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A support group created for former police
inspector Gonçalo Amaral, who once headed the investigation into
Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, has this week launched two
on-line petitions that they intend sending to Portugal’s
Parliament, the European Parliament, and the European Human
Rights Court.
In a press release, the ‘Citizens
Support Gonçalo Amaral’ group indicated the two petitions were
already circulating on the Internet and that their objective was
to “reinforce the constitutional right to freedom of speech,
carried out in a responsible manner and without any other
limitations unless defined by law”.
“Our first
line of action is to put these two petitions online, one aimed
at Portuguese citizens and foreign residents in Portugal, the
other aimed at foreign citizens, and we intend to submit them to
the Portuguese Parliament, European Parliament and the European
Human Rights Court”, the statement read.
The ‘Citizens
Support Gonçalo Amaral’ movement was created following the
launch of an Internet site entitled ‘Project Justice Gonçalo
Amaral’ the purpose of which is to ‘give back the freedom of
speech’ to the former police chief.
According to
the movement, ex-inspector Gonçalo Amaral has done no more than
“publish, in a book, the report of a criminal investigation: a
report based on facts, which translates the conclusions of an
extensive team of investigators, a clear result of a procedure
that has already been made public”.
Published in
2008, sales of Gonçalo Amaral’s book, ‘Maddie: the Truth of the
Lie’, were banned in September this year by Lisbon’s Civil
Courts.
The theme of
the book is Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.
Then aged
three, Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3rd 2007 from a
bedroom in an apartment at the Ocean Club tourist resort, Praia
da Luz, Algarve.
She had been
sleeping in the apartment with her two younger siblings, twins
Amelie and Sean.
Her parents,
Kate and Gerry McCann, were at one point made official suspects
in the investigations, but later cleared.
Ex-inspector
Gonçalo Amaral has maintained he believes Madeleine’s parents
are involved in her disappearance.
The McCann
family is demanding compensation of at least €1.2 million from
Gonçalo Amaral for his declarations, which they consider to be
defamatory.
Edition:
1037
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