Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Amaral wins appeal in McCann case

Gonçalo Amaral has won his appeal against a Lisbon court’s decision last year to award half a million euros in damages to Kate and Gerry McCann.
The award arose from the McCanns’ objection to Amaral’s book  Maddie: The Truth of the Lie published in 2008. The overturning of the damages ruling and the lifting of the ban on the book is said to have come as a huge relief to Amaral and his many supporters and admirers.
As the former coordinating detective in the original Portuguese investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Amaral has always questioned the McCanns’ insistence that Madeleine was abducted. He believes they were involved in their daughter’s disappearance and fabricated a cover-up story.
After last year’s judgement, Amaral described the court’s libel ruling as unfair in that it questioned every Portuguese citizen’s right to freedom of expression and of opinion. “For that reason I do not resign myself to the decision and I will appeal it until the very last judicial instance,” he said.
The court’s latest decision was a unanimous one by three judges. It is another dramatic twist in a long-running saga that may not yet be over. The McCanns are likely to appeal against the latest judgement and take the matter to Portugal's Supreme Court.
The McCanns began their action in 2009. It has been lurching  along between lengthy delays ever since. The award of €500,000 plus interest was made last April, though no money was actually handed over.  Madeleine’s parents had been hoping for €1.2 million in damages.



6 comments:

Johanna said...

A great day for Senor Amaral and freedom of speech in general at a time when this right is being threatened worldwide. I especially like the fact that the court ruled that it was the McCanns themselves that limited their personal rights by using the media for their purpose.

Christina O'Shaughnessy said...

Could someone please let me know where I can read the court ruling? CO'S

Nobulls Hit said...

A tiny bit of justice has been done... Now "the innocent" don't have to pay, let's see if "the guilty" will finally pay... Actually I stopped believing in human justice decades ago, my only hope is in the divine one!

Portugal Newswatch said...

Click on the link now below the photograph for a translation.

highmyope1955 said...

God bless him! I hope he can now move forward with his life.

highmyope1955 said...

What about a bit of compensation for Yvone Albino, Jorge Martins, Maria Silveira and a few others? Will the McCanns really go back to the Algarve? It seems that they are less than popular there.