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Kate
McCann holds up a picture of her daughter as she reiterates
her appeal |
A decision whether to
overturn a ban on a Portuguese ex-detective's book about missing
Madeleine McCann is set to be made by a judge in Lisbon next week.
Gerry and Kate McCann say Goncalo
Amaral's publication defames them and discourages their continuing
inquiry.
The book suggests Madeleine, who went
missing from an Algarve holiday flat on 3 May 2007, aged three, is dead.
The couple, of Rothley, Leicestershire
travelled to Portugal for the case but will have to wait until 18
February.
The book, which was originally
published in July 2008, also questions the couple's accounts of the
disappearance.
In September 2009, a Portuguese
injunction temporarily banned sales and further publication of the book
as well as a DVD version of it.
Breaches
Mr Amaral, who initially headed the
inquiry into the disappearance, was also prohibited from repeating his
claims.
On Wednesday the couple also filed a
case against the Portuguese television channel TVI which filmed an
adapted version of Mr Amaral's book.
Their lawyer Isabel Duarte said the
couple alleged the channel repeatedly breached the ban on quoting Mr
Amaral's theories.
He was taken off the case in October
2007 following his apparent criticism of British police work on the case
in a newspaper interview.
His lawyers argued that the material
in his book is contained in official Portuguese police files for the
case, much of which had been made public.
The hearings at the main civil court
in Lisbon were called after Mr Amaral opted to oppose the injunction.
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The book's author was initially involved in
the hunt for Madeleine McCann |
Mr Amaral called a number of witnesses
to support his allegations.
The McCanns said they found it
difficult to sit through the evidence but that they believed they were
right to bring the case.
They say went ahead with the challenge
as they feared people would stop looking for their daughter if they
believed she was dead.
They contended that the book was
"against the Portuguese constitution and against the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights".
They are reported to be seeking 1.2m
euros (£1.08m) in damages over the book and said any payment would go
towards funding the private investigators hunting for Madeleine.
After the hearing the McCanns'
spokeswoman said the couple were heading back to the UK late on
Wednesday, but had issued a fresh appeal to the Portuguese public before
flying out.
A full trial examining whether the
temporary injunction should be made permanent is due to be held at a
later date.
But Mr Amaral has said if he loses
this case he will take an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. |
