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The PJ inspectors stress
that within “international
cooperation there is no room
for states of mind” |
The different communication strategies
between the Portuguese and the British
authorities within the Maddie case are
bothering the PJ. The discomfort has
gone far enough for the PJ to warn the
Metropolitan Police that it refuses to
carry out the investigation through the
papers. Since the English police decided
to perform its own investigation into
the disappearance of Madeleine McCann,
the English press has been frequently
revealing information about the ongoing
diligences. Much of these news turned
out to be unfounded, further pushing
away the possibility of cooperation with
the PJ. At stake is equally the fact
that both police forces have different
investigation lines and also opposite
communication policies, some inspectors,
who prefer not to be identified,
confirmed to i.
According to sources that know the
process, the PJ has already informed its
British counterparts that it “wants to
continue to run its investigation within
the process and not in the newspapers”.
A call to attention in order to clarify
that they don’t want English police
sources commenting on supposed facts of
the Portuguese investigation. Even
because, they say, it is something that
the British ignore. In Portugal, an
investigation is being led by a team
from Oporto, but it’s been officers from
the PJ in Portimão that have been
replying to the rogatory letters that
were sent by the English, which is to
say, the requests for assistance to the
London investigation.
The strategy of the Portuguese – not to
render information about their
investigation public – was already known
by the British, but some news quoting
anonymous sources within the
Metropolitan Police forced this warning.
“The PJ will continue with the necessary
discretion, which is known to its
British counterpart. The media is out of
our equation during the investigation.
And if it was never said that there are
suspects it’s because there is nothing
strong enough”, a police source
clarified.
Just last week an article was published
in Portugal reporting that the English
had received a secret dossier from the
Judiciária, concerning burglars that
lived in the Algarve and could even have
already committed crimes against
children. To i, the same source assures
that the information is false: “No
secret dossier whatsovere was handed
over to the Metropolitan Police.”
Another person that is close to the
process explained that what the English
called a secret dossier may simply be
the list of persons with a criminal
record that resided close to Praia da
Luz, which the PJ sent within the
fulfilment of a rogatory letter.
Over recent months, the English media
reported every Scotland Yard suspect,
published e-fits from the police – which
i revealed were made by detectives that
were being paid by the child’s parents
after all – and publicised the sending
of the three rogatory letters from the
English investigators before the
Portuguese authorities knew about those
requests for international assistance.
A reconstitution of the evening of the
crime was made – which was not filmed in
Portugal – and broadcast in England,
Germany and Holland. After the
“thousands of leads” that the
Metropolitan Police told the media had
been received following the television
shows’ broadcast, the strategy remains
focused on tracing mobile phones of
people that were near the Ocean Club
resort on the evening of the 3rd of May
of 2007, the day that the child went
missing.
For the PJ officers that were contacted
by i, this kind of behaviour won’t have
an effect on the cooperation between
both police forces. “The rogatories will
be carried out in the most committed way
possible, because within international
cooperation there is no room for states
of mind”, a PJ source concluded.
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