Madeleine's Parents Launch Libel Case

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6:51pm UK, Wednesday December 09, 2009

Madeleine's Parents Launch Libel Case

Mark Langford, Sky News Online
The parents of Madeleine McCann are to travel to Portugal for the start of a libel action against former police chief Goncalo Amaral, who made claims about them in a book on their daughter's disapearance.





Gerry and Kate McCann go to Portugal for the start of the libel trial

The couple plant to attend the opening of the trial in Lisbon on Friday, their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said.
"They only intend to appear at the opening and I would expect that they will return to the UK fairly swiftly," he said.
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal on May 3 2007 while her parents dined with friends nearby.
Despite a massive police investigation and huge publicity worldwide, she has not been found.
Mr Amaral was involved in the initial investigation to find Madeleine but was later taken off the case.


Madeleine McCann

In his book, The Truth Of The Lie, he claimed Madeleine was dead and questioned the McCanns' account that she was taken while they were eating with friends.
In September a Portuguese judge granted an injunction banning further sale or publication of the book.
It also banned Mr Amaral from repeating his claims about Madeleine or her parents.
The injunction came after a year-long campaign by the McCanns' lawyers to prevent the publication of the book and a subsequent DVD.
Speaking after it was granted, Gerry McCann said false allegations had done immense damage to the search for their daughter because Portuguese people would be dissuaded from coming forward with information.
At the time he said: "There's a lot of people in Portugal, who might have evidence, that believe Madeleine is dead.
"If people believe that, they won't search for her and they won't come forward with information."
At one point Portuguese police made Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, Leics, arguidos, or formal suspects, in their daughter's disappearance.
They were questioned by detectives but their arguido status was later lifted and since then they have continued to campaign to find their daughter.

I believe there were comments in certain cesspits to the effect of certain people not having the guts to face certain other people in a courtroom. Seems they were right!

Rosie, I agree both that Amaral deliberately scheduled the release of this "book" for that day to gain publicity and that Amaral didn't have the guts to sit there and look the McCanns in the eye because he knows they are innocent. He thought they'd go off into the sunset and disappear, and of course he was wrong, because they want their daughter back.

Bluj, of course Amaral was wrong, he is always wrong. For a policeman, it is bizarre that he seems to have no idea about human feelings, reactions or behaviours.

He failed to understand that the McCanns would fight to the bitter end for their daughter's sake. He is a bully and never expected them to fight. And now, he doesnt know how to react to it. And like any bully, he cant face those that have stood up to him.

Well, it does appear now that he will be in court tomorrow. Good. I want him to see the McCanns, I want him to try to look them in the eye, I want him to feel their presence in that room.

bluj1515 wrote:Well, it does appear now that he will be in court tomorrow. Good. I want him to see the McCanns, I want him to try to look them in the eye, I want him to feel their presence in that room.

I hope he takes clean pants, cos he'll not have his heavy's with him there

God do I want him to feel their presence too and I hope through Kates eyes, he feels the glare of Madeleine, questioning why he tried to convince the world not to look for her.

Tinkerbell43 wrote:God do I want him to feel their presence too and I hope through Kates eyes, he feels the glare of Madeleine, questioning why he tried to convince the world not to look for her.

Couldn't have thought of a better way to put it myself tinks.

Ive often wondered hows these types of people sleep at night,knowing they have failed another human being who needs them soo much,and not only failed them,but willingly failed them.

I get a lump in my throat when i think of little Madeleine out there somewhere sat without her loved ones,wondering where she is,why,if shes going to see her mammy and daddy again and not having the power to do anything about it herself.

If i get a lump in my throat and feel so powerless, so frustrated and dam right desperate for kate and gerry and how they must be feeling.......then why the hell cant gonc or bennet or anyone else who as abused them,and caused them so much heart ache.I know that some people don't mind abusing others and causing them hurt,but surly even they have a heart somewhere?Surly they see what they are doing is wrong.

I have said so many times i think gonc and bennet are heartless,i stick by that because i believe they are...but at the same time i wonder if deep down they ever get a feeling of guilt or remorse.Regardless of how big and powerful they think they are..or how right they believe they are, i wonder if they have ever led in bed at night and wondered if what they are doing is the right thing,if they ever feel for kate and gerry and have sometimes felt like throwing the towel in and giving up their witch hunt towards them.I would love to hear the answers to that from them,an honest answer.

Clairsey, I think they haven't, because I truly believe that the two you named above are sociopaths, and clinically incapable of what you said above. They can only think about themselves.

WHEN YOU SAY THE WORD "sociopath" most people think of serial killers. But although many serial killers are sociopaths, there are far more sociopaths leading ordinary lives. Chances are you know a sociopath. I say "ordinary lives," but what they do is far from ordinary. Sociopaths are people without a conscience. They don't have the normal empathy the rest of us take for granted. They don't feel affection. They don't care about others. But most of them are good observers, and they have learned how to mimic feelings of affection and empathy remarkably well.

Most people with a conscience find it very difficult to even imagine what it would be like to be without one. Combine this with a sociopath's efforts to blend in, and the result is that most sociopaths go undetected.

Because they go undetected, they wreak havoc on their family, on people they work with, and on anyone who tries to be their friend. A sociopath deceives, takes what he (or she) wants, and hurts people without any remorse. Sociopaths don't feel guilty. They don't feel sorry for what they've done. They go through life taking what they want and giving nothing back. They manipulate and deceive and convincingly lie without the slightest second thought. They leave a path of confusion and upset in their wake.

Who are these people? Why are they the way they are? Apparently it has little to do with upbringing. Many studies have been done trying to find out what kind of childhood leads to sociopathy. So far, nothing looks likely. They could be from any kind of family. It is partly genetic, and partly mystery.

But researchers have found that the brains of sociopaths function differently than normal people. And their brains function in a way that makes their emotional life unredeemably shallow. And yet they are capable of mimicking emotions like professional actors.

Sociopaths and psychopaths are the same thing. The original name for this disorder was "psychopath" but the general public and media confused it with "psycho" and "psychotic" so in the 1930s the name was changed to sociopath. Recently the media again caused a misperception that sociopaths were always serial killers, so now many call the condition "antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)."

But some experts think ASPD includes many things like narcissism, paranoia, etc., including sociopathy. And others think ASPD is the same thing as sociopathy, but the diagnostic criteria used to describe and diagnose ASPD is different than sociopathy, so for the purposes of this article, we'll stay with the term "sociopathy."

Sociopaths don't have normal affection with other people. They don't feel attached to others. They don't feel love. And that is why they don't have a conscience. If you harmed someone, even someone you didn't know, you would feel guilt and remorse. Why? Because you have a natural affinity for other human beings. You know how it feels to suffer, to fear, to feel anguish. You care about others.

If you hurt someone you love, the guilt and remorse would be very bad because of your affection for him or her. Take that attachment and affection away and you take away remorse, guilt, and any kind of normal feelings of fairness. That's a sociopath.

Bluj I can't deny these thoughts have crossed my mind also.
But would a sociopath, when he gets caught on wrongdoing, try to put the blame on somebody else?

Cath, yes they would, just look at Casey Anthony and Amanda Knox, both have tried to put the blame on others.

Not saying either is guilty of course, but both have pointed the finger at others, and if both are guilty, then they clearly are sociopaths.

They would, Cath, because they can fake being like a regular person. They know when they are in "trouble" and will pass it on to someone else to protect themselves. But they will never admit what they did was wrong, and they don't feel what they did was wrong, but they know enough to get out of trouble by passing the blame.

Quote from Rosie What does Amaral have to hide? he is hiding something, perhaps he does not want to see the pain etched into the faces of Kate and Gerry McCann, perhaps he doesn't want to look into their eyes and see the deep rooted sadness there, perhaps he doesn't want to because he cannot because in my opinion, Amaral knows fully well the McCanns are innocent and he would be unable to look at them, because he knows they would be looking at him.

Ameral is incapable of thoughts such as this Rosie. He doesn't care about the pain Kate McCann is going through, all he cares about is himself and the thought of the £1.2m he is going to lose. That is why he and his lawyers are creating this delaying tactic.

bluj1515 wrote:They would, Cath, because they can fake being like a regular person. They know when they are in "trouble" and will pass it on to someone else to protect themselves. But they will never admit what they did was wrong, and they don't feel what they did was wrong, but they know enough to get out of trouble by passing the blame.

Thanks bluj (and Dianeh). I agree Bennett and Amaral seem to have much in common.
Wouldn't it be interesting if a 'psychological profiler' would analyze them and write an article for the newspapers?