Re: Parents to sue Amaral

by jean Sun May 17, 2009 11:49 am

Portugal is in the EU so surely the European Parliament would overrule any of their laws in such a serious case as this. After all the reputation of the whole of the Portuguese police force is at stake. Kate and Gerry have been waiting for this moment for two years. I salute them for their patience and coolness in the way that they have dealt with this, especially considering all the pain that they are still suffering. If there is an enquiry into Ameral perhaps other things will come out too, and there may be some other information about the case that will help find Madeleine.

by jean Sun May 17, 2009 11:59 am

I have also just read an article titled Put Me on McCann TV Show Begs Axed Cop - I know this is a bit out of date but it's just appeared on my emails. It says that .....

Disgraced Portuguese cop Goncalo Ameral is desperate to appear with Madeleine McCann's parents on Oprah. ......... He has offered to pay his travel costs and has yet to receive a response from the show.

This luny must be out of his head. What a shame Oprah didn't feature him then perhaps the US could have done something about his libelous comments. He is shortly going to achieve celebrity status in a way he never dreamed possible!!!

by Tinkerbell43 Sun May 17, 2009 12:02 pm

Oh gawd I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight waytoohappy

I hope Mr. Amaral is having trouble sleeping too but for different reasons!

Fantastic news, good on you Kate and Gerry we're right behind you!

ecstatic

by vee8 Sun May 17, 2009 5:35 pm

Anyone know what the 3 A's are saying about this?

by rosemary Sun May 17, 2009 8:37 pm

I read today in the Guardian.co.uk that K&G´s lawyer Edward Smethurst is quoted as saying that the first step in their legal action will be to apply to the main civil court in Lisbon for a gagging order against Amaral. And that is just the first step.......

by vee8 Sun May 17, 2009 10:24 pm

rosemary wrote:I read today in the Guardian.co.uk that K&G´s lawyer Edward Smethurst is quoted as saying that the first step in their legal action will be to apply to the main civil court in Lisbon for a gagging order against Amaral. And that is just the first step.......

Is throttling the same as gagging? If so, I volunteer!

by clairesy Sun May 17, 2009 10:40 pm

no it not vee8 gagging is shutting him up...but hey, if you wanna volunteer to throttle him then be our guest!!!!! i dont see anyone stepping in your way!!! LOl

by vee8 Sun May 17, 2009 11:03 pm

clairesy wrote:no it not vee8 gagging is shutting him up...but hey, if you wanna volunteer to throttle him then be our guest!!!!! i dont see anyone stepping in your way!!! LOl

On second thoughts, I don't think my hands are big enough to go round his corpulent neck! I mean, how hard would you have to squeeze, just to get through the layers of fat?!
:bleugh:

By the way, Maria, Pedro, has this news made the papers in Portugal yet?

by joanypony Sun May 17, 2009 11:16 pm

Best news I've heard in ages, go get 'im Gerry and Kate.
Joanypony

waytoohappy

by Pedro Silva Sun May 17, 2009 11:52 pm

Yes, I have seen it at some newspapers, at tv stations also.

by clairesy Sun May 17, 2009 11:56 pm

ooooooooooooooooooooo looks like the hitthefan

then??

by Rosie Mon May 18, 2009 12:22 am

vee8 wrote:Anyone know what the 3 A's are saying about this?

Sorry I have no idea, like yourself I rarely look at that cesspit these days. I think they have gone very quiet though and someone tells me they are busily removing posts and are clinging to the fact that they do not think the McCanns will go ahead and this is just a threat, well sorry to dash that hope, because apparently the application has already been filed in a Lisbon court, yesterday!

As Bennett has already been served with a writ (apparently), all Bren and Viv have to worry about is when they will receive theirs!

Remember the Postman always knocks twice (one each) Laffin

by Rosie Mon May 18, 2009 12:26 am

vee8 wrote:
rosemary wrote:I read today in the Guardian.co.uk that K&G´s lawyer Edward Smethurst is quoted as saying that the first step in their legal action will be to apply to the main civil court in Lisbon for a gagging order against Amaral. And that is just the first step.......

Is throttling the same as gagging? If so, I volunteer!

I believe a presentation of some kind was made in a court in Lisbon yesterday!

by maria Mon May 18, 2009 12:41 am

Vee, Rosie

It has been on all tv news bulletins since yesterday 8 oclock news. I believe the papers are commenting too, today.

Yes Rosie, there IS a court case now, it was presented yesterday.

by honestbroker Mon May 18, 2009 12:48 am

There actually is a buzz doing the rounds on the Roids as I speak that Amaral intends suing the McCanns. It was reported on TV1, apparently?

The thread clocked up 4 pages of furious genuflecting in an hour, but no offcial source to back the claim. Last time I looked, the last post to it was about an hour ago ...

Hmmmm!

by Jayelles Mon May 18, 2009 12:49 am

The 3As show no sign of abating. In fact they are rallying to the cause. Last time I looked there were about 7 pages of pledges for dontions to his fighting fund. There is also a rumour that Amaral is counter suing. I *bellieve* it may have come from joana morais or someone else who would speak to Amaral by telephone. Either way, it's not an official source not that this is stopping them from jubilating.

There was also a thread last night calling for all Portuguese people to unite in public support of Amaral - to ensure he gets a "fair"trial. How does that work?

by honestbroker Mon May 18, 2009 12:53 am

Jayelles wrote:The 3As show no sign of abating. In fact they are rallying to the cause. Last time I looked there were about 7 pages of pledges for dontions to his fighting fund. There is also a rumour that Amaral is counter suing. I *bellieve* it may have come from joana morais or someone else who would speak to Amaral by telephone. Either way, it's not an official source not that this is stopping them from jubilating.

There was also a thread last night calling for all Portuguese people to unite in public support of Amaral - to ensure he gets a "fair"trial. How does that work?

Well, I guess, if the kangaroo court of public opinion can 'convict' the McCanns, than it can also 'acquit' Amaral?

Obviously we must ensure that we forget all about justice, though.

by maria Mon May 18, 2009 12:55 am

HB

Please, not TV1, TVI rather.

by honestbroker Mon May 18, 2009 12:58 am

maria wrote:HB

Please, not TV1, TVI rather.

Apologies, Maria. I stand corrected. But is it true?

by Jayelles Mon May 18, 2009 12:58 am

Correction - not joana morais but someone called Claudia who claims she heard it on TV1. She said this:-

What I heard was that Gonçalo Amaral was going to advance with a 'queixa-crime', so I take it is a different process, although my knowledge of the law is very poor.

Any clues?

by Rosie Mon May 18, 2009 1:09 am

dianeh wrote:I am pleased to hear this news. I did predict that when Amaral made his claims/accusations in a country with far more stringent libel laws than Portugal, that action would be taken against him.

Perhaps the Netherlands was just the place.

I still hold reservations about sueing in Portugal, as Maria has explained many times that Portugal does not hold libel in the same serious light as many other countries. I would be interested if anyone can show who holds the burden of proof in Portugal, is it the libeller or the one being libelled. In Britain, the person doing the libelling must prove that what he/she says is the truth, which of course Amaral cannot do, and this is the reason why no one in Britain will publish his book. Is this the same for Portugal? The other thing is damages. If libel is not considered serious in Portugal, then it is unlikely that any court will award significant damages (after all not serious), meaning that the cost of the action will outweigh the payout. BUT if they are even close together, then it is worth it to let the Portuguese people to know they have been duped and unknowingly assisted a man in his failure to find a missing child.

But there is always the chance that this could become a landmark case in Portugal. I mean how much worse can libel get than to accuse a grieving couple of killing their child, disposing of her body and then carrying on a fraudulent campaign to find her, as well as the other numerous lies and accusations made against them. This is the type of case that could change the way libel law is viewed in Portugal.

I think normally this may have been the case, but this case seems to supersede anything that has gone before it.

I am of the opinion that 'fittingly' Goncalo Amaral himself, will set the precedent for his own fate!I understand that Portuguese libel laws are very different to ours, but as the Portuguese attorney general and two top Portuguese prosecutors have made their feelings very clear about the McCanns and said in the files that there is absolutely no sane or logical reason to suggest they harmed Madeleine etc, it is difficult to see what kind of defense Amaral can bring to excuse his comments.

Yes libel is a civil action and this is viewed with a different intensity in Portugal, but what we should not forget is that there will be intense media pressure here, the whole world will be looking in on any trial concerning Goncalo Amaral and Amaral, may just wish he had not been quite so vociferous in quite so many countries when the end of this looms upon him!

Look at it from the Portuguese authorities point of view, even if they do not openly admit it, they know that the rest of the world think they have already been found severely lacking and that their policia judiciaria (PJ) is looked upon as grossly inept and one huge joke, what they will realise only too well is that they just cannot be seen and found wanting again and certainly not at the expense of the McCanns who the majority of sane thinking people realise have been dreadfully treated by Goncalo Amaral.

All of Goncalo's money making exploits will now be the subject of intense media scrutiny, the book, the sale of the rights of the book to the TV company who made the "Mockumentary" for undisclosed figure said to run into double figures, the fees for interviews on TV, radio, newspapers and magazines. We all know that just recently his agent requested an interview with SKY news for Goncalo Amaral for £80.000. The fact that he hires an agent in itself is telling, these people do not come cheap, so the exact figure of the money he is making out of his libellous comments will have to be approximated and I think this is going to truly shock some Portuguese people.

I think that this is the beginning of the end for Amaral, this court case will finish him.

However, the wording of the McCanns statement has me intrigued! If you read it at face value it is what it is a simple declaration of intent, but if you read it properly, they have instigated proceedings under Madeleine's and their other children's names too and they have also spoken about the "harm Amaral's comments have caused Madeleine and the search for her" I am no legal expert of course, but this would suggest to me a two pronged attack. I think the McCanns will not only go for a civil proceedings to sue him for financial gain, I think this may well cross over into a criminal investigation against him,if they can prove that his comments actually harmed them and Madeleine, then they have grounds for a criminal prosecution, I think and believe that Goncalo Amaral is in very very hot water and if he is not worried, then he jolly well should be.

Apparently, Amaral is not liked by some in high up in Portugal and his recent exploits can hardly have done anything to endear himself to them. He is bringing shame on Portugal and is virtually single handed decimating Portugal's tourist industry, for his own personal gain. So I believe that there will be a few people that will want an example made of him so they can show the world that Portugal does act on people like this!

I also think that this could have a detrimental effect on next week's verdict on his involvement in the Leonor Cipriano torture, "his friend" the judge in that case is not now going to want to be seen siding with a man who is now fast becoming Portugal's disgrace!

I await with interest what happens next Friday the 22nd May when Amaral hears the verdict on his involvement in the torture trial of Leonor Cipriano.

Let's see when all this is finished just how many people in Portugal will hold Amaral in esteem, especially when all those out of jobs have very little money and he is shown to have been raking it in at Madeleine's expense and as a consequence at the expense of the Portuguese tourist industry.

As if all of this is not bad enough, if the McCanns cold case detectives discover new leads and discover what happened to Madeleine, how bad is this going to look for Goncalo Amaral and Portugal? This is not even a stab in dark pipe dream, it is a very very real possibility.

by vee8 Mon May 18, 2009 2:19 am

Jayelles wrote:Correction - not joana morais but someone called Claudia who claims she heard it on TV1. She said this:-

What I heard was that Gonçalo Amaral was going to advance with a 'queixa-crime', so I take it is a different process, although my knowledge of the law is very poor.

Any clues?

Clawdia! Well in that case you can rest assured it is totall bullsh*t! That woman wouldn't know the truth if it slapped her upside the head with a length of lead pipe. She and viv are two of the worst fantasists and liars on 3a's.

by Jayelles Mon May 18, 2009 2:26 am

It's being reported now on several news sites. I am reading into it that Amaral has not yet instructed this suit but is merely saying he is going to.

by vee8 Mon May 18, 2009 2:35 am

Jayelles wrote:It's being reported now on several news sites. I am reading into it that Amaral has not yet instructed this suit but is merely saying he is going to.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20090517/tuk-portuguese-investigator-to-counter-s-a7ad41d.html

Well, let battle commence! As a staunch believer in the notion that good will always triumph over evil, I know whose side my money is going on. Truth is a powerful weapon. He defamed them, lied about them and libeled them. It will be easy to prove. they have done nothing of the sort in return, so how in blue blazes does he expect to win?

by maria Mon May 18, 2009 2:37 am

Joana Morais:

"Gonçalo Amaral said to TVI today that he will sue the McCanns.

Gonçalo Amaral also stated that' the McCanns are very fearful that the process might be reopened, but this is their strategy'.

will be updated..."

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