Ouders van Madeleine McCann+Tapas 7 weigeren reconstructie..

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Zoals al eerder opgemerkt, het gaat om hun kont schoonpraten en zorgen dat ze niet in de problemen komen, het gaat niet om het lot van Maddy, het gaat er niet om dat zij nog vermist is en nog niet is gevonden, het gaat er gewoon om dat de Tapas9 er ongeschonden uitkomen, dat er geen vlekje aan hun leliebleke poeperds kleeft, dat is belangrijker dan er achter komen wat er met het meisje is gebeurt en wie daarvoor verantwoordelijk is.

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"Zapata's estranged wife, flight instructor Jeanette Zapata, was 37 when she vanished on October 11 1976 after seeing her three children off to school. Her body has never been found. Detectives suspected Zapata of involvement in her disappearance but did not charge him because of a lack of evidence. Police decided to conduct new searches using cadaver dogs, a new investigative technique, when an old friend of Mrs Zapata contacted them about the case in 2004. Zapata, 68, was charged with first-degree murder last year after the dogs indicated they sniffed human remains in a small basement "crawl space" at the former family home in Madison and other properties linked to him. But Dane County Judge Patrick Fiedler ruled last month that the evidence that led to the charge could not be put before the jury. "According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Mr Fiedler told the court: "But Dane County Judge Patrick Fiedler ruled last month that the evidence that led to the charge could not be put before the jury. He said the dogs were too unreliable in detecting the odour of remains and noted that no remains were actually found. The judge agreed with an analysis of the three dogs' track record by Zapata's defence team that found they were incorrect 78 per cent, 71 per cent and 62 per cent of the time."

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Op zondag 1 juni 2008 09:41 schreef livelink het volgende:
Ik denk dat het ijdele hoop is om te geloven dat de Portugezen veel meer bewijs hebben dan nu bekend. Ik denk juist dat alles muurvast zit. Volgens mij kan het alleen nog maar vlotgetrokken worden als een van de Tapasclub per ongeluk iets loslaat. Maar de belangen zijn groot, natuurlijk. Ik kan me ook ergens wel voorstellen dat degenen met kinderen het grootste belang hebben bij het boycotten van de reconstructie.

Dat is ook wel mijn dilemma met een mogelijke veroordeling voor neglect. Er zijn natuurlijk nog 2 kinderen, die er niet bij gebaat zijn dat hun ouders in de gevangenis terechtkomen.

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Op zondag 1 juni 2008 10:43 schreef livelink het volgende:
Goedemorgen Suko

Dat er alleen maar verliezers zijn, ben ik helemaal met je eens. Alle betrokken ouders zullen toch ook op een gegeven moment aan hun kinderen moeten uitleggen wat er die dag gebeurd is en dat zal op zijn zachtst gezegd niet makkelijk zijn.

Wat ik eigenlijk bedoelde is dat ik de veroordeling voor neglect eigenlijk zie als een soort wraak, een optie die achter de hand wordt gehouden. We kunnen niet achterhalen of bewijzen wat er met Madeleine is gebeurd, dus dan gooien we het maar over die boeg.
Begrijp me niet verkeerd, ik vind absoluut dat er sprake is van verwaarlozing, maar ouders weghalen bij de overgebleven kinderen vind ik ook een vorm van verwaarlozing. Dus die belangen ga ik dan ongewild tegen elkaar afzetten.

Wat ik hoop is dat er achterhaald wordt wat er gebeurd is met Madeleine. Als dan blijkt dat Gerrie en Kate verantwoordelijk zijn voor haar dood of verdwijning, moeten ze absoluut berecht worden. Daar leidt geen twijfel over. Het gaat me steeds meer tegenstaan met wat voor een gebrek aan respect Madeleine wordt behandeld door haar eigen ouders en de vrienden van haar ouders.

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the3arguidos forum unavailable

Just a short note about the current unavailability of the 3A's forum. The official response is 'We are having server problems and they are completely reinstalling the OS'.

Hostgator, who host the 3A's forum, have reported a fire and that would appear to be the cause of the sudden disappearance. see here

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Op zondag 1 juni 2008 13:27 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

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Ik vind een combinatie ook wel wat, raken in de portemonnee en in hun drukke agenda.
[..]

Ze kunnen om zeep helpen wat ze willen, de publieke opinie verandert niet meer, dan beginnen ze wel ergens anders opnieuw.
De politie op beheerders afsturen is wel echt heel sneu, het is bijna sectarisch die aanhang van de McCanns.
[..]

Ja hoor, zomaar plotseling ruzie tussen 2 modjes en een heel forum plat, geloof jij het ook?
Maar ze gaan wel door op een ander forum, prima!

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Op zondag 1 juni 2008 13:40 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

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Ehm, dat waren we al een poosje lieverd.

Precies, opgelost, slotje, oh nee, wacht......

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Op zondag 1 juni 2008 13:45 schreef Oblivion het volgende:
Zo'n onderzoek doe je toch gewoon?
Op je blote knieën als het moet...

Rare lui.

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Trying to kid? The News of the World (No online link, appears in paper version only) Bron
^{Carole Malone 01/06/2008}
So, it isn't just Kate and Gerry who have refused to go back to Portugal for a police reconstuction of Maddies disappearance.

We now learn that at least four of the Tapas seven have also refused because they too left their kids alone when they went drinking that fateful night.

Are they worried that like the McCanns, they might also become suspects?

Er, so what happened to the "We'll do whatever is necessary to find Maddie" mantra? Did that come with the proviso that they'll do "whatever's necessary" as long as it doesn't embarrass them, inconvenience them or put them in any personal danger?

Anyway, I don't see the problem. If these people have nothing to hide, if they really DO want to help find Maddie, why haven't they already hauled their backsides back to Portugal?

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Op zaterdag 31 mei 2008 20:14 schreef Suko het volgende:
<knip>
En verder vraag ik me af waar Voyeur dat stukje (geplaatst op 8 jan 2008) heeft gelezen: "Thats regarded as one of the few facts here and local PJ and GNR say that the only people to have been in it [in het apartement van de McCanns] were under cover detectives watching after the McCanns moved out posing as tourists to put the McCanns under a false sence of security making them think that there was no suspicion , the same as when they returned The Renault to them but replaced all the interior of the boot linings with replacement original equipment and sent the real stuff to west midlands uk. "

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McCANN POLICE ARE GUILTY OF CRUELTY
^{Tony Parsons 2/06/2008}
Kate and Gerry McCann could still face charges of neglect, according to the first
published court ruling on the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.

Official documents in Portugal show that the police there have not yet ruled out
bringing such charges. This hardly feels like a positive step in either finding
Madeleine, or discovering what happened to her.

In the course of their 13-month investigation, the Portuguese police have failed to come up with any answers at all about the disappearance.

It's unforgivable that they have not removed the weight of suspicion from Kate and Gerry, who have paid an unimagineably high price for eating dinner 50 yards from where their children slept. One more question for the bungling plods of Portugal. Haven't these people suffered enough? The Miiror

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Op maandag 2 juni 2008 17:48 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

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Tja zat er ook dik in, wanneer zouden ze hier komen spoken?
Hopelijk vinden ze degenen die de persoonlijke info hebben verspreid en kunnen ze die linken aan de McCanns of die sekte volgelingen.

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Op maandag 2 juni 2008 22:48 schreef Tmaatje het volgende:

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Beste Suko,
Maak je maar geen zorge hoor, ik trek Mitchell z'n onderbroek over zijn hoofd met zijn broek aan...
Nee eerlijk gezegd verwacht ik hier geen problemen, mocht dat wel zo zijn dan krijgen ze toch echt te maken met 2 moordwijven, Yvonne en Danny en alle FA's geloof me DAT is eng..

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PJ Brought Back to Portugal 3 of the McCanns Friends in Secrecy

WITNESSES CAME TO THE ALGARVE TO REINFORCE TESTIMONY THAT CONTRADICTS THE MCCANNS

Friends are the PJ trumps

In a secret visit to Portugal, three persons who had dinner at the Tapas Bar shattered the McCanns and Jane Tanner versions

Fiona Payne, her mother Dianne Webster, and the husband David Payne. Are the main trumps of the Public Ministry that will lead the parents of Madeleine McCann, the missing girl, on the 3rd of May of 2007, from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve, to be accused of the crimes of exposition and abandonment since they left the girl alone in that critical night. It is a crime that is punishable up to ten years of prison and allows the respective preventive arrests, like 24horas announced last week.

These three witnesses returned to Portugal, on the 11th of July of 2007, in a travel paid by the Portuguese State, and where accommodated in a hotel unity of Portimão. They were still questioned by Gonçalo Amaral’s team, the superior coordinator who was removed from the case, and they contradicted the McCann’s version regarding to what went on in the night of the disappearance.

Remember that Kate, Gerry and the other two couples with whom they had dinner, assured that they were taking turns in the vigilance to the children. A fact that was contradicted to the authorities in the above-mentioned secret travel by Fiona Payne and that had already been a put in question in two previous statements, given on the days that followed to Maddie's disappearance, by her mother and her husband.

Jane Tanner Contradicted

“ Fiona Payne gave three statements to the authorities, as well as Matthew Oldfield and his companion, Rachel. Dianne Webster statement [Fiona's mother] was very solid and there was not need of questioning her again”, revealed to 24horas a judicial person in charge connected with the process. In accordance to the same source, “other persons who had dinner with the McCanns - Jane Tanner, her companion, Russell O'Brien, Matthew Oldfield and his wife, Rachel – gave contradictory statements”. And the judicial person in charge exemplifies: "”Jane Tanner always said that she went out from the restaurant to see her oldest daughter. Fiona, David and Dianne guaranteed to the PJ that she never left the restaurant before the alarm was given by Kate. This information was corroborated by several workers of the Tapas Bar restaurant”. These witnesses also stated that Gerry McCann did not even go to check on the children, when he went away of the restaurant, and that he only stayed at the apartment of Praia da Luz entrance.

The only person who stayed in Tapas Bar

Dianne Webster, of 63 years old, mother of Fiona Payne (36 years), was one of three persons who were available to return to Portugal and to help the authorities in the reconstitution of the facts taken place to the 3rd of May of 2007.
She was the only one that was quiet and calm when Kate McCann entered in the Tapas Bar shouting “they’ve taken her!”. The authorities were suspicious of her attitude and she told them that she did not believe in the version of the McCanns. She also pointed out to the PJ that each couple was responsible for their own children and that no one entered in the apartment of the friends[in each other’s apartments].

Facts
SECRET. The McCann organized a "secret" dinner with all the friends with whom they had dinner with at the Tapas, in the Praia da Luz, Algarve, before the rogatory letters sent for England were carried out.

ACCUSATION. The accusation to the McCanns is almost concluded and it should be known before of the 14 of July, the end date for the extended term to incriminate or not the British couple. The judicial authorities are still considering if they will not constitute more arguidos, since the McCann were not the only ones leaving their children alone. Source: 24Horas

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Note: Just to say I will go to bed and try to wake up early to go out and buy the newspaper, the majority of you don't know but 24 horas lately just has the on-line articles after 13pm or even later. Furthermore the on-line version of 24horas is the US version not the Portuguese one, so main pages with the McCanns case, sometimes do not appear.

Just wanted to add one more thing, I know majority of you believe 24horas to be untrustworthy but never forget what the journalists from 24horas have given us, aside Felícia Cabrita and Margarida Davim from SOL, the most important clues and evidences. Also 24horas journalists are not afraid of process like the Express Group, and they have showed that in previous high profiled cases. 24horas is currently much better reporting facts on this case than any formerly respected British Newspaper : for me they are the McCanns Media.

About the cowards: The only man who could pressure editorial guidelines as we have seen in the past year is Mr. Murdoch - Rupert, who owns several media outlets around the world including holdings in various press and TV station[Sky News] in the UK. Rupert the same man who creates and destroys lifes of politicians, the same man who serves as an advisor to the US President, and to the British Prime Minister. The Only Man who could pressure and in fact scare the living xxxx of all the Journalists and chief editors, who are too coward to do anything but oblige 'his masters voice'! Influences, but still this is not the man running the show, he is a supporter of the master puppeteer.

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Madeleine investigation grinds to a halt as police are barred from asking suspects 100 new questions

A friend of Kate and Gerry McCann wants to "reveal the whole truth" about the case but is frightened of the couple's political allies, a lawyer claimed yesterday.

One of the so-called Tapas Nine wants to help Portuguese police with the six-month investigation but "feels obliged to keep silent", according to the unnamed legal source.The lawyer attacked the intervention of "certain politicians" in the case and said they had prejudiced the hunt to discover what really happened to Madeleine McCann.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband both spoke to the couple directly before the McCanns were made official suspects in the case.Direct contact stopped when they were made arguidos in September but the Premier has been briefed on the case since then and raised it with his Portuguese counterpart last month.

The unnamed lawyer, who claimed to represent one of the Tapas Nine, told the respected Spanish newspaper El Mundo: "My client feels obliged to keep silent about what he can do to help the investigation, and not because of the Portuguese secrecy laws.

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Op dinsdag 3 juni 2008 10:27 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

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Er is gisteravond een server up-date geweest, ik denk dat je daar een staartje van mee hebt gepikt.
Geen McCanns die de zaak hier hebben stilgelegd, dat kunnen ze best zelf.

Mike Hitchens is idd een beetje een mafkeutel, al moet ik zeggen dat er op het 3Arguido's forum ook een paar vreemde eenden in de bijt zwemmen.
Och dat geld verdienen, zelfs haar ouders cashen de tragedie, waarom niet een graantje meepikken.

Dat was de beestenboel van vanochtend dan weer, nieuws is er verder ook nog niet, dus de tuin in?

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It is difficult to see how this visit, on 11 July 2007, could have been in secret as this was the day Fiona Payne, along with Russell O'Brien and Rachel Oldfield were re-interviewed by police to clarify points in their initial statements. They were all photographed arriving at the police station in Portimao.

It was during this time that Robert Murat was brought into the questioning by police, allegedly to 'confront' the 3 members of the Tapas group who had allegedly seen him on the night of May 3rd. Daily Mail report.

The police apparently allowed them to argue over the inconsistencies in their statements and later said that this had been a valuable exercise.

If this report is true, it would suggest that David Payne and Fiona's mother, Diane Webster, were flown in secretly and then interviewed, with Fiona Payne, at a different time or place.

A report in the Mail on Sunday, 08 September 2007, said: 'Anxious to confirm the report at the time (of Jane Tanner's 'sighting'), The Mail on Sunday asked one of the McCanns; friends, Dr Fiona Payne, for an interview.

Initially she strongly indicated that she was prepared to talk to this newspaper but changed her mind when the McCanns inexplicably advised her against it.' This Mail on Sunday report also contains the picture of Fiona Payne arriving at the police station on 11 July.

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I had a free morning so trotted along to this. I must say I found the experience extremely illuminating and am very glad I made the trip.

Leeds Business Week was being held in the Town Hall. There were a number of stalls as you might find at a trade fair. Clarence's talk was in a back room. Very few of the staff and officials dotted around seemed to know it was happening, or who he was. They were more aware of the talk's title: Managing PR in a crisis.

Around a couple of dozen - certainly no more, surprisingly - people were seated in the room. Most were there in a business capacity. Judging by a show of hands 60% were in PR themselves. I suspect I was the only "interloper".

Clarence was warmly received. As he gathered his material, people muttered about the case - stuff like "I hope she's never found, the state she must be in now" etc. I got the impression most present believed Madeleine was dead, but nobody audibly suspected the parents.

Clarence wore a dark suit and dark shirt, which gave him a more sombre look that usual. I was taken aback by the difference between the man before us and the man in the photo behind him from May 2007. The case has visibly aged him: he has less hair than a year ago and a considerable bald patch which is never seen on camera. He spoke firmly - with his usual "I'd love to say more but I can't" type quips - and I must say extremely eloquently.

He began with a sermon on PR. In a crisis - he said - the first thing to do is establish the truth of the situation (almost like a defence lawyer might say "Look, did you do it or what? I need to know"). Then engage rapidly with the media... He stated that there is no such thing as off the record.... everything you say is likely to end up in print. Intriguingly, he advised against using legal action unless as a last resort. With the Express, they'd had two meetings with the editor before sueing over stories reproduced from Portugal. He pointed out how the negative press had greatly reduced since the Express damages - which topped up the Fund by half a million. "Due to their own stupidity."

Clarence said that the golden rules of PR were "never become the story" and "never lie or distort". Inaccuracies should be rebutted. He used the example of the claim that gerry was not the father of Madeleine - one of the major stories they went for the Express over. They produced written proof this was an untrue story. Forums were mentioned quite early on. CM suggested "they are not as anonymous as they think" and hinted at possible action at a later stage. If I were a betting man I wouldn't hold my breath, but you never know i guess.

Intriguingly he was happy to admit the gulf in public opinion over the McCanns, and the differing views of their parenting methods. I got the distinct impression that despite what he has said about "responsible parenting" this man would not do the same with his own children. He then spoke about how he had "spoken to" various columnists when they had been a bit anti-McCann and they had come round... obviously not Jon Gaunt (who was not mentioned). CM said he must always be available (my note - not to Jon Gaunt, who has repeatedly tried to get him back on the air).

He spoke a bit about the events of May 3. According to CM, it was the family, not the McCanns themselves, who got everything going. Jon Corner emerged as the key player, emailing pictures of Madeleine to the BBC within a very short time of the disappearance.

He then mentioned how the pressure for stories was so great that journalists would gather in a bar with alcoholo and free wi-fi to file whatever they could. "All that stuff about the blood" was apparently "made up." He said that even if the McCanns face charges there is "no evidence.... we know that." He then said that an arguido is not a suspect but someone "of interest to the investigation", which seemed a bit disingenuous. There were audible sighs of sympathy when he mentioned journos camping on the doorstep in Rothley - this no longer happens.

He mentioned Jane Tanner's sighting and said that they were still looking for bundleman, whose face appeared onscreen, to no audible titters. He brought up the supposed "show no emotion" police advice and said that Kate "doesn't recognise" the cold individual she appears in those early interviews. I got the distinct impression the ITV docu was specifically made to counter this cold image - CM said that since it aired they had had thousands of emails of support. Including new sightings... He said they had avoided Oprah "for now", because of the "showbiz aspect."

One of the more interesting sections for me began when he was asked questions about his role. He said very clearly that he was briefed from the foreign office very early on that this was a case of "rare stranger abduction", which contradicts what has been reported from Sheree Dodd. He also said that he was similarly tipped off very early on re Shannon Matthews, hence the McCanns "did not touch with a bargepole." Contrasted with this they used images of Maria Luz on McCann posters because they "wanted to help the family". (Nothing about wanting to give an impression of a serial abductor on the loose).

Somebody asked what it was about this case which had prompted CM to give up a highly paid job in the government to work for a family he didn't know, and who would have been out of work had Madeleine turned up the following week. "Good question," he said, explaining that during the month in portugal working for the government he had become taken by the McCanns' plight and tearful calls at 4am. At the same time there were developments in his job/office at the MMU which he didn't like - he didn't specify what they were - so he was perhaps looking to jump ship. Brian Kennedy offered to match the package he was on at the government, which I found highly illuminating. Effectively I would think that this means that if Madeleine turned up tomorrow CM would be on - perhaps - a three year contract or whatever, including pension, perhaps. CM cannot lose.

He did say that he had become "friends" with Kate and Gerry but noticeably said that as a PR you also have to "keep a distance." Which was fascinating, to me. CM is clearly an intelligent man, and despite his claims to "have never heard anything, or seen anything" to make him doubt the McCanns story, which may well be true. But I would be amazed if he had never - not even for a second at 1am - had his own unanswered questions.

What came across very strongly is that despite the occasionally bumbling public image Clarence is an extremely good PR. The "distance" line said a lot for me. If the McCanns are never charged, or Madeleine is found, he will emerge as a hero. If they are charged, and found guilty, the 'distance' will become greater... but CM will point out how he successfully media-managed the shining halo of a guilty couple. In other words, he did his job. Unless CM has not been as careful in his job as he was in this talk, he will come out smelling of roses whatever happens. As to his future, he confirmed that he had had a request from the woman whose daughter was killed in Goa, and suggested that eventually he will develop other clients.

Another thing he mentioned was that every time he says anything remotely unsupportive of the PJ it prompts a "diplomatic incident." He also said that there are things "down the line" that will cause "things to flare up again." I took this as indication of forthcoming revelations, or perhaps charges.

The atmosphere was warm and respectful. Nobody asked "Did they do it then guv?" or asked difficult questions relating to the investigation eg the shutters - they would not have been answered, and any cover would have been blown... but this was a fascinating 90 minute glimpse into some of the thinking behind the McCanns and their very public "spokesman."

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Op dinsdag 3 juni 2008 12:44 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

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Wat ik zo grappig vind, als je zijn antwoorden kritisch leest dan zegt hij eigenlijk net niets, hij kan net zo goed de politiek in.

Hij is idd goed in zijn werk maar ik vergeet nooit dat hij door de fotografen in PdL op een gegeven moment werd gevraagd om een stapje achteruit te doen omdat hij steeds pontificaal in de shots van de McCanns stond.

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To the believers of the McCanns Media aka Gutter Press, and specially to the ones questioning the value of 24horas - this is my opinion:

I believe in the journalists of 24 hours regarding this case - notice that they were correct regarding the interrogations done in England - on Jane Tanner, which couples were going to be questioned and at which hours, etc. ... etc.... Something that attracted my attention and made me understand that these guys had good sources was the article about Gerry not to being the true father of Madeleine, which did not lead to any process for slander. Another thing that makes me believe in them, in spite of their tabloidish style is the past that they have of discovering ‘dirt’ as in case of Casa Pia and the fact that they absolutely protect their sources, as in case of the envelope 9 - the phone tapping done to members of the government.

The initial perception is that in fact the PJ, can play poker with expertise. Either that or someone does not want to be recognized and the facts are coming out pouring under the pressure.

One of the two, The Tapas 9 are really divided and 24horas is already alerting for the fact that arrests are close - but the 10th Tapas will remain a mystery, as it suits the one who has been playing double and dirty games. Do not forget the terrible work of Clarence – a mercenary on the pay. And the McCanns and others 4 will be blamed in a process for negligence, obstruction and conspiracy to subvert Justice - I do not know how can they prove homicide by accident and the crime of corpses occultation.

Or the PJ is fearless and will go up to the last consequences, which might create an immense diplomatic problem there.

I would personally go to the end, but I do not know up to which point the PJ can go without being stopped.

Fun Fact: 24horas is the most read newspaper by politicians at the Parliament.

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Op dinsdag 3 juni 2008 21:24 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

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Hihi, leuke verwarring....
Wat Suko zegt, de PJ heeft niet zo traag gedaan maar de Britse overheid was dat verzoek eerst 'kwijt' en toen heeft het nog ik weet niet hoe lang geduurt totdat men er iets mee deed.
Zij hebben alles zo lang mogelijk getraineerd en daarbovenop kwam toen nog de gespeelde verontwaardiging over het late tijdstip van die reconstructie, natuurlijk kon dat niet eerder want de statements werden pas zo laat gecheckt door dat hele gedoe met die rogatory letters.......

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Op dinsdag 3 juni 2008 21:28 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

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Spot on, en je mag heus wel een keertje voor mij spreken hoor, we zijn het globaal gezien wel eens, zo niet geef ik wel een gil.
[..]

Echt he, het aftellen tot een reactie is begonnen, wie een wedje wil leggen, dat kan ook.
[..]

M'n koffie, wat doe je?!

_{*beeldscherm schoonveegt*}

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Op dinsdag 3 juni 2008 21:33 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

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Ach joh, zodra blijkt dat het 1 en ander een politieke carriere kan schaden vluchten ze als ratten van een zinkend schip!

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The McCanns and the winning trio (*)

The McCanns and the Winning Trio in Order
The results of an opinion poll carried out in the UK among a thousand businessmen at the “Leaders in London International Leadership Summit” show that the three most influential people in the UK (after Her Majesty, the Queen) are Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and the billionaire Richard Branson.

These three winners are - in the same order – strong supporters of Madeleine McCann parents, the little British girl who disappeared from one of the most peaceful villages on the southern coast of Portugal. The results of the poll have the merit of shedding light on how – and perhaps why – an apparently common couple of doctors continue to flout the judicial system of two sovereign democratic states, to the point of refusing to assist the British and Portuguese police detectives in finding out what actually happened to their own daughter.

Since Madeleine disappeared in May 2007, her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, have received extraordinary support from two of the most influential people in the UK: former prime minister Tony Blair and his Party colleague, Gordon Brown, the current resident of nº 10, Downing Street. Moreover, it seems that it was the support of these two personalities that helped to open the door for the financial backing offered by the third one. It was Tony Blair and Gordon Brown who were behind the instructions given to the UK ambassador, John Buck, and to the British consul, Bill Henderson (the two senior UK diplomats in Portugal at the time she disappeared), to make sure Gerry and Kate McCann were given all possible assistance.

It was the ambassador, John Buck, who made the trip from Lisbon to the Algarve, after having alerted the Portuguese minister of Foreign Affairs and the director of the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) about the disappearance. This was before even the local police (GNR) or the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the PJ in Portimão had been alerted. They were only notified by a phone call from the Ocean Club at around 22:45.

A vanishing act
Strangely, John Buck left his position in Portugal (and his diplomatic career) on September 10, 2007, the day after Kate and Gerry McCann fled to the UK, after having been made arguidos (suspects). Before him, two other British diplomats had left their positions: the consul, Bill Henderson, and Sheree Dodd, who has been sent over by the Foreign Office at Blair’s direct request. She was replaced by Clarence Mitchell, after having called the attention for some inconsistencies about the McCanns, namely their behaviour and their lack of cooperation with the Portuguese PJ and the British police._Bill Henderson surprised everyone by announcing his resignation. He retired at the end of August, a few days before took place the police interviews that ended with the McCanns getting the arguido status. After their departure, Celia Edwards became the UK consul for the Algarve. She accompanied Kate and Gerry McCann during their interviews with the PJ in September 2007.

John Buck was replaced by Alexander Wykeham Ellis, the ambassador who turned up in Portimão on the very day the PJ detectives returned from a trip to Enderby. His wife is Portuguese and he has an in-depth knowledge of Portugal, where he had previously worked between 1992 and 1996. He had come from Brussels, where he worked with the president of the European Commission, Durão Barroso.

On several occasions, Tony Blair used his prerogative and contacts to enable the McCanns to be received by the authorities in selected countries, to launch the Madeleine Fund, notably the Vatican, where they met Pope Benedict XVI and stay at the guest house of the UK ambassador Francis Campbell, a privilege normally reserved for distinguished guests.

During a phone call to the McCanns, last June, it was Blair in person who assured them of his on-going and increased support and told them that they need not hesitate to contact him if there was anything he could do. This support continues today, despite the parents’ situation vis-à-vis the official investigation into the disappearance of their daughter._When Gordon Brown came to power, the UK government’s support not only intensified, but also became more visible. And the new prime minister had no trouble admitting that he was in personal contact with Gerry McCann to discuss the case, as he had done at the end of May. The same day, the UK authorities put a discrete pressure on the PJ to reveal more information about the case. It was he who – on several occasions – talked to journalists about the McCann case, referring his contacts with the Portuguese authorities. He did it on a more visible way, on June 9, 2007, when the Portuguese prime minister, José Socrates, visited London in the context of the rotating European Union presidency.

Outside nº 10 Downing Street, Gordon Brown told the UK media that he had discussed the McCann case with José Socrates and had asked him to ensure maximum assistance to Kate and Gerry McCann. In September, just after they had been made arguidos, the McCanns called on Gordon Brown and David Miliband, the UK Foreign Secretary, to ask them to intervene as they said they were victims of “an injustice”. On September 10, the Foreign Office was described as being “firing all canons” in its efforts to help the McCanns._On October 2007, in Lisbon, even though Kate and Gerry McCann were (and are) already arguidos in the investigation into their daughter’s disappearance, it was once again Gordon Brown who surprised journalists during a press conference when he announced that he was going checking the McCanns’ situation and the status of the investigation led by the PJ, in cooperation with the UK police. At the same time, in the UK, a police detective commented on the difficulties the police was having with the Home Office, concerning the UK side of the investigation.

Clever advice
Despite the growing negative public opinion about the McCanns (which has even led some media sites to ban comments about the case), when the Lisbon Treaty was signed, it was yet again David Miliband and Gordon Brown who used the opportunity to take the subject with several members of the Portuguese government, including prime minister José Socrates. But this time, it was done in secret, far from the eyes of the media._It was also from the Gordon Brown's office that came the suggestion to scale down the media exposure of McCann couple and the campaign to find Madeleine, according to a source close to McCann family. Gordon Brown’s advisers are worried about the possibility that the next steps of the investigation of Madeleine’s disappearance, which was following a new line of inquiry, may produce results that could damage the Prime-Minister´s image, due to his close relationship with Gerry McCann. This was revealed by Gazeta Digital and SOS Madeleine on August 26, 2007.

Richard Branson’s generous financial support becomes more understandable when we look better at his close relationship with Tony Blair. Moreover, the influential former Labour leader and prime minister, a Kate and Gerry McCann staunch supporter, was able to discuss the subject during his recent meeting with Branson on his private island, where they were accompanied by Elon Musk (Paypal), Larry Page (Google) and Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), among others._But the McCanns’ financial backing does not stop there. Yet again, thanks to some of his friends excellent contacts, the couple received financial support from Stephen Winyard, Brian Kennedy and JK Rowling, who is herself one of the most influential women in the UK.

Knocking On Heaven's Door
Another interesting and revealing episode took place on September 12, when Justine McGuinness and David Hughes, press advisers for the McCann, accompanied by the powerful Angus McBride, held meetings with editors of most of the major British newspapers. During the meetings, it was explained to the editors that the fact that Portuguese Police couldn't find a body would it make impossible for a court to sentence them, even if the McCann were formally charged and went on trial. The McCann send, at the same time, a strong challenge to Portuguese police:"Find Madeleine's body and prove we killed her”, as the Daily Mail wrote, in the same day edition.

Duarte Levy & Paulo Reis Bron

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Op dinsdag 3 juni 2008 21:54 schreef Tmaatje het volgende:

[..]

gelukkig ik werd al zenuwachtig; CM ingelogd onder Kahaarin ....

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Madeleine McCann's family to go on holiday a year after disappearance Telegraph
^{By Andy Bloxham Last Updated: 2:15AM BST 04/06/2008}
The parents of Madeleine McCann are to go on their first holiday together since she was kidnapped in Portugal just over a year ago. The parents of Madeleine McCann are to go on their first holiday together since she was kidnapped in Portugal just over a year ago, according to reports.

Kate and Gerry McCann, who are both 40, decided to take the break for the sake of their other children, twins Sean and Amelie, who are two, according to a family friend. Madeleine was abducted from the family's apartment in the coastal resort of Praia da Luz, on the Algarve in Portugal, last May.

The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "It will be incredibly painful to contemplate going away without Madeleine but this is the reality they are faced with. "Nothing has been booked yet, but one thing's certain – they won't be going to Portugal."

The family have spent only an occasional few days away from their home in Rothley, Leics, since returning from the Algarve on September 9, after Portuguese police made them official suspects. A friend of the family told the Daily Mirror: "Everyone needs a holiday – Kate and Gerry included.

"It's now 14 months since Madeleine was taken. Behind the scenes, there remains a lot of action to try and find her, but for Kate and Gerry life has returned as close to normality as they're likely to get. "After all they've been through, they want to give the twins a decent break to try and enjoy time as a family."

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Op woensdag 4 juni 2008 14:15 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Nee hoor, ik weet trouwens niet of ik nu beledigd moet zijn dat je dat dacht......

Nah, Tmaatje is liev.

Trouwens, @Suko, thnx voor het overzichtje, en vooral voor die laatste missing link.

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The McCanns have not yet informed authorities of their holidays

The McCanns have not yet informed the Portuguese authorities of their departure on holiday, or their exact destination, as required by their status as arguidos in the ongoing investigation in the disappearance of their young daughter, Madeleine.

Yesterday, the spokesman for the couple confirmed that Kate and Gerry McCann, accompanied by twins Sean and Amelie, are preparing to go on holiday for the first time since the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.

It was precisely during their last vacation in May 2007 in the village of Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, that their daughter Madeleine, aged three years, disappeared after her parents have left three children alone and unattended while they dined in the company of other couples.

According to a source close to the investigation, the Public Ministry has not yet been informed of the possible trip, but the couple confirms that Kate and Gerry McCann, given their arguidos status is subject to a term of identity and residence, should not leave Rothley for a period exceeding five days without first informing the Portuguese authorities of their exact destination.

"Nothing has yet been booked, but one thing is certain - they will not go to Portugal," said Clarence Mitchell stressing that the couple, since the disappearance of Madeleine in May 2007, had only a few days of recreation outside their home in Rothley.

Since May 2007, Kate and Gerry McCann have made several trips to Europe and the USA leaving two other children of the couple, Sean and Amelie.

Contacted by SOS Madeleine, Portuguese and British investigators were not surprised by the announcement of Kate and Gerry McCann going on holiday, but confessed "to following closely the movements of the couple and friends, especially in their travels abroad. "

No violation of the secrecy of justice (over het eventueel schenden van de privacy wat betreft de telefoontjes en textberichten in Praia da Laz, Suko)
"I have not withdrawn the judgement of the site in consideration that there has been a breach of secrecy of justice, but because I wanted to improve it with references to other cases related to access to communications traffic," Mourisco Chambel, the Judge of the Supreme Courts of Justice, said in response to information put forward by the newspaper 24 Horas.

In its edition today, 24 Horas asserts that the judgement of the Court of Appeal of Evora about the ban on investigators' access to the content of written messages (SMS) sent and received by Gerry McCann, was reportedly removed from website of the Institute for Justice Information Technologies (ITIJ) to constitute a violation of the secrecy of justice to the ongoing investigation in the case of missing Madeleine.

Without ever mentioning directly the identity of the arguidos, the document, the first document of Justice so far to disclose publicly the case of Madeleine McCann, confirmed that the investigation of Portuguese and British authorities is doing well on the possibility of crimes of abandonment, endangerment, kidnapping, murder and concealment of a cadaver.

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Op woensdag 4 juni 2008 21:58 schreef Tmaatje het volgende:

[..]



Zo, ze gaan op vakantie, met de tweeling ? OMG...

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The Telegraph and the Mirror both claim unequivocally that Madeleine has been kidnapped. It would be interesting to see what evidence they possess to make such difinitive statements.

It is not really clear why this information should be placed in the public domain at this particular time. After all, the McCanns haven't even booked the holiday yet! So why does Clarence Mitchell want us to be aware of this information?

In the Daily Record, Mr Mitchell is quoted as slamming the Portuguese police for the "absolute, ludicrous, lies" concerning the alleged break in the tapas group. Has there been a statement from the Portuguese police on this matter?

It would appear at first sight that the UK press are still happy to play baby and have their soldiers buttered by the hand of Clarence Mitchell.

But why is the "absolute, ludicrous, lies" quote tucked away at the bottom of the Daily Record report and not mentioned at all in the Telegraph or Mirror 'exclusive'? Just a few weeks ago that explosive quote would have been the splashed headline on every media-related website and the unbooked holiday would have been the add-on.

Are the press slowly turning the tables? Or are they following orders not to print anything that mentions a 'break' in the tapas ranks?

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Op donderdag 5 juni 2008 14:20 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Jij ook een beetje het tumbleweed en eerie muziekjes gevoel?

Ach, de McCanns zijn zo druk met charities en andere zaken dat ze vermoedelijk wel anderen laten kijken.
Mooi oranje is niet lelijk, nu hopen dat ze hun best doen, het hele EK oranje terwijl ze er al uit liggen lijkt me ook niet wat, dan liever mintgroen oid........

(Wij houden het voorlopig maar bij een Oranje-Alert, alhoewel die ijdeltuiterij van de spelers én de commercie daar omheen mij de neus uitkomt, en bovendien hou ik niet eens zo van dat spelletje en de kleur.... (maar vooruit, solidair zijn en dat soort dingen... )

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McCann spokesman helping the Fitzpatrick family in Mijas Ex BBC journalist, Clarence Mitchell, has already criticised those who have been removing posters of Amy Fitzpatrick.

The parents of Amy Fitzpatrick, the Irish sixteen year old who vanished on New Year’s Day from Mijas Costa in Málaga, are travelling to Ireland again for a new media campaign designed to draw attention to the case ahead of the arrival of thousands of Irish tourists on the coast for the summer.

Meanwhile the ex BBC journalist Clarence Mitchell, who is the media spokesman in the case of missing Madeleine McCann is now also to help the Fitzpatrick family. Audrey Fitzpatrick and her partner Dave Majon have spoken to Mitchell who is reported to be willing to give his advice for free.

La Opinión de Málaga newspaper reports that he has already criticised some residents of the Riviera del Sol urbanisation in Mijas, where Amy vanished, after posters for her are being torn down as soon as they are put up, as people are worried about the effect the case may have on tourism. Bron

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My God,This is such a lie,..When ever programs are broadcast here in Spain,Amy's name is always mentioned along with yerem i Sarah and many others ,she is on the spanish missing persons blogsite and the case is still open..Police are always waiting for new leads on any of these cases..Police ,however do think that Amy left of her own choice after a fight with her mother who removed her mobile as a punishment, they believe she left with a boyfriend...I notice Mitchel fails to mention this.

When the spanish people read this they will be horrified,CHILDREN COME FIRST..in this culture,not tourism....I could search this whole country and not find one spaniard who would say, we cannot have posters of missing children,they would not rip them down.

However Mitchel would not know this ,as his campaign posters have never materialsed here in spain....

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Op donderdag 5 juni 2008 21:53 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Ja, als zij al niet naar haar zoeken, wie dan wel? Metodo3?

_{*Oranje is leuk tot ze zijn uitgeschakeld, of tot ze gewonnen hebben natuurlijk! *}
[..]

Natuurlijik, als de zaak Maddy over is dan moet hij wel al een nieuw vermist kind hebben.
[..]

Ik weet niet of die mensen wel door hebben dat het niet een voordeel hoeft te zijn als hij zich er mee gaat bemoeien.

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McCanns: We will never go back to Portugal Daily Star (No online link, paper version only)
^{By Ian Trueman 05 May 2008}
MADELEINE McCann's parents yesterday vowed that they will never return to Portugal.

Kate and Gerry spoke out amid rumours they are planning their first holiday since their daughter vanished in The Algarve last year.Insiders claim the heartbroken couple, both 40, had earlier ruled out any talk of a vacation. They are now planning to take their two-year-old twins, Sean and Amelie, away on a "secret" break but refuse to visit Portugal.

Maddie disappeared nine days before her fourth birthday in Praia da Luz in The Algarve in May 2007. The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell yesterday refused to confirm or deny that Gerry and Kate McCann were planning any trip in the "imminent" future.

But he confirmed: "One thing I can say is that it will not be Portugal. It would just create a huge bun fight and they don't want to do that." He added: "It will be incredibly painful to contemplate going away without Madeleine, but this is the reality they are faced with. "Kate and Gerry have always felt that they did not want to have a holiday under the circumstances.

"But clearly at some point, as much for the twins as for themselves, they may choose to have a break. "That decision, however, will remain entirely private."

A friend said doctors Kate and Gerry plan to "get away for a few days this summer". The pal added: "After all they've been through they want to give the twins a decent break to try and enjoy time as a family." Madeleine disappeared from a holiday apartment on May 3 while her parents dined in a nearby tapas bar with friends.

Since they returned home to Rothley, Leics, in September, the McCanns have said they wanted to provide as normal an upbringing as possible for their other children. The McCanns stayed on in the holiday resort for several months after Madeleine disappeared, but returned home after Portuguese police made them official suspects.

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Op vrijdag 6 juni 2008 11:29 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Goedemorgen Suko.

CM is een sukkel.

@Ironside: Babbelfish has a few new languages, including Dutch to English, maybe you'd like to check it out?
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?urltext=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atomic-silence.com%2F&fr=avbbf-us

Is dit echt ontslagwaardig?
[..]

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Idd Suko, de PJ bepaalt dat en niemand anders, de McCanns kunnen wel denken dat hun bull-shit naar roosjes ruikt maar wij weten wel beter

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Een geheime vakantie in de pers brengen is ook geen handige zet van CM.

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Op vrijdag 6 juni 2008 14:18 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Uhm nou, soms ben ik die 2 gewoon een beetje zat en dan ontglipt me zoiets.

Joana is een heel mooi voorbeeld van een betrokken Portugese die de zaak vanuit haar perspectief heel mooi aanvult, natuurlijk is ze een beetje bevooroordeeld, dat geeft niets, haar stukjes zijn iig eerlijk en tonen meer betrokkenheid dan alle CM spin bij elkaar.

Dat heb ik ook bij die Britse berichten, ik denk ook dat die niet vrijuit kunnen publiceren op het moment....
[..]

Ja tuurlijk is dit propaganda, maar het is soms net alsof ze denken dat de hele wereld om hen draait, wat kan het mij schelen dat ze op vakantie gaan en weigeren naar Portugal te gaan, laat ze eerst maar eens op zoek gaan naar hun dochtertje, ipv charities en evenementen aflopen.

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Op vrijdag 6 juni 2008 14:08 schreef yvonne het volgende:

[..]

En zo is het maar net

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Op vrijdag 6 juni 2008 14:44 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

ja, alle neusjes weer dezelfde kant uit idd.

Peter R de Vries mag er van mij ook wel zelf induiken, geen punt. Misschien dat hij die Engelsen met hun voetjes terug op de grond kan zetten.

Hihi, Ko, heb je de commentaren gezien?

Dit kan imho nog, het is geen sneer naar de ouders, het meisje wordt niet belachelijk gemaakt, het is duidelijk een sneer naar een bepaalde manier van berichtgeving.

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Op vrijdag 6 juni 2008 22:50 schreef Tmaatje het volgende:
Kijk de waarheid mag gezegd worden, ook al is het niet datgene wat de PR machine van de McCanns wil horen. Eerlijk gezegd hoop ik op een internationaal opsporingsbevel asap.

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Let us know when you see mention of Madleine McCann

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santacoloma wrote:
Would be grateful if you could refresh my memory, HawkEyes. We wouldn't like to think there will be another farcical delay, like that of the Rogatory letters. So, once the Prosecutor decides to issue EAWs, will they be served quickly? I should imagine it is a fairly frequent procedure, requiring some urgency in most cases. Will there be any reason at all for the Home Office to hold them up?

The European Arrest Warrant means faster and simpler surrender procedures and no more political involvement. It also means that Member States can no longer refuse to surrender to another Member State their own citizens who have committed a serious crime, or who are suspected of having committed such a crime in another EU country, on the ground that they are nationals.

All Member States of the European Union were required to introduce legislation to bring the European arrest warrant (EAW) into force by 1 January 2004. An EAW may be issued by a national court if the person whose return is sought is accused of an offence for which the penalty is at least over a year in prison or if he or she has been sentenced to a prison term of at least four months. Its purpose is to replace lengthy extradition procedures with a new and efficient way of bringing back suspected criminals who have absconded abroad and for people convicted of a serious crime who have fled the country, in order to forcibly transfer them from one Member State to another for conducting a criminal prosecution or executing a custodial sentence or detention order. The EAW enables such people to be returned within a reasonable time for their trial to be completed or for them to be put in prison to serve their sentence.

The EAW is based on the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions. This means that a decision by the judicial authority of a member state to require the arrest and return of a person should be recognized and executed as quickly and as easily as possible in the other Member States. The European arrest warrant, however, introduces some novelties compared to the former extradition procedures:

* Faster procedures: The State in which the person is arrested has to return him/her to the State where the EAW was issued within a maximum period of 90 days of the arrest. If the person gives consent to the surrender, the decision shall be taken within 10 days.

* Simpler procedures: The dual criminality principle - which means that both the country requesting extradition and the country that should arrest and return the alleged criminal, recognize and accept that what he or she is alleged to have done, is a crime - is abolished for 32 serious categories of offences. These include participation in a criminal organisation, terrorism, trafficking in human beings, sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, illicit trafficking in arms, ammunition and explosives, corruption, fraud including fraud pertaining to the financial interest of the European Union, money laundering and counterfeiting of money including the euro. European arrest warrants issued in respect of crimes or alleged crimes on this list have to be executed by the arresting state irrespective of whether or not the definition of the offence is the same, providing that the offence is serious enough and punished by at least 3 years' imprisonment in the Member State that has issued the warrant. For offences which are not in the list or beyond the 3 years' threshold, the dual criminality principle still applies.

* No political involvement: In extradition procedures, the final decision on whether to surrender the person or not, is a political decision. The EAW procedure abolished the political stage of extradition. This means that the execution of these warrants is simply a judicial process under the supervision of the national judicial authority which is, inter alia, responsible for ensuring the respect of fundamental rights.

* Surrender of nationals: EU countries can no longer refuse to surrender their own nationals. The EAW is based on the principle that EU citizens shall be responsible for their acts before national courts across the EU. This means that it will not be possible in principle for a Member State to refuse to surrender one of its citizens who has committed a crime in another EU state on the ground that he or she is a national. On the other hand, it will be possible for a Member State, while surrendering this person, to ask for their return on its territory to serve its sentence in order to facilitate future reintegration.

* Guarantees: The EAW ensures a good balance between efficiency and strict guarantees that the arrested person's fundamental rights are respected. In implementing the framework decision on the EAW, Member States and national courts have to respect the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and to ensure that it is respected. Anyone arrested under an EAW may have a lawyer, and if necessary an interpreter, as provided by the law of the country where he or she has been arrested. If judgement was given in his absence against anyone later arrested under an EAW, he has to be retried in the country requiring his return.

Grounds for refusal:
The surrender of the person can be refused on several grounds (see Arts. 3 and 4 of the Framework Decision) among which:

* the "ne bis in idem" or double jeopardy principle: This means that the person will not be returned to the country that issued the arrest warrant if he or she has already been tried for the same offence.

* amnesty: A Member State can refuse to return a person if an amnesty covers the offence in its national legislation.

* statutory limitation: A Member State can refuse to return a person if the offence is statute barred according to its law (which means that the time limit has been passed and that it is too late under that country's law to prosecute the person).

* the age of the person: A Member State can also refuse to return a person who is a minor and has not reached the age of criminal responsibility under its national laws.

It is also possible for a Member State to execute directly the sentence decided in another Member State instead of surrendering the person to that Member State.

Life sentence:
Where someone arrested under an EAW may be sentenced to life imprisonment, the state executing the EAW may insist, as a condition of executing the arrest warrant, that if sentenced to life, the accused person will have a right to have its personal situation periodically reconsidered.

---------------------------------------------------

I have highlighted the relevant sections to answer your questions, santacoloma. Further, under Grounds for Refusal, since none of these scenarios apply, the process should be straightforward without further intervention from the Home Office.

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British Foreign Office helped the McCann to go back home
vertaling van het artikel op sosmaddie.dhblogs.be gelezen op het 3arguidoforum inclusief commentaren op onderstaande artikelmet en een link naar een eerder artikel van dezelfde journo's: Why did the chickens run away?

Between September 7 and 10, last year, Kate McCann was fighting for her life, according to The News of the World, because Portuguese authorities were trying to frame her. "They want me to lie - I'm being framed”, Kate told the Sunday Mirror. The reason, she explained, was the fact that Polícia Judiciária was “running out of budget for this investigation and want it to end". Another reason, she said, was that Portuguese Police “don't want a murder in Portugal and all the publicity about them not having paedophile laws here, so they're blaming us."

But at the same time, Gerry McCann admitted that he was already informed by his lawyers that PJ “may have cobbled together enough to charge them.” Even being "absolutely confident' there was no evidence to link him and Kate with any suspicion of murder” of their daughter, Gerry admitted the “latest twist of events”, during the first weeks of September, “had left him with 'anxieties". According to the September 9 edition of The News of The World, “the McCann now fear the cops may be about to arrest and charge them. Gerry told us: 'Our lawyer said the weight of it is that, under the Portuguese legal system, they've got enough to move forward against us."

The father of Madeleine McCann considered also the possibility that “sooner or later, there'll be a formal process whereby we can rebut things in court. Then it will all come out. Gerry explained that the McCann were “negotiating with the police” in order “to be allowed to go home to the UK”, after being named as “arguidos”, or formal suspects in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

As those negotiations were going on, the “Foreign Office was 'firing on all cylinders' in its efforts to help the McCann”, as the Telegraph wrote on September 10. And the agreement that allowed Gerry and Kate to go back to the UK was reached through direct contacts between the British Foreign Office, the Portuguese Justice and Foreign Office ministers and PJ, with the help of John Buck, UK Ambassador in Portugal at the time. Justine McGuiness and David Hughes, members of the McCann team of advisers, played also an important role in those contacts.

A source from PJ explained that if the couple had attempted to leave Portugal before the questioning that took place between 7 and 8 of September, the Public Prosecutor's Office had instructed PJ inspectors to stop them and was ready to name them as "arguidos" and impose more severe restrictions on their movements. The Portuguese authorities accepted a “gentlemen's agreement”, after the Foreign Office guaranteed that the couple would return to Portugal, whenever the Public Prosecutor's Office requested their presence.

The sudden change of attitude from the McCann, trying to go back to UK after promising that they would never leave without Madeleine, happened two months after a special British police team came to Praia da Luz, with Eddie and Keela, dogs trained to detect the smell of blood and dead bodies. But one month before being named “arguidos”, the PJ spokesman, Olegário de Sousa, had already revealed, on a interview with BBC, on August 10, that police was following a new line of inquiry which included the possibility of Madeleine being dead.

Duarte Levy & Paulo Reis

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Op zondag 8 juni 2008 12:57 schreef SunChaser het volgende:
Jammer dat ze wegkomen met moord

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McCanns could be off to Strasbourg in two weeks time, 03 June 2008 (Bron)
^{Hello! magazine No. 1024, 10 June 2008 (issue date: 03 June 2008) (No online link)}
McCanns to fight neglect charges

Kate and Gerry McCann have vowed to vigorously contest neglect charges after court documents revealed that they have not yetbeen put in the clear over their missing daughter Madeleine.

Papers released last week show that police in Portugal have failed to rule out homicide, abandonment, concealment of a corpse and abduction. The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell told HELLO! "Kate and Gerry have received legal advice both in Portugal and England that they did everything within the bounds of reasonable parenting. They vigorously deny the neglect charges." Kate and Gerry are both still arguidos, official suspects in the investigation.

It was also reported last week that their friends, dubbed the "The Tapas Seven", will not return to Portugal to take part in a reconstruction of Madeleine's disappearance a year ago, days before her fourth birthday. They fear that they too will become suspects and that the exercise will not achieve anything.

Meanwhile, the McCanns are considering heading to Strasbourg in two weeks to bolster support for the campaign, backed by HELLO!, to introduce a European-wide child abduction scheme, based on the AMBER Alert system in the US.

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Op zondag 8 juni 2008 22:49 schreef Tmaatje het volgende:
Dan liever nieuws uit Portugal..

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Op maandag 9 juni 2008 11:54 schreef Smart_ass het volgende:
Ouders zijn zo schuldig als wat.

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UK Ambassador denies contacts between Governments about Madeleine's case
“The only thing I know about the investigation is that Madeleine is still missing”, Alexander Ellis, UK Ambassador in Portugal, told Jornal de Notícias. Alexander Ellis told that what the British Embassy did, in the Madeleine McCann case, was just to “facilitate meetings between the relevant authorities and giving all the necessary support to the British citizens involved in the case.”

Asked if there were any contacts between the British and Portuguese Governments about the case, taking in account the fact that Clarence Mitchell, at the time a UK Prime-Minister's office high ranking official, was sent to Praia da Luz, to help the McCann couple, Alexander Ellis said: “I don't believe. This is a question for Police, not for the Governments, and the authorities have been working with a good coordination.”

But Gordon Brown, speaking to journalists in Lisbon, before the EU summit, on October 2007, said that he was planning to talk, with the Portuguese Prime-Minister about questions related to Madeleine McCann disappearance. The Portuguese Prime-Minister Press Office denied that the question of Madeleine's investigation was ever referred, during the meeting with Gordon Brown. “The only subjects raised during the meeting between Gordon Brown and José Sócrates were related to the EU summit. All the rest is pure speculation”, according to the same source, quoted by Portuguese daily Correio da Manhã. A spokesman for Mr. Gordon Brown denied this and told British Media that prime minister Gordon Brown spoke to his Portuguese counterpart Jose Socrates about Madeleine during the EU summit in Lisbon. Mr Brown’s official spokesman said: “They both agreed what matters was there should be the closest possible co-operation between the Portuguese and British police.”

UK Government also “believes that Durão Barroso is in a very good position” to be the first post-Lisbon Treaty EU President, according to the UK Ambassador. Alexander Ellis is married with a Portuguese and during the two years before being appointed as Ambassador in Lisbon, he was one of the advisers of Durão Barroso, current EU President.

Duarte Levy & Paulo Reis Bron

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211 MEP's sign up for AMBER Alert scheme, 10 June 2008
Hello! magazine No. 1025, 17 June 2008 (issue date: 10 June 2008) (No online link)

Kate and Gerry McCann have won the backing of 211 MEPs in their campaign backed by HELLO! to introduce a Europe-wide child alert abduction scheme based on the US AMBER Alert system. The couple, whose elder daughter Madeleine disappeared in Portugal more than a year ago, need a total of 393 signatories by the end of July.

Politicians sponsoring the move in the European Parliament are still confident that they will reach their goal. A spokesman for the McCanns said "They will be urging every MEP to sign in coming weeks".

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11.6.08
European police organizes a child kidnap simulation
Portuguese and Spanish police officers will participate, as observers, on a simulated child's kidnapping, to take place on June 12. The simulation was proposed by the French Justice minister, Rachida Dati, in order to test the coordination of the authorities of all EU countries in these kind of crimes. The simulated kidnap will take place in France. A child from Luxembourg will be “kidnapped” by two police officers, who will try to drive her from France through Belgium, to an unknown destiny, using a car with a Dutch licence plate. Police from France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland will participate in the attempt to trace, find and arrest the “kidnappers”. UK police was also invited as an observer, but refused the invitation. Duarte Levy & Paulo Reis Bron

quote:

"because its 'only' a foreign child being abducted and driven across Europe, they are not interested unless it is a Brit or relates to Brits, and of course that would never happen in the UK, children are routinely left in unlocked houses while parents dine out didnt you know? left in prams outside shops, such a safe place...."

quote:

"They only trigger this plan if they have precise indications (plates for exemple). As it's an exercise, they want to see if, with only the country's plate, the car can be stopped at borders. There are borders between Belgian, France, Holland, Germany and Luxembourg. You usually have to slow down and not to stop. But sometimes (terrorist alert for example, or here, abduction plan) there are policemen and you have to stop and show your papers if required.

I said on other threads that IMO, the McCanns wanted to shortcut the French system already presented last year by Rachida Dati to the European Parliament, only for the personal purposes we know. Apparently it's not a concerted plan between the French and the McCann/British MEPs to implant a new Amber Alert because there is no British participation ( confirmed in Levy's article) which is rather strange if we consider they said that the Amber should be introduced in Europe."

quote:

There was a report in the Portuguese press a few weeks ago saying that the PJ were going over the case file one last time to be certain they had not missed anything before handing it off to the public prosecutor's office for a decision on whether or not charges will be laid against the McCanns.

This decision will lie primarily with Jose Cunha Magalhaes e Meneses, the public prosecutor in Portimao, and Luis Bilro Verão, another experienced public prosecutor brought in last fall from Evora to work with Mr. Magalhaes e Meneses, supported, of course, by their respective staffs. The final call will not be up to Paulo Rebelo or anyone else from the PJ; that is the way it is with these things.

We do not know at this point just what evidence is in the investigative file, but there are a few things that can be said about the likely outcome:

(1) The McCanns could be charged with neglect for leaving Madeleine and the twins alone. It is also possible that Jane Tanner and Rob O'Brien could face similar charges, as could Matthew and Rachel Manpilly Oldfield. Charges against the Paynes would seem to be less likely, because according to press reports they had a working baby monitor which they used when they left their children alone to go out to dinner. Whilst it would not be satisfactory to many of us here as a way to monitor the health and safety of a small child left alone and otherwise out of sight and sound, it is not so different from a baby listening service; therefore, in my opinion, it is unlikely that the Paynes would be charged.

(2) If the PJ have evidence that Madeleine is dead (if, for example, forensic testing showed that the hairs found in the hire car came from a dead person, and testing of mitochondrial DNA from the same hairs established Madeleine as the likely donor), then the big question arises: How did her death occur? Was it purest accident, something that would have been very unlikely to have happened if she had been supervised, and therefore appropriate as the basis for a charge of neglect resulting in death? Was it what we would call manslaughter? Or was it murder, with all that would imply?

If Madeleine is dead, the reason for her death is crucial, as it could provide a motive for the cover-up of her death, improper disposition of her corpse, lying to the police, and possibly the Portuguese equivalent of perverting the course of justice or conspiracy against more than just the McCanns. There would also be the possibility of fraud charges in the UK arising out of the creation of the fund. But the prosecution cannot just theorise about it; whatever elements of the crime form the basis of charges must be proven.

This, I believe, is the central dilemma at this point. Without a confession, witness testimony, or Madeleine's body, it is going to be difficult to prove the manner of her death.

This is why some of us (I believe that Hawkeyes and others also agree with this) have been saying for some time that we believe that, if the PJ can prove that Madeleine is dead, the McCanns should be charged with negligence resulting in death. This is a lesser charge than either manslaughter or premeditated murder, but it does not appear to require proving the manner of Madeleine's death, only that she is dead, and that her death is the result of negligence on the part of her parents in leaving her alone and unsupervised. After all, one charged with such an offence could not very well say in one's defence, "No, you have got it wrong. She did not die as a result of being left alone; we, in fact, murdered her." Similarly, there would seem to be no percentage to make a defence argument to the effect of, "No, she did not die whilst alone on the night of 3 May; she had been dead since the preceding evening." If it is a difficult situation for the prosecution, it could also be the ultimate choice between a rock and a hard place for the defence.

The statute of limitations in this case is more than a decade away from expiring. One thing the PJ could always do is wait to see if Madeleine's body turns up. If she is buried on land, more than likely she will be found at some point; that often happens in missing-body cases. Some hiker in an out-of-the-way place will stumble across a shallow grave, someone's dog will bring home what appears to be a human bone, someone out searching the hills for a lost animal will stumble across a piece of clothing or some other trace of her, or unusually heavy winter rains will unearth her grave, and she will be found. Finding Madeleine's body at this point might or might not make it possible for forensic pathologists to determine the cause of her death. For example, if the hyoid bone in her throat is fractured, that would indicate strangulation. If her skull were fractured, however, it would be hard to determine whether that was the result of accident, manslaughter, or murder. Moreover, if her body were dumped at sea, then recovering it is much less likely.

I wanted to bring this up now, because when one starts thinking it through, it seems to me that it becomes much clearer why the prosecution is taking its time and what they are up against. I am far from in despair about the case, but this is no easy matter; it is a very difficult decision, and those of us who are praying people might do well to pray for Mr. Magalhaes e Meneses and Mr. Bilro Verão, that God will give them grace to decide aright. The lives of not only the McCanns, but the other tapas 7 and their extended families will be unalterably changed one way or the other by the decisions made in the next few weeks and months. There are 8 other very small children, for example, whose parents are involved in this to one degree or another, if only as witnesses.

Assuming that there is nothing shocking that we do not know about and the summarisation of the situation above is more or less correct, what do YOU think the prosecution should do? Wait and hope that Madeleine's body can be found or that there will be some other sort of break in the case? Lay charges now? If so, what do you think the charges should be?

As I have said in other posts, I am not writing this because I have the answers, but because I know I do not and am interested in what other posters think.

quote:

Parents of Maddie in Strasbourg SOS Maddie (French language site)
^{Duarte Levy 13 June 2008, Thanks to 'FrenchEuropean' for translation}
Kate and Gerry McCann have confirmed this afternoon that they will make the trip next Tuesday to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, as authors of a declaration calling for the creation of a European alert system for missing children, and will try to persuade 182 MPs to sign the document. The McCanns played no role in drafting the statement - an initiative of five parliamentarians - but the couple had made its submission to Brussels, despite protests from several MPs.

The document adds nothing new to the intentions of Parliament or the creation of a European warning system that has been under consideration for several years. France, which took the rotating presidency in July, regardless of the statement made in Brussels on April 10, had already made known its intention to approve a European system similar to that which exists in France.

"Until now we have 211 signatures and we need the signature of 393 MEPs, a simple majority in Parliament," said the spokesperson of Kate and Gerry McCann, Clarence Mitchell. The couple had planned to meet several MEPs in private before concluding their day with the usual press conference.

Introduced to Parliament by the Conservative Edward McMillan-Scott, vice-president of Parliament, Gerry and Kate McCann, arguidos in the investigation into the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine, had already been heavily criticised in Brussels by several parliamentarians, deeming the visit of the couple inappropriate.

Recently, the couple had found a way not to make the trip to Portugal to participate in the reconstruction of events surrounding the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine, as the Portuguese authorities had demanded.

The McCanns are there for nothing

A statement originally submitted on April 10 at the European Parliament in Brussels was not prepared or suggested by the McCanns but the parents of Madeleine, with the support of the British Government, have won the right to attend despite their status as arguidos in Portugal.

Edward McMillan-Scott, Roberta Angelilli, Glenys Kinnock, Evelyne Gebhardt, and Diana Wallis are the five MEPs who originated the document which proposes emergency cooperation between the member states of the European Union to find missing children.

The document calls on member states to conclude cooperation agreements with all the border states in order to give itself the means to launch early warning in the territories concerned. Despite the importance of the guidelines proposed by the document, it is still far from an agreement among all member states.

Yesterday, France - a country where the device Abduction Alert has already proved its efficency, organized a mock abduction in collaboration with Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The exercise was conclusive and allowed four organizers to test their reaction, but also working with the media.

The policies of Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic participated as observers. The United Kingdom, who were invited, chose not to participate.

quote:

New blog from Gerry, 13 June 2008 First of all apologies for the long gap since my last blog. We are still very busy and the last 2 weeks all four of us have been laid low with a viral illness.

Our investigative team have been very busy working through all the information which has been coming in through the new hotline number and the e-mail addresses – see investigation page. A lot of this information is undoubtedly relevant to the investigation and every piece of information will be followed up- a very time consuming process – so please be patient with us! We are planning a facility to allow the upload of pictures of people who were in the Algarve leading up to Madeleine’s abduction. In the interim pictures can be e-mailed to investigation@findmadeleine.com

The campaign for a Europe wide Amber alert continues. There is approximately one month left to get the majority of MEP’s to sign the written declaration. Edward McMillan- Scott has told us that so far there are 211 signatures therefore we need another 182. Thank you to everyone who has written to MEP’s. Some of the responses that have been sent display a complete lack of understanding in what we hope to achieve. For example some have said they will not sign because such a system is already in place with the 116 000 hotline number. Firstly this number for missing children is only operational in one out of 27 European countries (Greece) so far. Secondly the number does not mean an Amber alert will be issued for an abducted child as no such system exists- hence the written declaration. Thirdly we are looking for cross border cooperation between member states when a child is abducted. Hopefully with more lobbying, we can get the declaration accepted.

We are continually looking to improve the website. Over the next few weeks you should notice some changes. We are planning to have new messages on the home page from Kate and myself. The blog may change to a findmadeleine update, there will be new pages displaying the posters in full and further details of local fundraising events. With the holiday season approaching, we would be really grateful if people would once again download Madeleine posters from the website (available in many different languages in how to help/downloads section) and take them with them for distribution and display. 1 in 6 children are recovered after someone has recognised them from a poster!

Finally, we would like to say thank you to everyone for their continued help and kindness, the many letters, messages of support and prayers. It is reassuring and uplifting that Madeleine is in so many people’s thoughts and prayers even at this stage.

quote:

McCann couple goes to Strasbourg for a last ditch stand
Gerry and Kate McCann will be in Strasbourg next Tuesday in order to try to secure enough support from Members of the European Parliament for a “written declaration” concerning the creation of a European Amber Alert system covering all 27 EU states. But, in fact, this idea was originally proposed by the EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, Mr Franco Frattini, in 2006: a detail never mentioned by the McCanns, their media advisers nor by Clarence Mitchell. Mr Frattini proposed that each country should establish an EU alert system, but it was not an initiative for the European Parliament’s legislature.

However, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Bryan, a UK top ranking police officer, who is the Association of Chief Police Officers head of missing people, told the media in May 2007 that “there was no need to emulate the US system of immediate information broadcasts once children have been reported missing.”

According to the Times on-line edition, “Mr Bryan congratulated the McCanns on doing a 'sterling job' in raising the issue of how police deal with child abductions, but he said that police would rather use other investigative techniques to trace children before going public and potentially alerting abductors.”
The UK already has a national alert system for missing children, as Richard Bryan told the Times, “that has been in place since 2003 in Sussex and it was rolled out nationally by 2006. We have only had to use it on three occasions.”
Since 2006, Mr Frattini’s initial idea has taken shape. In February 2007, the European Commission decided to ask all member states to reserve a dedicated set of national phone numbers starting with “116”. The idea was that they should be used as a hotline in the event of a missing child. So far, 10 EU countries have adopted the idea, but the UK is not one of them.

On April 21, following a meeting with the McCanns, five Members of the European Parliament (Edward McMillan-Scott, Roberta Angelilli, Glenys Kinnock, Evelyne Gebhardt and Diana Wallis) submitted a written declaration to the European Parliament concerning “Emergency Cooperation in Recovering Missing Children.” The declaration “calls on Member States to introduce a missing child alert system” and asks for the creation of a “common organisation to provide assistance and training” to police forces in the 27 EU countries.

In order to have the “written declaration” sent to the EU President and published, the McCanns still need the signatures of 182 more Members of the European Parliament to reach the required number of 393. The “written declaration” is just a way to “launch or relaunch a debate on a subject that comes within the EU’s remit”, but it has no legal implications for the EU state members. Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis

quote:

"Even because they still have hope of finding their daughter alive. "The Spanish agency M3 continues to work with other European investigation agencies searching for clues that may lead to Madeleine McCann", says Clarence Mitchell. And the findmadeleine.com fund is not short of money. "The fund is healthy with the money paid by the British papers as compensation. It is that money that makes it possible for us to pay the lawyers and the search teams" explains Clarence."

HOLIDAYS:
The McCann couple will go on holiday after the visit to Strasbourg. "The days and location will not
be disclosed " says the spokesman.

DOOR(?):
The McCanns believe that only in mid-August will the secrecy of justie be lifted and they will
stop being arguidos.

quote:

Clarence Mitchell clearly states that Madeleine's Fund is being used to pay lawyers. This is in direct contradiction to the statement released by the board of Madeleine's Fund following the McCanns arguido status:

Statement by the Board of

Madeleine’s Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Limited

12 September 2007

The Fund would like to thank everyone for their kindness, support and generosity.
Madeleine's Fund was set up to:

1. Find Madeleine;

2. Support the Family; and

3. Bring the abductor or abductors to justice

and subject to that to help other missing children

With the sudden dramatic and unexpected turn of events at the weekend the directors had to consider whether legal defence costs could be paid for by the Fund.

The Board has taken advice from Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP and Christopher McCall QC. The Board has been advised that payment of Gerry and Kate's legal defence costs would be legally permissible subject to conditions about repayment in the event of a guilty conviction.

The directors of the Fund discussed this today. The two family directors, Brian Kennedy and John McCann withdrew from the meeting when the decision was made. Esther McVey chaired the meeting. The Fund directors realise that there is not only a legal answer and recognise the spirit which underlies the generous donations to Madeleine's Fund, which it is the directors' responsibility to steer.

For this reason the Fund directors have decided not to pay for Gerry and Kate's legal defence costs. We stress that Gerry and Kate have not asked for these costs to be paid. However, people have already called in offering their financial support. Any such fund to pay legal defence costs would have to be separately set up and administered.

At the heart of this campaign and Fund is a little girl confused, lonely and in need of her parents. This Fund's money will be focused on finding that little girl and leaving no stone unturned.

quote:

McCanns will be able to access the evidence - 24 Horas

Maddie process becomes public in July

McCanns will be able to see all the evidence

From July onwards, the [Maddie case] process will stop being under judicial secrecy and can be consulted by all the interested parties.” The statement was made yesterday to 24Horas by Pinto Monteiro, the Republic’s General Prosecutor.

The most senior officer responsible for the investigations into the disappearance of the little British girl, on the 3rd of May 2007, from an apartment in Praia da Luz, near Lagos, in the Algarve, only failed to name the precise date: “I don’t know the exact day, but in July the process stops being covered by the judicial secrecy”. According to what 24Horas was able to establish, it will be on the 14th of July that the process becomes public – one day before the judicial holidays.

The prosecutor also insisted in adding that this fact will not effect the investigations. “We won’t rest until the child is found. The fact that the judicial secrecy is lifted has nothing to do with the development of the investigations”, he stated, adding: “Until there is, either from the Public Ministry or from the judicial magistracy, a decision towards an accusation or an archiving, the process will continue, and so will the mission that has been given to the Polícia Judiciária, to clarify the case”.

In practical terms it will be August

Meanwhile, Rogério Alves, the McCanns’ lawyer, does not hide his pessimism: “I’m not going to comment on the case, but the information that we have is that we will only have access to the process in August.”

He may be correct, given the fact that the judicial holidays begin on the 15th of July and end one month later. During that period, the courts work only with shift judges. Which means that only the priority processes, with detained arguidos, will be forwarded.

“The Maddie case is not a priority. There are no detained persons. There are indices of a crime of neglect and child abandonment, but that accusation can wait”, said a senior officer at the Court in Portimão, where Maddie’s disappearance is being investigated.

Deadlines have run out

The process about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is being run at the Criminal Court in Portimão. The judicial secrecy on the case expires, according to what 24Horas was able to establish, on the 14th of July, and according to the new legislation, cannot be extended any further, given the fact that such has already happened twice – 90 days each – at the request of prosecutor Magalhães e Menezes. He is one of the persons that are responsible for the investigation, which is being carried out by the PJ.

Judicial authorities that were heard by 24Horas admit that with the deadlines on the judicial secrecy running out, the general prosecutor in Évora, Luís Bilro Verão, who was nominated to direct the process, has nothing solid in his hands that will allow for the child to be traced…

quote:

Op dinsdag 17 juni 2008 17:24 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Idd, wat een gedoe om de tere hartjes van de ouders, laat iedereen nu eens zoveel inkt verspillen aan het oproepen naar mensen die eventueel iets gezien hebben, ik vind het nog steeds zo raar dat ze gewoon van de aardbodem is verdwenen, dat kan toch bijna niet zo zijn zou je denken.
[..]

Vanaf 14 juli zijn de stukken volgens mij opvraagbaar voor de McCanns/hun advocaat, als de PJ dan vervelend wil doen dan raakt die aanvraag ook een half jaar "kwijt".
Ik denk dat de PJ de stukken niet openbaar wil maken en de McCanns ook pas na rijp beraad en selectie van de stukken die ze vrij wensen te geven, schone konte Suko, schone konten!
[..]

Een aanklacht komt er, dat kan door al dat circus bijna niet anders, nu alleen afwachten wat er uit komt.

Over dat Amber alert:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/n(...)stem-89520-20610859/
[..]

Het gaat dus niet zo goed met de handtekeningen......

quote:

Found this on Portugal Diario, http://diario.iol.pt/soci(...)401-4071.html,Google translation - faites attention! "McCann react badly to questions"
Parents of Madeleine liked not to be questioned about the fact that they left the girl alone

The parents of Madeleine McCann reacted badly, this Tuesday in Strasbourg, on the issues that have left his daughter alone on the night of the disappearance, claiming that the "real issue" is the abduction, the Lusa news.

Kate and Gerry McCann participated in a press conference in the European Parliament (EP) to promote a petition launched two months ago in Brussels with a view to establishing, at Community level, a system of alert for missing children.

When questioned about the fact that on the night in which disappeared in May last year, the Algarve, Madeleine McCann find itself alone in the apartment, the child's parents British - made defendants in Portugal - said to be tired of that question, saying that people should be focusing on the crime committed.

"Do not abandoned or neglected the Madeleine. Someone entered the apartment and took a child. That is the question. Frankly(?) this matter is really very boring," said Gerry McCann. Kate McCann also said that "the real issue is that a child was kidnapped and there is a criminal who still goes out there."

"We must concentrate on the real issue. No aid is to continue to raise this issue. Nothing has changed in the last 14 months and not understand that once again we talk about it," he said.

quote:

Someone went into an apartment and stole a child.

quote:

Madeleine's Mum On Alert Campaign, 17 June 2008
Jun 17, 2008
Madeleine McCann's parents have made a new attempt to win support for their Europe-wide alert system for abducted children. The missing girl's mother Kate McCann spoke about whether or not the scheme would have helped find Madeleine.

00:00:22

Transcript:

Kate McCann: "I believe it would have given us a greater chance. Errm... I think the awareness early on in the critical hours would have been greater and hence I think there would have been more help from the public... errm, at that crucial time and potentially Madeleine may have been retrieved. We'll never know but there is a possibility, yes."

---------------------------------------------------

A reminder of the help the public gave, whilst Kate remained in the McCanns apartment ringing relatives and friends, and praying:

British girl missing on Algarve holiday Independent

^{Friday, 4 May 2007}

Holidaymakers and police were desperately searching today for a young British girl who went missing while on holiday in Portugal.

Three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished from her parents' rented apartment in the Algarve last night as they dined nearby.

Tourists joined resort staff in a "frantic" all-night search for the little girl, who was described by a neighbour as "happy-go-lucky" and idolised by her "protective" parents, Gerry and Kate.

Today the manager at the Ocean Club - a holiday resort run by British travel firm Mark Warner in the south west seaside village of Praia Da Luz - said the couple, both doctors from Leicester, were "distraught".

John Hill said: "It was a very emotional and very frantic night and everyone did a fantastic job of getting involved and trying to search the area.

"As you can imagine, Madeleine's parents are distraught and not doing very well at all."

Around 60 staff and guests at the purpose-built complex searched until 4.30am while police notified border police, Spanish police and airports.

Sniffer dogs were brought in by Portuguese detectives to comb the area but as the hours went by, hopes that Madeleine merely wandered off were fading.

The first interview with Jane Hill from the BBC - 25 May 2007, Kate admits never actually 'physically searching' for Madeleine

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."

quote:

Come on Herald - let's see some serious reporting on this case. Ask the real questions. Quote | Report this postPosted by: Murray, UK on 12:49am today

Have to agree with JamesM, there is obviously a huge, as yet, untold story here. Are the Herald brave enough to really investigate it?You may be the last newspaper in Britain with the courage to do so. I hope so anyway.

quote:

Kate and Gerry at the European Parliament, to speak about missing children

The McCanns were in Strasbourg yesterday to take care of a petition and ended up reacting, in an irritated manner, to questions from the journalists about the evening of the 3rd of May 2007

McCanns lose their calm

Kate and Gerry were in Strasbourg yesterday, where they convinced 225 MEPs to sign the petition for the creation of an European alert system for missing children. The problem, for the McCanns, was the press conference that they gave in the late afternoon. The journalists’ favourite dish was not the petition, but rather the couple’s behaviour on the evening of the 3rd of May 2007, when Madeleine disappeared in Praia da Luz, Algarve.

One of the questions was why they left their daughter alone on the fateful night. The McCanns reacted with a bad temper. The “real issue”, they underlined, is the abduction. “We did not abandon or neglect Madeleine. Someone entered the apartment and took a child. That is the issue. To go over that matter is very boring”, Gerry McCann said. Kate supported her husband, with the same irritation: “The real issue is that a child was abducted and there is a criminal who is still out there”.

Gerry insisted. “We need to focus on the real issue. Continuously raising that question is unhelpful. Nothing has changed over the last 14 months and I don’t understand why we are talking about that, again”.

The couple only calmed down when they were allowed to speak again about the issue that was on their agenda: the petition to create a European alert system for missing children. Kate and Gerry thanked the 225 MEPs that have already signed the petition, and exhorted others to do it.

They remembered that 393 signatures are necessary, half of the hemicycle, until the end of July, in order for the text to be sent to the European Commission and for the communitarian executive to present a proposal in that sense to the Council. In Brussels’ hallways, there are some who accuse the McCanns of a “media maneuver” with this initiative.

“What is the use of this petition? There is already a European law proposal for the creation of such an alert system. It is on its way to being approved in Strasbourg, and then to be taken before the European Commission. That proposal, which has been worked upon for quite some time, will then have to be approved by each member state”, a source in Brussels criticized.

“Media maneuver”

The same source remembered that the McCanns have “associated themselves to an initiative that belongs to the European Commission, in a media maneuver”. One of the main promoters of that initiative was Margarida Sousa Uva, the wife of the president of the European Union, Durão Barroso.

In March, Sousa Uva alerted in Brussels to the “lack of political will” within the 27 to create an effective alert system. One month later, in April, the McCanns met with a group of MEPs that wrote the text about the European alert. It was then that they started speaking about the petition.

Numbers

14 of July is the date from which the Maddie process ceases to be covered by the judicial secrecy. The McCanns heard about that date through 24Horas, yesterday.

4 is the number of European Union member states that have an alert system: Germany, France, Greece and the United Kingdom. The proposal intends to widen it on 27.

quote:

“EU Vice-President Jacques Barrot REJECTS McCann's project of a European Amber alert”, was the headline. It doesn't say that Barroso and Barrot are against the idea of a rapid response alert, just that they don't support the McCann's “recent” idea, launched with the help of five Members of European Parliament. What Barrot said is very clear, I think: The EU will proceed with it's own legislative process of setting up a missing children alert system, following the formal decisions already taken, since 2006 (among others, a legal decision approved in the beginning of this year by the European Parliament). The EU Commission has it's own project of a rapid response scheme, since 2006. And that is the project that EU and Barrot are willing to set up - not the McCann's inspired proposal of doing something vague and similar as the USA have done, with the Amber Alert. Check what Carlos Coelho, a Portuguese MEP from PSD said: "The McCann couple launched a public relations campaign, trying to "seize" a policy that is already being enforced..." (and watch the exasperation of Kate and Gerry McCann, when questioned by journalists about the fact they left three children alone...)

quote:

Op donderdag 19 juni 2008 11:14 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Och dat komt uit de koker van CM, nu kan hij weer zielig lopen doen en zijn clienten afschilderen als engeltje eerste klas.
[..]

Rondje Anorak: http://www.anorak.co.uk/madeleine-mccann/185038.html

quote:

Madeleine McCann: parents' court bid for information
by Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter
Last Updated: 7:26PM BST 20/06/2008

Kate and Gerry McCann are to ask a High Court judge to order the release of police documents which they hope will kick-start the search for their missing daughter Madeleine, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

The McCanns hope their application to Mrs Justice Hogg will result in Leicestershire Police opening their files on scores of reported sightings of Madeleine, most of which have been passed on to them by police in Portugal, where the four-year-old disappeared in May last year.

Until now police in Leicestershire, the McCanns' home county, have refused the couple's requests for information about sightings, saying they are bound by the terms of an agreement with Portuguese police. But Mr and Mrs McCann, who retain the services of a Spanish-based detective agency, are anxious to make sure that every possible lead has been checked out, which they believe the Portuguese police, whose investigation is gradually being wound down, may not be able to do.

The Telegraph can also disclose that Madeleine was made a ward of court last summer at the request of the McCanns, to empower judges to act in her best interests in any legal dispute such as the case which is about to be heard. Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, said: “I can state that on the instigation of Gerry and Kate McCann Madeleine is a ward of the High Court of England and Wales.

“An application has been made on Madeleine’s behalf by her parents for disclosure of certain documents. The hearing is currently scheduled for July 7 in the High Court in London. “It has been the stated intention of Gerry and Kate McCann to leave no stone unturned in doing everything necessary to search for their daughter, as would any parent.

“This application is just part of their search for Madeleine.” Madeleine’s status as a ward of court has never been disclosed by her parents, who quietly made a wardship application in the High Court just weeks after she went missing.

The couple’s legal team had advised them to ask for Madeleine to be made a ward of court because wardship status gives the courts certain statutory powers to act on her behalf in legal disputes such as the one which has arisen with Leicestershire police.

They still believe their daughter is alive and hope the police files may contain information which could yet lead to a breakthrough. The case is listed to be heard in open court on July 7 in the Family Division of the High Court in London, and is expected to be contested by Leicestershire Police, according to legal sources.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: "Kate and Gerry have always said that they will do whatever is necessary to find Madeleine and that they will leave no stone unturned in their search for their daughter. "They will take whatever legal steps are necessary if there is information out there that can assist their private investigation into finding Madeleine. Beyond that I cannot make any comment."

Mr Mitchell said the hearing would not involve any attempt by the McCanns to clear their names by proving they were not involved in their daughter's disappearance from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz. They remain official suspects, or arguidos, in Portugal. In recent months the couple have become increasingly frustrated at the slow progress of the Portuguese investigation, and they suspect that many possible sightings of Madeleine have not been followed up at all.

If they are given access to the police files on reported sightings, each one will be looked into by private investigators retained by the couple. For the past year the McCanns have employed Metodo 3, a Barcelona-based detective agency, to carry out an investigation in parallel with the Portuguese police inquiry.

The agency has checked out sightings as far afield as North Africa and South America – all of which have proved to be false – using either its own staff or affiliated firms, which it says it can do far more quickly than the police.

In one instance earlier this year, the agency ruled out a sighting of Madeleine in Chile within three hours of receiving a tip-off, by employing local investigators to track down the girl concerned. The agency argues that police would have taken days to achieve a similar result because they would have been hampered by bureaucracy and official procedure.

Earlier this week Portugal's Attorney General suggested that police files may be opened up at the end of July, but the McCanns fear his comments may prove to be another false dawn.

Their case is being heard in the Family Division because it involves the welfare of a child. Mrs Justice Hogg, a specialist in child welfare cases, is the sister of former cabinet minister Douglas Hogg and the daughter of former Lord Chancellor Lord Hailsham.

quote:

McCANNS' BID Kate and Gerry McCann will ask a High Court judge to order police to release files which they believe will help the search for their missing daughter Madeleine. The couple hope their application on July 7 will force Leicestershire Police to hand over information on hundreds of sightings. Until now Leicestershire, their local force, has claimed to be bound by a secrecy agreement with Portuguese police. But the McCanns fear many sightings of their little girl have not been followed up in the year since she went missing."

quote:

FEARFUL MCCANNS GET PANIC ALARMS
EXCLUSIVE Security beefed up after evil threats
By Tom Latchem And Tracey Kandohla Tom.Latchem@People.Co.Uk
Maddie McCann's anguished parents have installed panic alarms at their home after a wave of vile threats. Kate and Gerry McCann got offensive and menacing letters and emails - including two that threatened to kill them.

The couple have installed a state-of-the-art security system at their £600,000 detached home. The gear, costing "several thousand" pounds, is understood to include CCTV and panic buttons in most rooms to alert cops in an emergency.

Police are examining the threats in a bid to track down the senders. One of the most disturbing messages suggested an intruder would target five-year-old Maddie's bedroom. Doctors Kate, 40, and Gerry, 3 9, have left the room unchanged since their daughter vanished from their holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal, nearly 14 months ago.

A source close to the couple said yesterday: "They have had threats made against them which they find both very worrying and upsetting. "Unfortunately there are some lunatics out there. There have been lots of offensive and vicious letters, with at least two talking about killing them.

"Security surrounding Kate and Gerry has been reviewed. It means they can sleep better at night. They will not let these people break them down."

There was a surge in abusive mail arriving at the McCanns' home in Rothley, Leics, after they appeared in an ITV documentary last month. The source said it is feared the couple's high-profile visit to Strasbourg last week will trigger more.

Kate and Gerry were in the French city to campaign for a Europe-wide alert system for abducted children. The strain of the couple's ordeal was obvious in Kate's gaunt features. A Leicestershire police spokesman said: "Several letters have been passed to us. We are investigating threats made against the McCanns."

quote:

"Meanwhile Kate and Gerry are having panic buttons installed at home as police step down the round-the-clock vigil outside their house.The couple have had a constant police guard since arriving back from Portugal seven weeks ago." The Mirror 28/10/2007

quote:

"Kate spends most of her time with the twins at their £500,000 house in the village where panic buttons, linked to the local police station, have been fitted after a number of threatening letters arrived in the post." Daily Mail december 2007

quote:

Op zondag 22 juni 2008 13:31 schreef SunChaser het volgende:
tnx

quote:

Op zondag 22 juni 2008 22:42 schreef Tmaatje het volgende:

[..]

Hmm maar mogen ze kinderen wel meenemen naar het buitenland als ze onder toezicht staan of is dat niet wat er bedoeld wordt met Ward of the Court?

quote:

Op zondag 22 juni 2008 23:29 schreef Tmaatje het volgende:
Suko, ik weet dat hier in Nederland ook derden een ondertoezichtsstelling kunnen aanvragen als bewezen is dat het kind met de "zedelijke ondergang"bedreigt wordt..Misschien is dat in dit geval ook wel gebeurt.

quote:

Op maandag 23 juni 2008 11:46 schreef kahaarin het volgende:
Volgens mij krijgen ze op het moment te weinig aandacht, ik kan me namelijk herinneren dat ze al eerder over dit soort mails hebben bericht, dat er nu in de pers moet dat ze een panic alert hebben geinstalleerd doet mij vermoeden dat er iets aan zit te komen uit Portugal, noem mij achterdochtig/paranoide maar dat is wat me al vaker is opgevallen, op het moment dat de McConns een boel stof doen opwaaien moet er iets onder het kleed.
[..]

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/?search=madeleine&searchheadlines=1

Dit lijkt me echt een gevalletje van proactief reageren want anders komen we enkel negatief in het nieuws, schone achterwerken dus wederom.

quote:

Madeleine under judicial supervision of the Court "The documents do not find Madeleine, but the disclosure of their content is posing a serious risk the outcome of the investigation," said a British officer in Enderby stressing that "in these documents it yal'identité of all witnesses heard the United Kingdom and its statements, as well as the results of expertise made by the FSS (Forensic Science Service). Their premature revelation is seriously concerned opportunities outcome of the investigation. " According to the spokesman for McCann, Clarence Mitchell, the request was made by Kate and Gerry McCann acting "on behalf of Madeleine" to "disclosure of certain documents."

Arriving in the United Kingdom in September, after their hasty departure of Portugal, Kate and Gerry McCann saw Madeleine be placed under judicial supervision of the Supreme Court of England and Wales - statute intended to protect the interests of Child despite his disappearance.

According to Clarence Mitchell, former head of the Unit for media monitoring and current spokesman for McCann, placing under judicial supervision Madeleine could have been made under the "instigation" of the couple, but a source of Leicestershire County Council , Contacted by telephone, refused to confirm this version saying that "the authorities have acted in the exclusive interest of Madeleine." On 10 September 2007, officials of the Police and Leicestershire County Council analyzed, meeting, the situation of the couple, twins and the disappearance of Madeleine. A few days later, those responsible for social services have met the couple at Rothley.

quote:

Op maandag 23 juni 2008 20:58 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]>knip<

Ik denk ook niet dat ze die files krijgen, zeker niet als verdachten zijnde, de Britse politie die op zoek is naar Maddy heeft meer kans, die zullen misschien in de luwte ook wel een verzoek doen. Dan is dit natuurlijk een heel mooi rookgordijn, al denk ik niet dat ze het kunnen maken dit direct aan de McConns te geven, maar ik denk wel dat er dan "a person close to the investigation" een paar mooie foto's gaat maken.
[..]>knip<

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Op maandag 23 juni 2008 22:06 schreef Tmaatje het volgende:
Een soort toeziend voogd benoemen voor een vermist kind?? Men dit deugt echt niet... als het voor de tweeling geregeld was zou ik zeggen ze zijn bang voor de toekomst nu zeg ik ze zijn bang voor wat al gebeurd is..wat een ouders..

quote:

"leaving aside the Ward of Court business for a moment, I am puzzled as to the nature of the reported sightings the McCanns expect to find in the Leicestershire police files what sort of reports are the PJ likely to have passed over? - sightings of UK residents in PDL who were behaving suspiciously? there have never been any actual reports of any such

and not of Murat, who comes under the PJ's juridiction

could it be that they are interested in sightings of any of the Tapas7, which might well have been passed to Leicestershire police for further investigation, even if the people reporting did not realise they had seen one of the Tapas7, as their photos were not in the press for months after M went missing?"

quote:

Maddie’s parents have asked a British court to have access to documents

McCanns want evidence

Kate and Gerry want to consult the process, in order to find out everything about the sightings. The British High Court will decide

The McCanns can’t be bothered to wait for the date on which the Maddie process becomes public and have advanced a special request to the British judicial system. The request will be analysed on the 7th of July in the family section of the British High Court and essentially targets the access to documents that are related to sightings of Maddie.

According to what 24Horas was able to establish, the McCanns intend to pass the information about the sightings on to the detective agency that they hired, Spanish Metodo 3. If the court decides that the release of said documents does not harm the investigation, it will then be the Leicestershire police that will deliver the data to the McCanns.

Until now, the police in this city – the region in central England where the couple lives – has not made any details of the process public, at the request of the Portuguese Polícia Judiciária. According to what was revealed by the site of British channel Sky News, this diligence by the McCanns was only possible because Kate and Gerry placed the case of their missing daughter under the guardianship of the High Court, which confers the judges the right to act in the child’s best interest.

Normally, this decision is made when a child is at risk, but in this case, the process was started at the request of Madeleine’s parents, several months ago.

“Leave no stone unturned”

The McCanns’ spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, has confirmed the date of the hearing to Lusa Agency (July 7) and that the couple has requested access to “certain documents”. He refused to offer any further details.

“It was always Gerry and Kate McCann’s intention to leave no stone unturned in order to do the necessary to find their daughter”, Mitchell underlined. “This request is only a part of their search for Madeleine”.

The 5-year-old girl disappeared on the 3rd of May of 2007, while sleeping in a bedroom at a hotel in Praia da Luz, Algarve, while her parents dined in the nearby Tapas Bar. Kate and Gerry McCann remain arguidos.

One year later, the Public Ministry has not produced any accusation against them.

Secrecy is ending

The McCanns’ diligence with the British justice is practically useless, because the judicial secrecy on the Maddie case will be lifted in July, according to what the Republic’s General Prosecutor himself, Pinto Monteiro, has confirmed to 24Horas (in the edition of June 17, 2008). According to the calculations that we did, at that time, it will be on the 14th of July that the process becomes public – one day before the judicial holidays.

According to what Rogério Alves, the McCanns’ lawyer, told us then, the couple is only counting on access to the process in August, which could be due to the judicial holidays – which are from July 15 until August 15. During that period, the courts function only with shift judges. Which means that only priority processes, with detained arguidos, are worked upon. “The Maddie case is not a priority”, a senior official at the Portimão court has guaranteed.

quote:

"This whole thing seems to me to be a nonsense generated by Clarrie to get everyone in a speculative lather to detract from the fact that the Portuguese investigative and judicial processes in this case are grinding on regardless of what he says and the English legal team do and that they have no control over what happens. What I understand is that at some point last year the surviving children were made wards of court as opposed to having a protection order made, which would have meant they were put into the care of the local authority on returning to the UK. As wards they are allowed to remain with their parents but their welfare is the concern of the court, and this hearing is to alter or remove, at the parents' or social services request, some part of the original order. The parents can't use this court to somehow demand access to confidential evidence held in a foreign judiciary, however Clarrie tries to spin it - away from what is related to the issue of gross neglect and over to the 'persecuted by swarthy foreigners who are setting us up who are totally innocent of everything' mularkey with which we have become so familiar over the last year. Clarrie is trading on the general ignorance of legal procedures and exploiting that ignorance as best he can. IMO the macs are desperate to keep the fact that this case will come to trial away from the British public for as long as possible so that the dosh keeps trickling into the Fund for as long as possible."

quote:

Op vrijdag 27 juni 2008 18:18 schreef kahaarin het volgende:
Aha! Kijk nu eens, nu snap ik waarom de pers zo tam is, er komt een nieuwe claim.....
[..]

http://www.anorak.co.uk/tabloids/185287.html

Weet je, het zou me idd niets verbazen dat men dit afwacht en ondertussen de McConns geen pers meer gunnen, misschien slecht gedacht maar ik denk dat ik als krant hetzelfde gedaan zou hebben, geen echt nieuws, lastig doen, dan geen pers, screw het Amber-alert maar.