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Unsatisfied with the decision of the
adjudicating judges of the Lisbon Court
of Appeal, which acquitted the former
coordinator of PJ Gonçalo Amaral to pay
them 500,000 euros, Kate and Gerry
McCann - parents of three-year-old
Maddie, who disappeared in the Algarve
in May 2007 - turned to the Supreme
Court. But yesterday, the British couple
was faced with a new defeat. The Supreme
Court of Justice vindicated Gonçalo
Amaral, who is thus free from the
payment of the compensation claim of
half a million euros. The book Maddie:
The Truth of the Lie' can return the
news-stands.
"The Supreme Court judges consider that,
in a situation of conflict between the
right to honour and the right to freedom
of expression, the criterion for
balancing interests, acting in
accordance with the principle of
proportionality and the specificity of
the case, points to the fact that it is
the freedom of expression of the
defendant (Gonçalo Amaral), that is a
creditor of greater protection - taking
into account the European context in
which Portugal is inserted and the
jurisprudence of the European Court of
Human Rights.
At stake is the book in which Gonçalo
Amaral argues that the girl died in a
"tragic accident" and that the body was
concealed by the parents who simulated
an abduction. The McCanns were aggrieved
by the presentation of this thesis.
Amaral was ordered to pay 500,000 euros
in January 2015 for damages. In April,
the Lisbon Court of Appeal recognized
Gonçalo Amaral's Constitutional Right to
express his opinion and also annulled
the prohibition of commercialization of
the book. The Supreme Court has now
agreed with the Court of Appeal. |
