In Correio da Manhã (
http://www.correiodamanha.pt/Notici...ontentid=C75A7B28-528A-4CBE-B486-7C9C7CB5848B) today:
Copied from:
http://helpmadeleine.proboards79.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=653&page=24 Post #359
One year without Maddie
Policeman went from hunter to prey
It would be just another burglary at a residence, like so many others, if it weren't for the fact that the victim is a neighbour of Gonçalo Amaral, the former coordinator from the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) who investigated the case of Madeleine McCann, the English girl that disappeared in Praia da Luz, Algarve, one year ago next Saturday.
As far as CM was able to establish, only documents were stolen, despite the fact that the house, located in the outskirts of Faro, in an inland area, was filled with valuables. An aspect that was strange for the house's owner, but failed to surprise the PJ's inspector, who suspects that his own house was the target and that the criminals had a specific mission to accomplish.
"Since the moment when the PJ started investigating the possibility that the child died inside the apartment where she had been spending holidays with her parents, Gonçalo Amaral went from hunter to prey", a source close to the PJ investigator interpreted. At the same time, the same source revealed to CM that during the last few months the policeman, who is now under pre-retirement status, "has been persecuted and controlled" by someone who wants to "intimidate" him, and that he has received threats.
According to previous reports from CM, Amaral is writing a book containing explosive data about what happened on the evening of May 3, at the Ocean Club. The book is to be tiled 'The Truth of the Lie' and it promises to divulge data that had been kept secret until now. According to revelations made to CM by the PJ inspector's lawyer, Paulo Santos, it's intended to be "a report, from the inside out, of all the evidence that was investigated by him", while guaranteeing that "he does not intend to blame or to accuse anyone", just "to publicise facts".
The defendant - who was detached to intervene in any issues that relate to Gonçalo Amaral's image - understands that "someone realised that he may be a dangerous piece and may upset many people", he said.
For Paulo Santos, "a strategy was built to discredit his competence and his personality". He only laments that the PJ "abandoned and betrayed him when he needed them most".
At a time when he is leaving, the hierarchical superior official of the PJ in Faro, Guilhermino Encarnação, states that Gonçalo Amaral "will be missed", and portrays him as "the model of a good policeman, with a spirit of sacrifice and totally devoted to the cause that he is delivered".
THE DAYS OF PRESSURE ON GONÇALO AMARAL
- As the head of the Maddie case investigation, Gonçalo Amaral was always subjected to pressure from foreign journalists, who approached him at the Portimão PJ's door.
- As a coordinator of the Criminal Investigation Department of the PJ in Portimão, the investigator led several operations against drug trafficking.
- Because he led the Joana case, Amaral was accused of failing to provide help in the process of the alleged aggressions on Leonor Cipriano. He was heard by the instruction judge at the court in Faro.
- After he was removed from the coordination of the Portimão PJ, Gonçalo Amaral was substituted by Paulo Rebelo. The national director, Alipio Ribeiro, gathered the intervenients in a café in Faro.
"HE IS GOING TO MAKE UNCOMFORTABLE REVELATIONS" (Paulo Santos, Gonçalo Amaral's lawyer)
Correio da Manhã - Does the PJ's ex-coordinator Gonçalo Amaral see himself as a hunter of the McCann couple?
Paulo Santos - No. He does not hunt anyone and he is not going to start hunting now. All he did was to investigate, to collect indicia, and to read them.
- The book that he is writing, will it incriminate anyone?
- No. He does not move against anyone. All he wants is to contribute to the discovery of the truth of the facts that relate to the process, and all the others that he has contacted. He will make some revelations that may become inconvenient for many people.
- Isn't he afraid of suffering the consequences?
- Gonçalo Amaral is not a person who is afraid. From this moment on, he will use his freedom of expression to defend himself against the campaigns that have targeted him, given the fact that he could not do so, until now.
MCCANNS CRITICISE AMARAL AND WRITE A BOOK, TOO
Kate and Gerry McCann revealed yesterday that they are also writing a book about the family's life since the night that Madeleine disappeared, in the Algarve.
According to British newspaper 'Telegraph', the couple is "determined to dispute many of the false stories that have been circulating since their daughter disappeared" in Praia da Luz.
Although they consider it to be "scandalous" and "sad" that Gonçalo Amaral intends to, according to them, "gain money" from the disappearance of their daughter, Gerry and Kate expect to receive a considerable profit from their story, to add to the Fund.
CM tried to contact Clarence Mitchell, the couple's spokesman, several times yesterday, but he never picked up the phone. But he told the English press that the publishing of the book "is a legitimate manner to gain money for the fund", while allowing for Gerry and Kate to "publicise their version of the story".
ALIPIO SET GONÇALO ASIDE ON HIS BIRTHDAY
On October 2, it was Gonçalo Amaral's 48th birthday, and the gift that he received from the police force that he served for 17 years, was to be dismissed from the Maddie case investigation, which he had been leading since May.
The PJ's national director, Alipio Ribeiro, was infuriated over the statements that he read in a daily Portuguese newspaper, where the PJ's coordinator in Portimão accused the British police of investigating only what was convenient to the McCann couple.
Amaral was in Huelva and he tried to allege that the statements had been truncated. He alleged that he was referring to the retired policemen that were performing private investigations. His explanations were worthless. The PJ's national director said that confidence had been broken, because he understood that the pact of silence had been broken.
In February, Alipio publicly stated that there was "precipitation" over making the McCanns into arguidos. He was criticised but kept his position.
NOTES
Book translated into English
The PJ inspector's book, titled 'Truth of the Lie', will be translated into English, following a suggestion from the editing firm that is publishing it.
Tourists have not fled Luz
One year after the disappearance, Praia da Luz registers almost the same number of tourists as last year, in May.
Amaral has a substitute already
Gonçalo Amaral's place will be occupied by coordinator Eduardo Nunes, who arrived at the PJ in Faro two months ago.
Reconstitution in Luz
The PJ has proposed the McCann couple and their friends to make a reconstitution of the events of May 3. Gerry and Kate replied that they would only accept it if they would stop being arguidos.
Bank accounts investigated
The bank accounts belonging to the McCann couple and their seven friends that spent holidays with them at the Ocean Club, will be analysed by the PJ, to understand where they spent their money in the Algarve.
Documentary on ITV
The British channel ITV is marking the first year after Maddie's disappearance with a documentary, on Wednesday. The couple makes an appearance while campaigning for a European child alert system.