THE GONCALO AMARAL LIBEL TRIAL

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 20 min
#madeleine Mrs Hubbard said McCanns devastated because book made everyone believe Madeleine was dead.

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 21 min
#madeleine Mrs Hubbard said McCanns had to use all their energy to defend themselves instead of searching for Madeleine.

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 22 min
#madeleine Susan Hubbard says McCanns devastated by Amaral book which said Madeleine died accidentally and they had been negligent.

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 24 min
#madeleine Mr Amaral loses bid to have media excluded and libel trial under way. First witness is Susan Hubbard, friend and priest's wife

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 4m
#madeleine Mrs Hubbard said McCanns could not believe Mr Amaral was allowed to write his book "without any facts."

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 3m
#madeleine Mrs Hubbard said TV documentary after the book made things worse, because viewers then bought more books.

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 2 min
#madeleine Hubbard: actors who played Kate and Gerry in Portuguese documentary portrayed them after M vanished as "crazy, heavy drinkers"

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 47 min
#madeleine Mrs Hubbard said TV documentary after the book made things worse, because viewers then bought more books.

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 47 min
#madeleine Mrs Hubbard said McCanns could not believe Mr Amaral was allowed to write his book "without any facts."

PAT BROWN ‏@ProfilerPatB 10m
Prayers & best wishes for Gonçalo Amaral as he stands for truth & free speech at the trial in Portugal today. #mccann http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... ns-2268027 …

PAT BROWN ‏@ProfilerPatB 5m
"He doesn't have a case," says Isabel Duarte. Ms. Duarte, Mr. Amaral doesn't have to have a case, the McCanns do

PAT BROWN ‏@ProfilerPatB 3h
Kate #McCann is not going to challenge Amaral's theories in court. Her lawyer is simply extolling the "damage" caused by expressing them.

PAT BROWN ‏@ProfilerPatB 3m
Libel is about lying, not expressing theories. Since Kate #McCann state she is challenging Amaral's theories, not lies, she has no case.

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 4m
#madeleine Documentary producer Emma Loach, friend of MCcanns, said Amaral's book and TV prog based on it had "devastating" effect on them.

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 2m
#madeleine Loach: book was published 3 days after Port police closed case saying no evidence of McCann involvement and "destroyed all that."

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 4m
#madeleine Loach: "Kate realised the people she needed help from now thought Madeleine was dead and they were implicated."

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 1m
#madeleine Loach: TV documentary later made things worse because more than 2 million people watched it.

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 5m
#madeleine Loach: TV bosses wouldn't let me use use the word "abduction" in my documentary because McCanns were still suspects.

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 16m
#madeleine Loach: McCanns have to monitor Internet use of twins Seam and Amelie to stop them finding out about book and Port TV documentary.

martinbrunt ‏@skymartinbrunt 2m
#madeleine Kate McCann about to make statement at end of first day of Lisbon libel action against ex-cop and TV documentary makers.

Rachel Granada wrote:So Amaral wanted proceedings held in camera then.  Very strange.  What is it that he does not want to be reported?  You would think he would want to shout about his "Ace" from every roof top and have the press there to record his triumph?   

Amaral Oh, come on it. The purchasing an apartment in Portimao for € 600,000, which is what you wanted? With a salary of about € 2,000 net? Sure, you had to hand over the apartment, after you've delivered the € 250,000 that you did with the book of lies about Meddie. Look, borrow money to Moita, that this money has to be satisfied. Say close friends of Moita he has not already know how.

Someone knows him well - a few of the commentators seem to, in fact...

citizenship. An apartment for € 600,000, with the initial delivery of € 250,000, the amount received by the publication of the book. As expected the source does not dry up, there will an apartment that amount. That are known values. Choose another nickname, perhaps suggest, merdadania. For the unwary, I'm referring to Amaral.

---------

250,000 euros for each one and it is little. The clump should pay one million for each of the 5 and it was still too much. Money received from all of us, as payment of telenovelas that made it to your friends Jacobins, installed in RTP, which only serve to numb the elderly in nursing homes or in their homes.

--------
Then Victor Morbid, past this time, still did not see the cheating that Amaral created only to divert attention from pedophiles. A favor that made his great friend Moita Flores, the whole trance tried to blame the parents of Madeleine to prevent public opinion inteirasse the problems it poses for the community to pedophilia and thus avoid the condemnation of his friend Carlos Cruz .

-------
Must be talking about the brewery carvi, where his great hero, Amaral, spent his days in service hours hooked to alcohol, as was portrayed in the world by television. This was the image of the Portuguese PJ

Re: Lisbon Libel Trial McCanns v Amaral
Post Not Born Yesterday Today

Roll on the twins' teenage years when they won't be so prepared to listen to their parents' nonsense, assuming that the said adults aren't banged up long before then.

I've just heard from an Internet acquaintance that her daughter who was angelic when she was 8 is now 14 and has run up an £800.00 phone bill.

Be afraid, McCanns, be very, very afraid of what your twins will learn!

Redblossom (aka Emu, Justice's resident lush.)

Re: The McCann v Gonçalo Amaral libel trial as it happens.
« Reply #8 on: Today at 09:07:11 PM »

Quote from: Luz on Today at 08:59:36 PM
To have more bottox?
if shes had it it didnt work!

i do agree with you that putting herself out as some terrible victim just does not wash

Lizzy Hideho Taylor FOR TWITTER: Catch UP on McCanns v Amaral Trial Discussions, Tweets, Articles from HDH CONTROVERSY for NON Facebook users #mccann ..

McCanns v Goncalo Amaral TRIAL Sept 2013 - Madeleine McCann CONTROVERSY

View the archived daily TRIAL discussions, tweets and News articles from HDH CONTROVERSY Facebook Group.McCanns v Goncalo Amaral TRIAL Sept 2013

Michelle Lynch Great work Lizzy! Very professional as always xx

Lisa Marie Rowand Excellent Lizzy. You always seem to amaze me. Thank you administration for all of your hard work !

Heather Hopper Lizzy hasn't slept to provide us with this facility. All for Madeleine.

Heather Hopper And behind the scenes I shout at her to go and eat, and I am not making that up.

Lizzy Hideho Taylor
Shiela Bashier AMAZING Person x

Lorraine Rockburn Well done girls. What would we do without you xx  

Patricia Doogue Have got square eyes with reading so much today. Thanks to all for posting tweets etc, good to read what people are tweeting even though i'm not sure what tweeting is lol. Hope it's been a good day for GA, and as for her, If her hair was dark, she'd be a good stand in for Dot Cotton lol, but at least Dot's a Christian and she'd tell the truth as she was quoting from Scripture!!! No chance of KM doing that. Hard faced, that's all she is. Tomorrow we'll have to go through it all again. Hope that GA comes out smiling at the end of it all, and KM will return to GM and probably get a good slap!!! Night night campers!!!!

In this interview he states " the reason for trying to keep the lid on court proceedings? That it was to 'protect anything about the disappearance because we don't know if she's dead or alive'.  By going on the record and admitting he doesn't know if Madeleine is alive or not, de Santos (who is supposed to be acting for Gonc) has torpedo-ed his dishevelled client's entire case.

He cannot argue to have the case heard behind closed doors in case it hurts an alive Madeleine, when Mr Scruffy has preached for years that she is dead, with her parents involved, and thereby spawned the hate sites, dedicated to trying to make the world believe that Madeleine is dead.

It's not surprising the judge was having none of this nonsense.  

Remember what Guedes claimed on Justice was the reason for the demand that the media be kept out?

Yes some delay was caused yesterday by the study of Mr Amaral's request, but this request had a motive. Apart from the f... episode, remember what the tabloids wrote on him.. And think that most of the UK media present in Lisbon are tabloids.

Nice of Gonc's lawyer to make a liar of her, isn't it?

Look what Guedes is NOW saying about Gonc's request for the trial to be heard behind closed doors:

http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=2192.msg73813#new

I vaguely heard that the issue was to respect Madeleine's name, but I don't know from where that came. What would have made sense, but this only occurred to me when I saw the UK TV news on Thursday night, had been to force the media to refer to the trial inexplicitly.

She really has played John for a fool; has she forgotten what she's on record as saying less than 48 hours ago? That it was because the UK tabloids were rude about her precious Gonc?

Incidentally, why do none of his fan club ever tell the truth about how many people in Portugal loathe the Gonc gang? They never report any of that, do they? None of the comments about corruption, money, thuggery, etc., ever see the light of day on the Gonc support sites.

Libel trial McCann v Gonçalo Amaral - Day 1
The testimony as it happened...
(12.09.2013, 11am) Susan Hubbard Occupation mid-wife. She speaks in a combination of Portuguese (more) and English (less). Mrs Hubbard admits her friendship with Kate McCann can influence her evidence.
1) McCann family lawyer is the first to question the witness.
ID – In this trial we're discussing the effects on the McCann family of the publication of GA's book and the documentary inspired by this book. As a close friend of KMC, can you tell how this family reacted to the thesis of the book?
SH answers that they are very strong persons, but any claims that their daughter is dead is terrible for them because it means she isn't looked for any more. She says the book finishes like it starts, not offering an alternative theory.
One of the defence lawyers asks precise questions and answers. The judge overrules.
ID – What impact had the book on their life, on their personal life, health, relationships?
SH answers that they were angry in having to spend a lot of energy due to the allegations in the book instead expelling their energies looking for Madeleine. She stated that everybody in Portugal
believed the book.
Defence lawyer protests and this time the judge admits the question is too vague.
ID – How did they find out about the book ? What did they feel when they saw the book and the documentary?
SH doesn't know how they found out about the book, but says the people who saw the documentary believed a man who stated he said the truth. She says it made the McCanns angry, sad, scared and destroyed their hope.
ID – What have you observed in relation to the McCanns and the twins?
SH states they are good parents, the twins are happy, they have a normal life. She wonders, if in the future they read the book, what they will think about their parents.
ID – The book is published on the Internet, in English.
SH remarks the access to the book is very easy.
ID – This book and the documentary arouse suspicions? Could the twins have doubts about what happened ?
SH thinks so.
ID reads an extract from GA's book (p.193)
Burla ou abuso de confiança?
Num momento de relaxe de uma destas reuniões, terei cometido um deslize ou, quiçá, terei sido inoportuno e pouco diplomático. Preocupado com a possibilidade de o casal McCann estar, de
alguma forma, envolvido no desaparecimento de sua filha, e quando raciocinava quanto aos tipos  de crime que os mesmos pudessem ter praticado, apercebi-me de um facto. Se, realmente, se viesse a confirmar qualquer tipo de responsabilidade do casal McCann, então poderia estar em causa, relativamente ao fundo criado para as buscas por Madeleine, que atingia mais de 2 milhões de
libras, um crime de burla ou abuso de confiança. Abriu-se então o debate e, de facto, com as premissas indicadas, os crimes de burla qualificada ou abuso de confiança poderiam existir, mas Portugal não teria jurisdição para investigar e julgar por tal crime. Esta pertenceria ao Reino Unido, por o fundo se encontrar registado naquele país. Os colegas ingleses aperceberam-se então de uma dura realidade: a forte possibilidade de terem um crime para investigar no seu país, tendo como eventuais suspeitos o casal McCann, coisa que parecia não lhes agradar muito.
Translates as >
Fraud or abuse of trust ?
During a moment of relaxation at one of these meetings, I did a side step or I might have been inopportune and rather undiplomatic. Worried with the possibility that the McCann couple were somehow involved in their daughter's disappearance and reflecting about the kind of crime they  might have committed, something occurred to me. If, really, any type of responsibility of the McCann couple was confirmed, then the fund set up to finance the search for Madeleine that had reached nearly €3 million could be a crime of fraud or abuse of trust. This question was debated and, in fact, with such premises the crimes of qualified fraud or abuse of trust could exist, but Portugal would have no jurisdiction to investigate and judge it. The fund being legally registered in England, it would be our English colleagues who would deal with the case. Our English colleagues then realised a hard reality: the strong possibility that they would have a crime to investigate in their own country, with the McCann couple as the main suspects: a prospect that left them rather reluctant.
ID – Did they react badly to this extract ?
The judge criticizes the suggestion of the answer in the question.
SH doesn't know. She doesn't think they concluded anything from this paragraph. She thinks the McCanns didn't fear a UK investigation and hoped their truth would be spoken about in Portugal.
2) Defence lawyers.
a) TVI lawyers’ questions.

TVI – You said that "everybody in Portugal believes the book". What makes you think this?
SH says that in PDL some people believe Kate and Gerald, but outside they don't.
TVI – Do you suppose so? Have you any objective basis to think so?
SH says she has knows a Portuguese nurse, in the hospital where she works in Canada, who believes what the book says.
TVI – Do you know if this book and the documentary were broadcast at the same moment ?
SH says when one and the other were launched.
TVI – Are the thesis identical?
SH notes that in the documentary the actors representing Kate and Gerald were depicted drinking a lot, but the underlying theories are similar. She adds one must pay for the book whereas the access to the documentary is free.
TVI – Have you seen "Madeleine was here"?
SH did, as many people.
TVI – Then why should one believe more a documentary than the other?
SH argues the Amaral documentary had more audience.

TVI – Why?
SH doesn't know. She hasn't watched all the programs.
TVI – Then why do you think that one is more watched than the other?
The judge overrules : the issue is "what kind of effect ?"
b) Valentim de Carvalho (DVD production/distribution) lawyer's questions
VC : You don't know if Madeleine died. Your conviction is she's alive. The idea that something happened to her other than abduction is also a possibility. Do you think the McCanns are angry because such a theory exists that is different from theirs?
SH hesitates, then says she doesn't think so, refers to the loss of hope.
VC – Have you seen the TVI documentary, have you read the final conclusion?
The judge overrules.
c) Guerra & Paz's lawyer's questions
GP first asks if SH knows GA and when she met the McCanns for the first time.
SH answers she once saw GA somewhere in PDL and met the McCanns a few days after her arrival in PDL (3 days after Madeleine disappeared).
GP – How did the couple react when they were made arguidos?
SH says the McCanns didn't fear the arguido status because they knew they were innocent.

GP – We could then expect the same reaction after the book was published.
You, as a close friend who saw them almost every day, must know better than anyone. How did they react when they were made arguidos?
SH answers they wanted to protect the twins and didn't know what to do. They thought of taking them to Spain. They reacted with sadness (GMC with anger) because the police wouldn't be looking for their daughter.
GP – Did the Fund and the private investigators go on searching for Madeleine?
SH answers yes.
GP – And after the book was published?
SH answers yes.
GP – There's a website with an English version of the book. Do you know to whom this site belongs?
SH answers no.
GP – Do you know the Oprah Winfrey TV program?
SH answers no.
d) Santos Oliveira (GA lawyer) questions
SO – How many times a week did the McCanns come to your place?
SH says about once a week. She adds she saw mainly Kate and that Kate cried when she was with her.
SO – Wasthere a difference between the sorrow due to the disappearance and the sorrow due to the loss?
The judge reacts, the lawyer argues the feelings can be the same and the motives different. The
judge agrees but warns that the question shouldn't imply the conclusion.
SO – Do you recall the interview they gave in October to the Expresso ?
SH doesn't.
SO – Do you know who Clarence Mitchell is?
SH does.
SO – Do you know if they spoke about the possibility that their daughter had died ?
SH says they did.
SO – Then why were they angry with the book?
SH says they don't fear what the book says.

SO – Do you know if the book hampered the investigation?
SH says she can't answer.
SO – Have you talked with the McCanns about the book?
SH says yes, 3 months later.
SO – What did they say about the book?
SH answers they were worried about what the people would think and, if they did nothing, the people would think the book was telling the truth. They spoke of the effect on the search for Madeleine, the public attention diverted. They didn't want to waste energy on this issue. They spoke about the way to protect the twins from what was in the book.
SO – Did they feel indicted by the book?
SH apparently doesn't understand.
The judge (Maria Emília de Melo e Castro) is now asking
MC – Did they feel ashamed, anxious?
SH doesn't (doesn't want to?) answer.
MC – Did they feel offended?
SH sighs then says they were surprised by the book.
MC – Did the documentary change something?
SH says it increased the damage. She says that, after the book was published, some people turned their back on them. And some people wanted the tragedy to stop there.
To be continued...  

LIBEL TRIAL DISCUSSION HERE (title changed from Kate in Lisbon)
Post Ribisl Today

russiandoll wrote:
What are twitter pros on about saying that GA's lawyer is on video stating that his client's request for a closed hearing was because he did not know whether M was alive or not? That would mean that the case is done and dusted, he has changed his mind re his theory and surely if that were the case his lawyer would have settled out of court with the couple and the case would be over.
I thought the reason was out of respect for Madeleine?

The official version coming out of GA's camp is that it was because they couldn't be certain whether Madeleine is dead or alive, therefore not to harm her in case she is alive. But I think it may have been more to do with trying to stop the British media from reporting twisted facts about the proceedings. Every UK paper seems to describe GA as a 'disgraced' policeman whenever his name is mentioned and refer to the 'botched' investigation carried out by him. If he has any self-respect, I can well imagine he might wish to avoid further potentially distressing smear by the McCann camp.

Madam Isabel Duarte,

I hereby express the most complete contempt for the miserable job that you have accepted - if it was not for the money you even have less excuses.

You, Madam, accept to represent a couple of con artists (not to accuse them of that which I have no evidence) against a professional investigator that had the dignity to resign from his job in order to express his ideas?

Where do you, Madam, think that you live? As far as I know we are a democratic country where freedom of thought and expression are protected by law. Where does it say in our Constitution that we can not make use of these rights if they upset subjects of the United Kingdom?

You, Madam, above anyone else should know that that which you defend is placing in question rights that have claimed too many tears and blood to acquire. To defend that scum against a man who did nothing but exercise his recognized democratic rights is to shoot our own democracy. Just that, Madam, would suffice to express my utmost contempt. But there is more. Your clients, in particular that abominable woman who made in her book many vile statements and that wishes to see the detective Amaral suffering, is, in my opinion, if not suspected of filicide at least is of obstruction to justice.

Money does not pay everything Mrs. Isabel Duarte, and certainly does not pay the honour and dignity - to support those creatures is to sell your soul to the devil.

Be Happy, if you can.

I've stated earlier that Amaral had given most of the money by the book to charity, and I maintain that. Fortunately he has written 2 other books, but in Portugal you cannot live on that.

I hope that he kept some of the book's money for him and his family. He had wife and children, one of which was Madeleine's age. He was a forced absent father to that child while looking for the one that the McCann left alone in the apartment (according to their statements).

He had a house to pay in Portimão that he had to give up once returned to Faro PJ headquarters in October 2007, the kids changing school again, the wife that had gotten a new job there was suddenly without her husband again, his whole family life falling apart, because he chose to do his job honorably.

When he felt he had to retire he faced the worst choice a portuguese public servant has to make. When you retire before you completed your time you receive a miserable pension. He probably got little over the minimum salary, that in Portugal wouldn't pay for a weeks rent of a social housing in the UK.

To see this action of the McCann against this man can only generate indignation.

e: Lisbon Libel Trial McCanns v Amaral
Post AnneGuedes Today at 9:36 pm

jeanmonroe wrote:
Back to the Criminal Lawyer, Panda:

Yesterday.

"though he presented himself as a specialist of criminal defence and management of the media, Mr McBride, this morning, wasn't ABLE to give even VAGUE numbers when asked by GA's lawyer (Victor Santos de Oliveira) to compare the media effects of the disappearance, the arguido status and the book."

Oh dear!

First Ms Loach's 'forgetfulness' (day 1) Couldn't even remember when her life defining 'masterpiece', the Mockumentary, was screened in Portugal!
Now this!

Where are the 'GLOVES OFF' BIG BOYZ when you need them?

I think you should name the origin of the quote. If I had a bad memory I would have wondered.. Please don't feel offended, but this case is so very vulnerable in terms of myths.

   'Portugal is key,' says McCanns' former detective

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/429473/Portugal-is-key-to-hunt-for-Madeleine-says-the-McCann-family-s-former-detective

‘Portugal is key to hunt for Madeleine,‘ says the McCann family's former detective

KATE and Gerry McCann’s former ­private investigator has told a court the secret of what happened to their missing daughter Madeleine lies in Portugal.

By: James MurrayPublished: Sun, September 15, 2013

Retired detective Dave Edgar led the McCanns’ small team of investigators from 2008 until 2011 when Scotland Yard launched its review of the case.

Last week he spoke as a witness for the couple in their £1million libel action against former Portuguese police inspector Goncalo Amaral over his claims that Madeleine is dead.

Mr Edgar, 56, who spent 30 years with the Cheshire force and lives in Warrington, said: “My job was to lead the investigation to find Madeleine McCann and find out what happened to her.

“I discovered evidence and passed it to the British and Portuguese police. The answer to what happened to Madeleine lies in Portugal, so it is important to get information from the Portuguese public.”

Although the investigation was shelved by the Portuguese authorities in 2008 without the case being solved, Mr Edgar told the court at the Palace of Justice in Lisbon that he continued to work closely with Portuguese officers for several years after the case was closed.

Soon after the authorities shelved the case, and lifted the arguido – or suspect – status from the McCanns, Mr Amaral published his controversial book, The Truth Of The Lie. He was moved off the investigation in October 2007 after criticising British police officers.

In the book he alleged Madeleine died in apartment 5a of the Ocean Club complex at the Algarve resort town of Praia da Luz on the evening of May 3, 2007

He also alleged Kate and Gerry were suspected of hiding her corpse and ­covering up her death with a fake abduction. There were also indications of ­negligence in the way they treated their children, he claimed.

The couple, 45, of Rothley, Leicestershire, say the claims are deeply damaging to their search to find Madeleine and state there is no evidence to show she is dead. They are suing Mr Amaral for libel over claims made in the book and in a Portuguese TV documentary.

Earlier film-maker Emma Loach, 40, told the court the book was “a tidal wave of lies” that had devastated the family. She became friends with them after making two films about the case. “If people believed Madeleine was dead they wouldn’t look for her,” she said.

The hearing ended abruptly on Friday when the judge, Maria Emilia Melo Castro, said she had to deal with a personal matter. It meant Kate’s mother Susan Healey was unable to give evidence. She will return to court this week. The case continues.  

 http://www.theweek.co.uk/crime/madeleine-mccann/53972/madeleine-mccann-family-s-utter-despair-disappearance#ixzz2ewbnHQEa

Madeleine McCann family’s 'utter despair' at disappearance

Kate McCann weeps at libel hearing over book about missing Madeleine
LAST UPDATED AT 16:43 ON Fri 13 Sep 2013
MADELEINE MCCANN’S mother wept in a Portuguese court yesterday as friends described her “utter despair” at the disappearance of her daughter.

Her grief was compounded, the court heard, by accusations made by the former police chief who lead the hunt for the three-year-old.

In a book written after he was removed from the investigation, Goncalo Amaral claims that Madeleine died in an accident at the McCann’s holiday apartment in the Algarve. He says the couple staged her disappearance to mask their negligence.

The McCanns, who deny Amaral’s claims, have sought to block sales of the book, the Daily Mail reports. But it remains on sale in Portugal and it is estimated he may have made as much as £1 million from the book and a documentary distributed on DVD.

Kate McCann was in Lisbon yesterday for the start of a libel action her family has brought against Amaral. She is not expected to give evidence at the hearing. But Susan Hubbard, the wife of an Anglican minister who counselled the McCanns after their daughter’s disappearance, said the couple were “devastated” by Amaral’s book.

“The thought that most people in Portugal thought Madeleine was dead was devastating for both Kate and Gerry – and the thought that was added, that they had something to do with it,” she told the court.

The McCanns’ lawyer, Isabel Duarte, said Amaral’s book – whose English title is The Truth of the Lie - also alleged that the family’s ‘Find Madeleine’ fund could be fraudulent. The fund raised £2 million to continue the search for the toddler after Portuguese police closed the case.

A private detective employed by the fund said he received “abuse” after the publication of Amaral’s book “soured public opinion against the McCanns.”

The case continues.  

http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/books/Friends+tell+McCanns+pain+over+devastating+book/8910428/story.html

Friends tell of McCanns’ pain over ‘devastating’ book by ex-police chief

BY FIONA GOVAN, THE TELEGRAPH SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

A book by the disgraced former detective who led the initial investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann had a “devastating” effect on the search, a court in Lisbon heard Thursday.

It also heaped extra suffering on Kate and Gerry McCann as they struggled to clear their name and continue the search for their missing daughter, close friends of the couple told a court at the start of a libel trial against Goncalo Amaral.

“I watched them suffer these untruths and waste a lot of precious energy trying to defend themselves when they could have been spending all that energy looking for Madeleine,” said Susan Hubbard, 46, the wife of the Anglican priest in Praia da Luz. She became close to the McCanns in the months following the disappearance of their daughter in May 2007.

“The fact that all these people believed she was dead was devastating to the search for her on top of the thought that people could believe her parents had something to do with it,” she said.

The McCanns are suing Mr Amaral, who led the investigation for six months until he was dismissed from the case, for about $2 million in damages. They are also suing the publishers of the book and the makers of a documentary based on it.

Called The Truth of the Lie, the book by Mr Amaral suggested the theory that Mr and Mrs McCann had staged an abduction to cover up the fact that Madeleine had accidentally died in the Praia da Luz holiday apartment due to their negligence. The book, which sold more than 140,000 copies before the McCanns won an injunction banning its sale, also served as the basis of a documentary broadcast on Portuguese television.

“Both the book and the film worked on the basis that every possible abduction theory could be disproved,” said Mrs Hubbard, who flew in from Kingston, Ontario, to give evidence.

At one point, Mrs Hubbard broke down in tears when she described how Mrs McCann had behaved in the days after Madeleine’s disappearance.

“Kate and Gerry are strong people and good parents. But when I was alone with Kate she would cry,” she said. Mrs McCann, a former family doctor, who was in court, wiped away tears as she listened.

Emma Loach, the daughter of film director Ken Loach, also appeared as a witness on the first day of the civil trial after befriending the couple while making a documentary about them. She said that in the months after publication of the book the McCanns were swamped by “a massive tidal wave of lies”.

“He was giving interviews and launching his book all over Europe. This is a book that was written in a comfortable and easy style that took one on an emotional journey and then gave simple answers that made a reader feel better about the case,” she said.

The book was published only days after the couple’s status as official suspects was removed for lack of evidence in July 2008. “Kate and Gerry had a renewed vigour believing that although the case was shelved it showed there was no evidence to suggest Madeleine was dead or that they were involved in her disappearance and hoped it would mark a new stage in the search but then the book came out,” said Ms Loach. “Kate described it as an everlasting pit of despair that she was falling into deeper and deeper.” She said the McCanns continued to worry about the book’s effect on their twins Sean and Amelie, eight.

Asked by judge Maria Emilia Melo e Castro if she thought the McCanns felt ashamed of the conclusions made in the book, Ms Loach replied: “Imagine the public believing that you covered up your child’s death and then sought to make money out of it. They feel shame, humiliation and anguish.” The case continues.  

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/madeleinemccann/10308956/McCanns-shield-twins-from-terrifying-book.html

McCanns shield twins from 'terrifying’ book

The parents of Madeleine McCann have prevented their young twins from looking at the internet in an attempt to shield them from “terrifying” conclusions made in a book by the disgraced former detective who led the initial investigation into their sibling’s disappearance

By Fiona Govan, Lisbon6:00AM BST 14 Sep 2013

A child psychologist hired by the McCanns to help Sean and Amelie, now eight, cope in the aftermath of their older sister’s abduction told a Lisbon court how damaging the claims by former policeman Goncalo Amaral could be.

David Tricky, 46, a specialist in dealing with children who have suffered trauma, told the libel hearing that Madeleine’s siblings could be in danger of developing mental problems if they were to discover the claims made in the book The Truth of the Lie. “I think that would be terrifying for the children to hear. To believe that the parents were not only unable to keep them safe but then to be told they were in some way involved in the death of their sister and covered it up, would have a serious impact,” said Mr Tricky who first met Sean and Amelie a few weeks after Madeleine disappeared in May 2007, shortly before her fourth birthday.

He said Kate and Gerry McCann, both 45, from Rothley, Leics feared that as the twins grew older and were more easily able to gain access to the internet they were likely to come across the theories put forward by Mr Amaral.

The McCanns are suing Mr Amaral and the publishers of his 2008 book, and the makers of a subsequent documentary for £1 million in damages. The civil case will continue on Thursday.

Re: LIBEL TRIAL DISCUSSION HERE (title changed from Kate in Lisbon)

Post  Woburn_exile Today at 10:35

I wonder if the witnesses could be recalled and ba asked the following 3 questions:

Witness A remember you are under oath , when you imagine Madeleine today do you think she is living with a family being loved and cared for as any normal child?

Witness A remember you are under oath , when you imagine Madeleine today do you imagine that she is ( INSERT YOUR IAGERY OF THE MOST VILE SEXUAL ACTS BEING PERFORMED USING HER). In the LAWLESS HILLS surrounding the Algarve.  (IAGERY - what is that?)

Or

Witness A remember you are under oath , when you imagine Madeleine today do you imagine or indeed know she is dead and died in the apartment in PDL.
Why don't you tell the truth Witness A, you are only here for the money. The funds are running out and if TM haven't paid you yet they aren't going to have the money  when they lose this case.

Re: The Times of London ...

« Reply #56 on: Today at 06:52:25 PM »
Quote from: Jazzy on Today at 06:47:53 PM
Questions? So you have a question about my belief that reporting can be skewed to fit a particular viewpoint. That particular viewpoint is all over this forum. What else would you like to know?

By the way, have a read back a bit yourself.
Anything you can't argue against or bully your way out of is always irrelevant to you, isn't it?

icabodcrane  It really is rather churlish of you to reject legitimate information on the basis that it is being imparted by someone who does not share your opinions

We are fortunate on this forum to have a member who is attending court and making quite impressive notes that allow us first-hand access to what is happening

A little gratitude really would be in order  

Libel trial > McCann v Gonçalo Amaral - Day 1 Witness No 3
The testimony as it happened...
(12.09.2013, 5pm) David Edgar (Former RUC detective) hired by the McCanns as a private investigator from October 2008 to October 2011. Has only a professional relationship with the McCanns.
1) McCann family lawyer, Isabel Duarte, is the first to question the witness.
ID – After explaining the purpose of the trial, she asks what DE’s function was.
DE answers he tried to discover where Madeleine was.
ID – Have you previously worked with Portuguese people in the exercise of your functions ?
DE says he did.
ID – Do you know the legal process in Portugal?
DE just knows the investigation was closed. He had contacts with Portuguese lawyers.
ID – Did the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) go on investigating after the case was filed?
DE says yes.
ID – Between 2008 and 2011, was much information relating to the case received by the PJ?
DE says yes, but not much information originated from Portugal. He thinks that Madeleine can be in Portugal and therefore the Portuguese information is important. But adds that the Portuguese public believed Madeleine was dead.
ID – You interviewed people. Did you feel the impact of that belief or not?
DE says it is difficult to say in terms of volume of information and of facts. He thinks there was less information being received by the time he got involved in October 2008.
ID – Did the interest of the public increase or decreased after the publication of the (Amaral) book?
DE says it's difficult to say. He says there was a lot of information when he started to work on this case.
2) Defence lawyers.
a) TVI lawyers’ questions.
TVI – The curiosity of the public in a case of a disappearance without a trace is normal. Does the anonymous and spontaneous information decrease with time?
DE says it depends on the investigators, each case is different. There's a decrease.
TVI – Does the interest of the newspapers and the public also diminishes?
DE doesn't know.
b) Guerra & Paz's lawyer's questions
GP – Did you have access to the criminal process?
DE answers that he read parts of the files in the translation that the McCanns asked to be done.

GP – How did you manage to conduct an investigation without analysing all the process? Whom did you contact in Portugal?
DE says he contacted an informant who passed information to both the UK and Portuguese authorities. He doesn't want to say to whom he spoke, but says he spoke to someone from the PJ.
GP – Do you know that the McCanns initiated a private investigation?
DE knows.
GP – Was there private investigators before you?
DE says yes but adds he was the first professional one.
Neither the Valentim de Carvalho lawyer nor Gonçalo Amaral lawyer had questions.
Continues...

anne guedes
@ AACG
Grammar and facts
Lisboa

anne guedes @ WVA September 9
@ ProfilerPatB Coming to Lisbon for the libel trial?  

Hi Frencheuropean ! It's clear the McCanns don't have a "professional" translation of the book. The UK witnesses who read the book did it out of charge. "Madeleine"'s royalties were very well protected..
The lawyers don't know the case as well as we do.. I wonder how we can help.
I fear the video conferences (Alipio Ribeiro, Melchior Gomes and Moita Flores) that were scheduled on the 19th (though Isabel Duarte told me both 19 and 20 were "hers"), almost inaudible in 2010, it would be better if we were two.
Take care !