With the final allegations taking place today, at Palacio da Justica, in Lisbon, it's coming to an end the process of the alleged complaint for defamation made by the McCanns, Maddie's parents, against Goncalo Amaral, in which the McCann couple asks for a millionaire compensation from the former PJ coordinator.

This process was born with the publication of the book “Maddie, a Verdade da Mentira” [Maddie, the Truth of the Lie], written by Goncalo Amaral , considered by the English couple as defamatory and an “affront”. As to the former PJ coordinator what is in question is “his right to freedom of expression and of opinion”, and he remains confident “in the Portuguese justice”. 

In a statement to JN on the trial that has lasted five years, the former PJ coordinator considers that the couple's goal, apart from an eventual monetary compensation, is to “convert the trial in an exoneration of their own responsibilities in the disappearance of their daughter”. And he justifies his opinion stating that “throughout these last five years they have attempted to convey the idea that this trial is about their innocence, when legally that is not what is at stake” since what is being argued at the trial is the “lawfulness or unlawfulness of the book I wrote and, and if so, whether it is possible to establish a causality link between the book and the possible damages they allege to have suffered”. 

in Jornal de Notícias, paper edition, December 10, 2014