. Whether on the day that the child disappeared, whether when Robert was made an arguido. The truth is that there are no fundaments to keep my client in a situation where he is a suspect. If this situation is continued, that would be cruelty", he said.

Lawyers silent

From the Portuguese lawyers that defend the McCanns, Rogerio Alves and Carlos Pinto de Abreu, there is only silence: "We don't speak about the case", they say.

Nobody knows exactly when the process of the Maddie case can be consulted. The decision lies with judge Pedro Frias, who is in charge of the process. "It will be very difficult to declare the special complexity if there is no drugs trafficking, no indication of criminal association or terrorist threat. Plus there are no arguidos under arrest. How is complexity justified?", Francisco Pagarete questions.

What the law says

According to several jurists, the new legislation has not changed the deadlines, but its consequences. The magistrate from the Public Ministery that holds the process - Magalhaes e Meneses - has to communicate the violation of the deadline to his hierarchical superior - in this case, the District Attorney of Evora, Luis Bilro Verao. This communication is also made to the lawyer, the victim and the arguido, and those acquire the right to know the totality of the process.

Exceptions

There are only two exceptions to prevent the arguidos from consulting the process: the investigators can ask the judge directly for an extension of the deadline, thus gaining the Public Ministery an 'oxygen balloon'.

 

[colomom]

Well, that catches us up to present since 12/3/07. All the articles posted since 12/3/07 were copied from: http://helpmadeleine.proboards79.com/index.cgi?board=latest&action=display&thread=1197741018

It has been very quiet in the portuguese press since early December.

 

[colomom]

in Jornal de Noticias this morning:

http://jn.sapo.pt/2008/01/03/policia_e_tribunais/caso_maddie_segredo_mais_tres_meses.html

Copied from: http://helpmadeleine.proboards79.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1199311441&page=3 post #32

"Maddie case" under secrecy for another three months

The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, on the 3rd of May 2007, is most likely to remain subject to the judicial secrecy for another three months, under a declaration of exceptional complexity of the process that should be requested by the Public Ministery. The request to the instruction judge should be made before the 14th of this month, when eight months have passed into the inquiry, the maximum applicable deadline for this process.

The Penal Process Code stipulates that, after the maximum deadline for the duration of the inquiry has been surpassed, without a dispatch of accusation or archiving, the process should leave the judicial secrecy. But the same law foresees that an inquiry could be declared to be of special complexity due to the "highly organised character of the crime". The fact that there has been no body found yet, and that there is no conclusive evidence concerning the alleged involvement of Robert Murat or of the McCann couple, could place the case under this concept.

The date of January 14 as the limit for the Public Ministery to present its request for such a declaration to the judge, is due to the fact that it was on the 14th of May that Robert Murat was constituted as an arguido. Francisco Pagarete, Murat's lawyer, has a request for the lifting of the judicial secrecy still pending.

 

[colomom]

in 24Horas this morning:

http://24horasnewspaper.com/total.php?numero=2730&link=13

Copied from: http://helpmadeleine.proboards79.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1199311441&page=3 post #39

Madeleine McCann case could leave judicial secrecy

Judge decides destiny of the process today

Eight months of investigations, three arguidos and little evidence against whomever. The Madeleine McCann case could experience a development today, if judge Pedro Frias decides to make the case a public process today. The deadline for the inquiry has been reached, according to the new Penal and Penal Process Codes. Until this edition was closed, there had been no communication to the arguidos' defense lawyers about a decision to declare the process of exceptional complaxity, which would allow for the deadline to be extended another three months (that can be further renewed).

The process lies in the hands of the judge of criminal instruction at the Portimao Court.

Yesterday, criticism was made - anonymously - about the Spanish private detective agency Metodo 3. "Whenever a decisive date approaches, that firm draws a new 'rabbit out of the hat'. They even placed an emailinto circulation, this week, in which they stated that the PJ in Faro had ignored a denunciation that had allegedly been made by a lady that resides in Vilamoura", said a judicial senior officer who has closely accompanied the investigations.

 

[colomom]

http://www.tvi.iol.pt/informacao/noticia.php?id=899102

Copied from: http://helpmadeleine.proboards79.co...eral&action=display&thread=1199311441&page=18 post #259

PJ may apprehend Kate McCann's diary

It is one of the requests that are included in the rogatory letters that will be sent to England

The Policia Judiciaria (PJ) may soon apprehend the diary of Kate McCann, the mother of the English girl that disappeared in the Algarve eight months ago. The request for the apprehension of Kate's diary is included in the rogatory letters that will be sent to England and which, according to 'Correio da Manha', should be delivered today at the Courthouse in Portimao.

In the rogatory letters, the PJ requests the interrogation of the McCanns' friends, as well as the apprehension of some objects, which include Kate's diary and the toy where the English dogs detected cadaver traces.

According to 'Correio da Manha', Kate's diary was found in the house that the McCanns rented, and inside, among other things, Maddie's mother complains about her children being hysterical and that her husband does not help her the way he should. In the diary, according to the same newspaper, Kate revealed some tiredness over the daily caretaking of her children.

 

[Pinkhammer]

3.1.08

Police has new evidence against Madeleine's parents



Investigation about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann from a quiet resort at Praia da Luz had “important developments” in the last weeks, after a Portuguese police team met with Leicestershire police and representatives from Forensic Science Service, the British laboratory where samples collected at the crime scene are being analysed.

On a preliminary report about the case, recently sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office, Polícia Judiciária (PJ) states that the parents remain the main suspects. Among other pieces of new evidence, there is a specific phone call and several messages, send from Ocean Resort, that are classified by investigators as “highly incriminating” Gerry and Kate McCann.

The same evidence also gave indications about how the body of Madeleine McCann could have been taken from the apartment and disposed of. Today, it was confirmed by a source from the Public Prosecutor's Office that a request to extend the time limit for the case will be filed, with the Criminal Court, before January 14, eight months after the first formal suspect was named.

...continued here:

http://gazetadigitalmadeleinecase.blogspot.com/

 

[colomom]

in 24Horas this morning (1/5/07):

http://24horasnewspaper.com/total.php?numero=2732&link=09

Copied from: http://helpmadeleine.proboards79.com/index.cgi?board=latest&action=display&thread=1197741018&page=4 post #50

Police believe they have enough evidence for accusation
PJ wants to reconfirm statements

The evidence that has so far been collected by the authorities within the Maddie case are considered to be enough to sustain an accusation against the present arguidos in the process (Murat and the McCann couple), a senior police officer has revealed to 24Horas.

"A few diligences still have to be carried out, namely in England, but most of the evidential elements have already been collected. We just want to reconfirm some of the statements that were made by the McCanns and their friends in the days that followed the child's disappearance. But there are things that do not depend solely on us, and the Republic's attorney in Portimao can still demand the execution of other actions within the process", the same source explained.

The need to interrogate the friends of Kate and Gerry McCann again, appeared after the PJ in Faro was contacted by the lawyers of two of the friends that dined with the McCanns in the Tapas Bar, on May 3, informing that those witnesses intended to change their statements.

"At this moment - unless something extraordinary comes up - it is not necessary to collect any more evidence except the testimonies. The process is simple and in progress, according to the law. The inquiry deadlines are going to be respected, but, naturally, the process depends on the speed at which the rogatory letter will be executed", the senior police officer told 24Horas. All the interrogations that are requested by the Portuguese authorities will be carried out by the British policemen. The PJ's inspectors can only attend.

 

[colomom]

in Diario de Noticias this morning (1/5/07):

http://dn.sapo.pt/2008/01/05/sociedade/cartas_rogatorias_ainda_estao_aprova.html

Copied from: http://helpmadeleine.proboards79.com/index.cgi?board=latest&action=display&thread=1197741018&page=4 post #51

Rogatory letters still to be approved

The documents that will be sent to Maddie's parents are being translated and reviewed

The rogatory letters that are destined to again question the parents of Madeleine McCann and the friends that spent their holidays with them at the Ocean Club, when the little girl disappeared, have already been delivered by the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) to the Public Ministery (PM) and are being "the object of translation, revision and approval", a source within the Republic's General Attorney told DN yesterday.

Contrary to what was reported by a Portuguese newspaper yesterday, according to which the rogatory letters have already been delivered to the court, the process will still take some time, namely taking into account the number of questions that are included in the documents (approximately fourty) and the need for a reliable and rigorous translation. Therefore, it is still not known when the inspectors from the Judiciaria, accompanied by the prosecutor from the Public Ministery in Portimao, Jos&#233; Magalh&#227;es e Menezes, who is in charge of the inquiry's process, will leave to England for the new questionings and other possible diligences that could include, according to the same newspaper, the apprehension of Kate McCann's diary. On this matter, the source at the Republic's General Attorney's office that was contacted by DN said "there is nothing to say". The letters started to be prepared two months ago.

 

[colomom]

in Jornal de Noticias this morning (1/5/07):

http://jn.sapo.pt/2008/01/05/policia_e_tribunais/pj_quer_saber_mais_sobre_o_diario_ka.html

Copied from: http://helpmadeleine.proboards79.com/index.cgi?board=latest&action=display&thread=1197741018&page=4 post #52

PJ wants to know more about Kate's diary

Madeleine McCann's mother is most likely to be reinterviewed concerning the contents of her diary, which was discovered by the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) in September last year during a search at the McCann couple's house. This is one of the diligences that are foreseen within the rogatory letters that are already prepared and will shortly be sent to England, where more diligences within the investigation will be carried out.

The PJ's investigation, now coordinated by Paulo Rebelo as the new head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the PJ in Portimao, intends to determine whether that document, which was copied, can effectively be designated as the "diary" of Kate McCann. Furthermore, they want Madeleine's mother to explain how far some of the writings that were found in it actually reach. The confidences, which have not been confirmed as to their exact contents, reportedly concern the mood towards Maddie and the rest of the family. The PJ reportedly also wants to seize the original diary.

The rest of the diligences that are contained within the rogatory letters will focus on new questionings of the friends of Kate and Gerry McCann. The contradictions that were detected in the statements that were made after the child disappeared, on the 3rd of May last year, at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, Lagos, are the main issue. Namely concerning the routines of surveillance over the children, which, if they occurred as the witnesses stated, would have rendered the sequestration of the child nearly impossible.

According to the normal deadlines for the inquiry, the process would stop being covered by the judicial secrecy on the 14th of this month. But the Public Ministery is most likely to classify the process as being "especially complex", which, if accepted by the judge, extends the judicial secrecy for at least another three months.