These are the final theses defended by Gonçalo Amaral, the inspector removed from the so-called Madeleine case, the child who disappeared in the Algarve on May 3, 2007. The Coordinator of the investigation yesterday opened the new season at the FARO Club with a lecture - "The Truth of the Madeleine Mystery," after being introduced by the FARO journalist, Ujué Foces. Along the same lines and responding to a question, Amaral made it clear: "If I had done the politically correct thing I would not have had to retire but a criminal investigation is only committed to the truth. It should not be concerned about political correctness. But in this case other, not strictly police issues, have prevailed."

Amaral suspects that, five months after the incident took place on May 3, Portuguese political power had already decided on a strategy. "For me, the investigation was dead from October 2nd 2007, following a new English ultimatum. I have the feeling that the statements made by the national director of our national police sought to prepare public opinion for the inevitable, that is to say, the end of the investigation and the filing of the case."

Responding to different questions, some generalisations, others specific, including some from Rosa Neira, the mother of the Vigo resident Déborah, who appeared dead in bizarre circumstances, Amaral also gave his impression on the McCann couple, the parents of the girl. "They are normal people, parents who have lost a daughter whom they certainly loved very much and for whom they have cried, and they feel guilty for that. The father wanted to save at least the rest of the family, the children who are left."

The inspector was referring to the possible negligence for having left the children alone while they had a system of checking every so often but, above all, the suspicion of the concealment of the body falling on them.

Amaral said that the fact that McCanns would be considered as "charged" created a turning point in the investigation between the Portuguese and English police. "There was a spoken understanding between two policemen to continue the line of investigation seriously, facing the possibility that her death had occurred in the apartament but, suddenly, the English changed course without any coherent technical explanation. It was always strange how the couple were treated, even after they were considered suspects, and the police information to which they occasionally had access."

Concerning the participation of the media he said that "a global phenomenon occurred, never before seen, in which the British press acted with very suspicious organisation, maintaining the thesis of the abduction. They said many things, truths and lies, and attended, in addition to the duty of information, disinformation campaigns that sought to discredit the criminal investigation and those responsible for them, considering them as a Third World country."

Questions that he had asked himself were reported or left hanging in the air: "How is it possible that a criminal investigation questions Portuguese justice, the Judicial Police and police cooperation between two countries with one of the oldest alliances in the world? What powers hindered and harmed such research? There is something disproportionate in this whole case... "

 

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Thanks to Joana Morais for translation

The Former Coordinator of the Judicial Police talked about the different paths taken by both the Portuguese and English police forces, of the feeling that it was an investigation destined to be archived, of the role of the media in a case which turned out to be extremely media focussed…

"I thought, after my removal – said Mr. Amaral – that if the authorities from the country where the girl was born, certainly, never opened an inquest for her, if they did not want to know what happened to her and if they endorsed the abduction thesis, why should I worry? Our work is out in the open on the process files, destroying them is the only way to erase the record of what was done. It's still possible that Justice can be done, for example if anyone from the group of the nine friends decides to talk."

Someone asked him if writing a book on the case, as he did, wasn't opportunistic, of a pure financial interest. "Opportunism? – he said – The British press, to undermine my work called me alcoholic, incompetent, vague… and the attacks continued even after my removal from the case. I wrote a book so I could restore my good name denigrated in public, since the institution of the Judicial Police, to which I belonged for 26 years, never allowed me to defend myself. For that I requested an authorisation to express myself and never got an answer. Afterwards I was removed from the case and asked for my retirement to regain my full freedom of speech. And obviously, to contribute to the discovery of the truth."

The Former Coordinator advanced some conjectures, to questions put by the audience, regarding how Madeleine could have died, maybe in an accidental fall while the parents and their friends had dinner 100 metres away. He also answered to suppositions regarding the participation of certain friends of the couple in hiding the cadaver or in their silence…