Maddy, nieuwe verhoren van de Tapas 7.

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McCanns lose public vote of no confidence
Posted by jailhouselawyer at 20:18 on 19 May 2008

The McCannsfiles website is reporting that the McCanns are suing the former director and a journalist of the extinct weekly Portuguese newspaper "Tal&Qual" (T&Q) for defamation. "Kate and Gerry McCann believe that the publication of the headline "PJ believes that the parents killed Maddie" put public opinion, world-wide, against them".

However, the Tal&Qual article appeared on 24 August 2007 and 15 days later the PJ made both the McCanns suspects in the disappearance of Madeleine. The report in T&Q was in quotes and referred to what the PJ believed as opposed to what the journalist and director believed. In my view, providing that the story is reliably sourced, then there is no defamation of the McCanns character.

Furthermore, Associated Press reported this story on 18 May 2007 and at the same time this poll (staat er niet meer op, wel nog hier) was conducted under the heading related content. As you can see from the result below, 3 months before the T&Q story was published, public opinion worldwide was already against the McCanns. Therefore, the T&Q story cannot be responsible for turning public opinion against the McCanns.

Live Vote

Is it acceptable that Madeleine McCann and her siblings were left alone? * 7437 responses

No, no matter how safe her parents assumed the community to be, three children that young should not be left unattended.

92%

Yes, her parents say they checked in on the kids every half hour. Critics may be coming from a different cultural perspective on child rearing.

8%

I would say that it was the McCanns own conduct of child neglect which turned public opinion worldwide against them. Perhaps, it is time that the McCanns had a reality check? Freedom of speech is too strong to disappear just like Madeleine. We will not be silenced just because we do not agree with the version of events as described by the McCanns. The available evidence does not support the McCanns, and neither does the majority of public opinion.

Clarence Mitchell is paid to sell the McCanns story. We choose not to buy it.

UPDATE: It may well be that T&Q is not the real target. It could be a McCann tactic to discover who in the PJ leaked the information to T&Q. http://prisonersvoice.blo(...)blic-vote-of-no.html

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McCanns to be accused of negligence if they are not present for the reconstruction, 23 May 2008 Bron
Ultimatum for the McCanns 24horas

Public prosecutor fed up with the lack of cooperation from the British couple
^{Text Carlos Tomás 23/05/2008 (Thanks to 'Li' from the3arguidos forum for translation)}
Kate, Gerry and the seven friends have not yet accepted a return to Portugal on the 29th. The Public Prosecutor is going to accuse the couple of gross negligence

The Public Prosecutor made an ultimatum to the McCanns: Attend the reconstruction of Maddie's disappearance that will take place on the 29th of May or the Public Prosecutor will advance with the accusation of gross negligence against the couple.

The PJ also informed the McCanns that "either all of them return (on the 29th) or none will come" as it was admitted by the spokesman of the couple, Clarence Mitchell to 24horas. All, should be read as Kate, Gerry and the seven friends that dined with them in the Tapas, at Praia da Luz on the 3rd of May 2007.

Clarence Mitchell admitted to 24horas that the reconstruction will not take place on the 29th due to the doubts of the friends.

Kate and Gerry as 24horas has already reported should be accused of gross negligence with the maximum penalty ten years jail.

"There has not been any kind of cooperation with the authorities from their part. What is strange for parents that are constantly and publicly claiming that they want to find their missing daughter. It is an unusual behaviour. Any father or mother that had lost a child would have all interest in cooperating with the authorities. The truth is from the McCann's part that help does not exist. What they say is that they are willing to come to Portugal but only under certain conditions", explained to 24horas a source from Portimão's Court.

According to the same source, after the suggestion of the Public Prosecutor to make the reconstruction on the 15th and 16th of May, a new date was suggested: the 29th of May. However less than a week from that day the Portuguese authorities are still empty handed. Neither the parents nor their friends gave any signal of life.

Enough evidence

"We have the conviction that the parents participated in the concealment of the body's girl and that she is dead. Although the existing evidences are not enough to accuse them of homicide. (dat is nog maar de vraag, de PJ heeft vermoedelijk meer bewijs dan wij denken...) But we have more than enough evidence to accuse them of negligence. They know that and they don't return to Portugal probably because they are afraid of being arrested", said another judicial responsible connected to the investigation.

"It is not understandable the reason why they are all dragging their feet - including the McCanns - to participate in a reconstruction that will probably last 6 hours".

Facts

If the Public Prosecutor goes ahead with the accusation of gross negligence against the McCanns, Kate and Gerry will claim that they were "responsible parents" on the night of the 3rd of May, explained Clarence Mitchell. That is the advice given by the Portuguese and British lawyers.

The reconstruction of the facts that occurred on the night of 3rd of May 2007 will not be done on the 29th due to questions raised by the seven friends of the McCanns to the PJ. "We are in a phase that the friends, one by one, are presenting their arguments to the PJ. They do not understand the objective of the reconstruction one year after the disappearance of Maddie". The friends also "emphasise that more people should participate in the reconstruction such as the employees of the Ocean Club and other witnesses". But Kate and Gerry due to the fact that they are arguidos, will come to Portugal if the PJ demands.

Caught by surprise with the fact that the Public Prosecutor might advance with the accusation of gross negligence against the McCanns, Clarence questions: "Why that accusation now, one year after the facts? It seems strange".

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Comment: Mark Warner, at that time, offered a 'baby listening service', where nannies toured the complex listening for crying children and then alerted their parents. However, this service was not available in Praia da Luz as the company said the resort was too spread out, with many apartments being outside the bounds of the actual Mark Warner complex.

The McCanns will almost certainly argue that if Mark Warner were offering this service at that time, albeit at other resorts, then it must have been considered legal and 'responsible' to leave the children alone, as long as they were being checked on a regular basis.

Their argument will be that all they were doing was the Mark Warner 'baby listening service' by themselves and that, even if Mark Warner had offered the service in Praia da Luz, there would have been nothing to stop an abductor undertaking the same act between checks made by nannies, as opposed to them.

Last month, Mark Warner withdrew this service from all its complexes (Link to Sky News report).

The immediate questions that flow from this are: Would the Mark Warner 'baby listening service' have complied with Portuguese law (if it had been available) and, if such a service was considered illegal, would the McCanns have been expected to know this?

Of course, the problem the McCanns face with this argument is that they do not know what other evidence the PJ have in their possession. This may be CCTV evidence, witness statements, intercepted emails, phone calls or any other evidence of which we have no knowledge.

The recent appeal for witnesses by the McCanns is almost certainly connected to this charge. It suggests they are looking for people who have made statements to the PJ connected to the movement, or non-movement, of the McCanns and their friends from the tapas table that night. And for those people, as instructed on the recent appeal leaflet, 'There is also a reward for information that will help us'.

Of course, we must be careful with accepting the accuracy of press reports but the suggestion that the McCanns could face a 10 year jail term would suggest the charge being considered is not simply 'neglect' but 'neglect leading to death'. To bring such a charge would strongly imply that the PJ have forensic evidence that both Madeleine is dead and that the McCanns and/or their friends then acted to conceal the body.

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Op zaterdag 24 mei 2008 00:31 schreef Tmaatje het volgende:
Het is godgeklaagd dat de Tapa's zelfs een serieuze reconstructie die in het belang van de kleine Maddie is kunnen traineren en tegenhouden, ik vermoed dat er nog niet genoeg hard bewijsmateriaal is , maar ik zit te hopen op een internationaal arrestatiebevel, hoe naief dat ook moge klinken.

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"Everything depends on the friends, who were also invited to go but, since they are not arguidos, they have a right of questioning the usefulness of this exercise and if it will help to find Madeleine - and at this moment their answer seems to be it will not ", said Mitchell. "The Portuguese authorities still did not manage to answer to this simple and only question ", added Mitchell."

"We are coming very near to the suggested date (29 and May 30) and I think it is very unlikely that the reconstitution will happen”, estimated the McCanns Spokesperson. The little time remaining to the date also hampers the settlement of the availability of all, exemptions from work , travel arrangements and accommodation, whose cost is not clear who will pay.

The delay in settling the date is, according to Mitchell, the lack of response to several questions sent by friends to the police about the nature of the investigation. One was why doing a reconstitution of the alleged crime now, 'when they do not do it normally [in Portugal] and they rejected a proposal to do one for the TV program Crimewatch of the BBC last year ", he said."

"Kate’s "mental well-being" is another factor that causes concern, according to Mitchell.
"Is it supposed that she sees a child to be kidnapped in front of her? What type of anguish is going to cause her? It seems to nobody to have thought about that ", he stressed."

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Op zaterdag 24 mei 2008 13:08 schreef livelink het volgende:
Wel begrijpelijk als je er mee stopt, Suko. Ook wel jammer, want het was wel prettig om via jou een beetje bij te blijven. Maar mij bekruipt ook het gevoel steeds meer dat we er nooit achter zullen komen wat er is gebeurd. Zolang alle betrokkenen met hulp van topadvocaten en misschien zelfs met hulp van hogerhand al het onderzoek boycotten en strak hun mond houden, zal er nooit een doorbraak komen.

Ik zie het somber in in ieder geval.

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We'll charge McCanns Irish Daily Mirror (No online link, only appears in paper version) Bron

Portuguese police want Maddy parents tried for child neglect
^{By Victoria Ward 24/05/2008}
PORTUGUESE police want to charge Kate and Gerry McCann with child neglect, it was claimed yesterday. The couple could face 10 years in jail as cops are said to be tired of their "lack of co-operation" and plan to prosecute.

A Portimao courthouse source said: "We have more than sufficient evidence to charge them with negligence. They know that and that is why they are afraid to return to Portugal, afraid they will be arrested. "They have not co-operated at all with the authorities which is strange for parents who are constantly appearing in public to say they want to find their missing daughter.

"Any parent of a missing child would have full interest in co-operating. The truth, however, is that the McCanns have not." The latest development came after the couple were reluctant to take part in a reconstruction over Maddy's disappearance from their Praia da Luz apartment on May 3 last year.

It is now unlikely the reconstruction, scheduled for May 29, will happen. The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "It is disappointing that such threats are being aired, even before the reconstruction has been finalised. "The usual anonymous sources seem determined to issue threats when the Portuguese authorities should, in fact, be concentrating on looking for Madeleine."

He said legal advice the couple had received confirmed that they acted as responsible parents. But Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas claimed prosecutors were tired of the couple's "lack of co-operation" and said the McCanns risked charges of "gross negligence" which could jail them for up to 10 years.

The idea of a reconstruction was floated several weeks ago but it would not be broadcast, and sources told the Mirror at least two of the so-called Tapas Nine were reluctant to take part. The source said: "There are serious questions about the value of this exercise. What is its evidential value?

"Why do they want to do one now when it is not normal practice in Portugal and they had refused before?" The source added no one had considered how Kate would feel watching a girl play the part of Maddy.

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We are talking here about the disappearance of a child, not some product to be marketed. As professionals in the police world, extremely familiar with the techniques used, and perfectly aware of the profile of a predator or kidnapper – we are scandalized by the suggestions of Mr Clarence Mitchell. You just do not conduct a judicial reconstruction using a TV channel. No actor in the world can take the place of the real protagonists when doing a reconstruction. Mr Mitchell ought to learn how to differentiate between a human being – a little 4 year old girl – and a product to be marketed in a TV program such as Crimewatch – presumably to gather the transmission rights! We are not dealing with some parody of the facts. We are making a serious attempt to find out what exactly happened on the days of the 2nd and 3rd of May. < (?!)

As to why the other guests and employees of the complex have not been invited to the reconstruction, Mr Mitchell ought to review his notes. He knows, as do the parents, their friends, the PJ and the press, that several reconstructions have already taken place with all guests and employees who were present at the complex on the 2nd and 3rd May last year.

Finally, the “mental state” of Kate to which Mr Mitchell refers. Would it not be improved if we were to discover what had happened? Madeleine’s disappearance must have affected her very much, but the hope – no matter how slim – of discovering what might have happened to her ought to give her strength, and not the reverse. Having regular, often close contact with parents who have been victims, we can confirm to you that is how a parent would react.

Regardless of anything, it is of little import for us to know whether or not the parents are guilty. Whether or not they will be charged. The only thing that matters is what happened to Madeleine. This is the only important question – more so than the possible guilt or otherwise of the parents. But we have to be honest here, since their departure from Portugal, when according to some they abandoned Maddie for a second time, the parents and their friends appear to react as if it all too late for Madeleine and that the only thing that matters to them now is to keep themselves and the twins safe and out of sight. Don’t forget that the PJ had already declared that in their search for an abductor they had no intention of harassing the parents for neglect. The abduction was the prime focus.

In conclusion: We think that Mr Clarence Mitchell needs to take a holiday, for he is coming out with inept statements as big as himself!

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Op zondag 25 mei 2008 12:42 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

precies, vooral dat stukje over: what happened the 3rd en second may, zij nemen ook mee dat Maddy de 3e heel weinig is gezien.

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Op zondag 25 mei 2008 12:36 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

http://www.anorak.co.uk/madeleine-mccann/184194.html

Het rondje Anorak van vandaag.
Goedemiddag allen!
Suko ik denk dat je gelijk hebt, die advocaten kunnen net zo hard roepen als ze willen maar de PJ gaat beslissen wat hij ze aanwrijft, het zou toch van de gekken zijn dat zij zelf kunnen gaan beslissen wat de aanklacht wordt?
Ik heb de laatste dagen alleen maar af en toe gekeken of er nog wat nieuws stond op de nieuwssites, echt tenenkrommend hoe er om de hete brij gedraaid wordt idd.
Ik ben echter wel van zins om hier te blijven totdat er helemaal niets meer naar buiten komt, het gaat immers niet om de pers en om team McConn, het gaat om:

[ afbeelding ]

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Reconstruction in Praia da Luz scheduled for Thursday Diario de Noticias
^{FILIPA AMBRÓSIO DE SOUSA 26/05/2008}
Only three days but neither of the couple's defence team knows if there will be a reconstruction

The Judiciary Police (PJ) are dependant on witnesses coming to Portugal for the reconstruction of the night of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann to be done. The proceeding, announced by PJ a few weeks ago, is already scheduled for this Thursday, according to what the DN found. But, apparently, it might not happen.

This is because the witnesses, the friends of the McCann couple that dined in the Tapas Bar on May 3, 2007, in Praia da Luz, may not be willing to travel to Portugal, as a year has passed over the events, according the spokesman of the McCann couple, Clarence Mitchell two days ago.

On the part of McCanns, the couple are already prepared to submit to the Portuguese authorities to carry out the proceedings, which, however, they admit to be "useless" as the lawyer of the couple McCann, Rogerio Alves, told DN.

"Basically, it is not up to Gerry or Kate because they are defendants. If their presence is required, they will have to go," assured the couple's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, a few days ago to the Lusa agency. "Everything depends on the friends, who were notified to be present but as they are not defendants they have the right to question the usefulness of the exercise and whether it will help to find Madeleine - and the answer now seems to be no," he said.

The lawyer Rogerio Alves said that the Portuguese defence of the McCanns, which the former president of the Bar shares with Carlos Pinto de Abreu, "ignores the evolution of notification made to the witnesses." This means that three days before the scheduled proceedings, the defence team of the couple do not know whether they will take place. "Given that there can be no reconstruction of the night without the witnesses, if they do not come, it will not proceed," the lawyer concluded. Bron

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Op maandag 26 mei 2008 13:20 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Goedemiddag all! Dat was idd een onverwachte hoek, misschien opstandigheid wegens vaagheid?
[..][quote]Ik denkt 't, maar het is een gegeven dat het niet vast staat wanneer Madeleine echt voor het laatst is gezien en die best wel neutrale site heeft dat nu opgepikt.

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Bekend verhaal indeed, begrijpelijk overigens dat iedereen die alleen afgaat op site zoals van Missing Kids en verder zich niet zoveel verdiept in deze tragedie men gewoon medelijden heeft met de McConns.

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Yep...ha ha

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Vermoedelijk is er een aantal in die Tapas-groep die het eigenlijk allemaal zat is. Als ze zelf er niets mee te maken hebben, (maar mogelijk weet Gerry iets van hen, vandaar dat pact of silence) dan willen ze misschien op die manier er vanaf.

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Marketingfoutje van het team McCann, vanmorgen op BBC-Breakfast waren de makers uitgebreid aan het woord...en dat 'nieuws' over Facebook in combi met Missing Kids was dit weekend al vrijgegeven....

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"We strongly support and encourage this new initiative to use Facebook to increase awareness of missing children.

"Using the power of social media in this way will undoubtedly capture the attention -- and hopefully the help -- of a younger population who are a hugely valuable and resourceful group. "We would urge the millions of Facebook users around the world to keep looking and to do what they can to help bring these children home.

"This initiative by Missing People, British Telecom and all those supporting them, is another highly commendable and positive step in protecting and helping children." Missing People has set up an application for Facebook users to download, which will mean information on current appeals will be displayed on their homepage.

The charity is also joining Bebo's 'Be Cause', an internet site which gives information for young people about charities and campaign groups, to publicise its 24-hour Runaway Helpline. It hopes to access millions of internet users in its quest to find thousands of youngsters.

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Op maandag 26 mei 2008 16:49 schreef kahaarin het volgende:
En kijk nu eens, ze hebben weer een financier:
[..]

http://www.thisischeshire(...)ss_backs_mccanns.php

Goed, ga er maar van uit dat er nog een vervolg komt op alle spin, maar dan nu in het kwadraat, pak de violen en de zakdoekjes maar vast.

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Op maandag 26 mei 2008 22:49 schreef Tmaatje het volgende:
Dames toch heeft jullie werk wel wat opgeleverd hoor ; lees dit eens : http://eendoodleuk.web-lo(...)/mccanns-hebben.html

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"The first interview with Jane Hill from the BBC - 25 May 2007

This interview is interesting as it is the first interview given by the McCanns after the disappearance of Madeleine. They had previously only given short, scripted statements.

Perhaps the most revealing question in the interview is this one:

Jane Hill: "I met people who didn't go to work for more than a week because everyday they were down on the beach, searching the streets. Did you, as a mother Kate, just sometimes think 'I've got to go and be out there with them. I want to go and just physically look as well."

Kate: (Pause) I mean, I did. Errm... (Long Pause) Errm, we'd been working really hard really. Apart... I mean, the first 48 hours, as Gerry said, are incredibly difficult and we were almost non-functioning, I'd say, errm, but after that you get strength from somewhere. We've certainly had loads of support and that's given us strength and its been able to make us focus really so we have actually, in our own way, it might not be physically searching but we've been working really hard and doing absolutely everything we can really to get Madeleine back."

What is significant in Kate's answer here?

Four things: Kate's displacement from the event, her inability to express what 'she' actually felt, an apparent, almost desperate, desire to promote a 'united' front and a reluctance to commit an answer to the question.

It is significant that she says "the first 48 hours, as Gerry said, are incredibly difficult". Her use of the word 'are' instead of 'were' is very revealing. It's as though she's quoting something that she has been advised by a counsellor. 'The first 48 hours are the most difficult'. What she has done here is displaced herself from the scene and is reporting on it, not from it.

It is also revealing how she uses the word 'you' and, again, shows her displacement. She says: "after that you get strength from somewhere". Why is she using 'you' in this sentence? The interviewer has asked her for her personal feelings. Why doesn't she say 'I got strength...' or 'we got strength...' Again, she is placing herself outside the event, looking in.

She uses the word 'we' six times in this brief quote because it would appear she's struggling to answer it, without revealing that she has never actually searched for her missing daughter. Use of the word 'we' and also 'us', which is mentioned twice along with Gerry's name, suggests she's trying to hide under a 'united' front. This suggests she feels vulnerable and needs the support from Gerry to continue. The overall impression given is that they are not individuals, with their own feelings, but a team who will not be diverted from the path they have chosen.

She also mentions the word 'really' three times, which could be interpreted as a conscious, or subconscious, desire to convince the interviewer, and those watching, that she 'really' is telling the truth.

It would appear from this passage that she's telling us, in a displaced way, how she thinks 'they' should feel, not how 'she' herself really did feel. Why? Is it because she is nervous in her first interview or could it be because she doesn't know how someone who has had their daughter abducted really feels?

Ultimately, Kate's answer, despite being wrapped in curious passages where she feels compelled to mention the support they've received, is quite shocking. The fact is, despite locals giving up work for a week to search the beach and streets for Madeleine, she has admitted that she never actually did any physical searching for her missing daughter.

The only other question directed to Kate, specific to the disappearance was this one:

Jane Hill: 'And then on that Thursday night, Kate, when you realised that she wasn't in her bed where you left her. Did you think even momentarily perhaps that she'd just woken up, wandered off of her own accord, perhaps?'

Kate: 'Not at all, no' (There is then a pause, where Jane Hill may well have expected Kate to elucidate the reasoning behind her bold answer but Kate doesn't say anymore - after an embarrassingly long pause Gerry takes over and answers the question) Link to complete Jane Hill interview here