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TinLizzy
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Date Posted:12/19/2010 10:53 PMCopy HTML

 







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Sofia Leal: 'Our daughters suffered emotional damage'

10 October 2009 | Posted by <script type=text/javascript>makeprofilelink("astro"); </script> astro Leave a Comment
The wife of the former Polícia Judiciária inspector speaks about the family problems, the difficulties in their marriage and the suffering of her daughters.

Gonçalo Amaral, a former Polícia Judiciária inspector, has become known to the public after investigating controversial cases: that of Joana Cipriano first, then that of Madeleine McCann. The balance of this valorous work was devastating for both the inspector’s career and personal life. Now, after retiring early, with several ongoing lawsuits, the former inspector celebrated his 50th birthday. His wife, Sofia Leal, tells our magazine about the last two years.

What changed since Gonçalo Amaral was removed from the Madeleine case?

He is a more present father, unfortunately perhaps, because his career ended prematurely.

Did the outcome of this case, for your husband, catch you by surprise?

At a certain point in time, I suspected that the outcome would be this one.

Did you fear that moment?

We never fear, because we have great faith in God and in our daughters’ future.

Was it a complicated time for the family?

Problems are overcome, just like in any family.

How did your daughters go through this situation?

It was very violent. They lived without their father since May, because he worked in Portimão and we still lived in Faro. Then, on the day that Madeleine disappeared, I started to work in Portimão. They remained with their grandparents, and when they finally came to live in our new home, their father ceased functions in Portimão and had to return to Faro. The girls’ feeling was a bit of abandonment.

Didn’t they understand this change?

Our daughters suffered emotional damages that are latent to this day. Their father’s court attendances were also very violent, because they were used to watching their father sending other people to court. And suddenly, it was their father on the defendant’s bench. Inês is five years old and Rita is 11, it’s very complicated.

Was there a time when the marriage was hurt?

Obviously, any marriage would hurt.

Did you feel you were receiving less attention from him?

Gonçalo’s commitment was always the same, it would never even cross my mind to complain about that. The difficulties in our marriage were basically related to the emotional part.

Do you fear that Gonçalo may be forced to pay the compensation that is being demanded by the McCanns?

I don’t think that is possible, we will appeal until the last instances.

Don’t you fear experiencing financial difficulties?

On the day that my husband left the Polícia Judiciária, he came home with a third of his salary. That was a decision that we made as a family. We were aware of the difficulties that we would experience in the future, and I have always supported him, because principles are more important. That is how we raise our daughters.

How do you seek to explain the ongoing events to your daughters?

The four of us gather when they have doubts and we clarify everything, according to their ages.

Are they approached by colleagues at school?

Yes, they are approached at school, but always in a positive manner and they react very well.

A message for Kate McCann

Sofia Leal has already come forward to defend her husband from Kate McCann’s words.

“I don’t understand, I don’t accept and I don’t even admit that a mother whose daughter has disappeared, treats my husband in that manner, saying that he is a disgrace as a man and as a professional. I do not admit that exactly that person says it, after my husband gave up so much of his family time to search for her daughter.”

“I have a feeling of fulfilled duty”

The former Polícia Judiciária inspector reunited his closest friends to celebrate his 50th birthday. “I’m happy, there are many friends here, others could not come, others are not among us anymore.” On the balance of such a special anniversary, the former policeman says that he has many reasons to celebrate. “I feel accomplished. It is the feeling of fulfilled duty, but there is something more, that I cannot speak about, of justice being carried out and the truth being discovered. These are not wishes, they are principles, I’m not speaking about any specific case”, he adds ironically. We recall that Gonçalo Amaral was forbidden by the Civil Court of Lisbon of making any comments about the book “The Truth about the Lie”.


source: Maria magazine, paper edition only, 10.10.2009
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Re:Sofia Leal

Date Posted:12/19/2010 11:03 PMCopy HTML

Sunday Express Exclusive Interview with Sofia Leal

27 September 2009 | Posted by  <script type=text/javascript>makeprofilelink("Joana Morais"); </script> Joana Morais Leave a Comment

Sofia and Gonçalo Amaral

THE wife of Portuguese detective Gonçalo Amaral has denied they are locked in a personal battle with Kate and Gerry McCann and has spoken of their pity for the distraught couple.

By James Murray

“Everyone thinks we are fighting the McCanns but this is not true,” said 38-year-old Sofia Leal in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Express.

“I tell people all the time that they are having to endure the hardest pain in the world, which is losing a child.

“As a mother I cannot imagine what kind of pain that is. It is so hard.

“Like Kate McCann, I am a ­Catholic. The image of pain in the Catholic church is not Christ on the Cross but Mary holding her child in her arms. It is the pain of the loss of a child and there is no worse pain in the world. We are sorry for that.”

That pain was etched on the face of Kate McCann when she made a fleeting visit to Lisbon last week to meet her lawyers and to appeal for help in finding her daughter, snatched in May 2007 from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on the Algarve.

Close to tears, Kate said: ‘‘She’s six now but we’ve just got to keep going. It has been very harrowing and draining. But there is no choice, she needs us to find her and bring her home.”

In Portimão, 20 miles up the coast from Praia da Luz, Sofia spoke of the anguish suffered by her husband, who coordinated the McCann investigation. The McCanns are suing him for £1million they believe he has made with his book about the case, The Truth Of The Lie, and a documentary.

They are particularly angered over his claims that Madeleine is not alive. Civil servant Sofia says her 49-year-old husband suffered post traumatic stress after he was removed as head of the Madeleine investigation in September 2007. He took early retirement the following month, even though he lost two-thirds of his pension.

“It was a bad time for Gonçalo,” said Sofia. Even in his sleep he was going over in his mind what had happened to him and how his career was brought to a premature end.

“I heard him talking in the night ­because of nightmares. Everything he did, every action he took was going through his head.

“I was worried ­because he is such a calm, tender man but luckily over the past few months the nightmares have stopped.” Sofia, who works in the Portimão mayor’s office and is responsible for three major projects, including a new Algarve airport, speaks English fluently and is both amused and angered by comments aimed at her husband from some people in Britain. “We know how Gonçalo is portrayed in Britain, the caricature of a foreign detective missing the clues, but the reality is that you will not find a better detective in Portugal.

“There were many times in the investigation when his bosses said, ‘You have done enough’ but he kept working and working, chasing all the leads.

“There are satellites which probably have close-up pictures of what was happening on the ground that day. He tried to get the images but he couldn’t. The US said the satellites were trained on Morocco at the time and that was it. That is what annoys him because he says the inquiry was not completed to his satisfaction.

“Goncalo loves me and our three girls very much but he lives for his job. For him an investigation is like a mathematical equation.

“One and one has to make two. Until the answer is found he will not give up.” From the proceeds of the book her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money and that he will defend the legal action.

“We are now living on one-third of our budget for the month but that is OK for us because he made the right decision,” she said.

“If he was financially motivated, he would have stayed in his job for the full pension but that is not his way.”

His 25-year-old daughter from his first marriage, also called Sofia, has just passed a law degree. His wife has a daughter Rita, 11, from her first ­marriage and she has a daughter, Agnes, with Gonçalo who will soon be six.

This week there is a double birthday celebration, Sofia’s today and her ­husband’s 50th on Friday.

“We will see all our family and friends and enjoy ourselves,” she said. “We are so lucky to have three beautiful girls in the family.

“Gonçalo is very proud of them all. He is very good with them at home but my only complaint is that he is not strict enough with them. He lets them do what they want where I have to be a little stricter.

“He never yells at them but he can also be a little overprotective. He is always worrying about them having accidents in the playground or ­wherever. I could not wish for a better father.”

The couple met 10 years ago through a friend and married in June 2000. They spent their honeymoon in the Azores, where her husband dreams of ­spending his retirement.


in Sunday Express

ps. Only the last 100 comments are showed bellow, to read the full comments go to the blog post comments page



131 comments »

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Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 1

Finally, how refreshing to see an article portraying Goncalo as he is, with no derogatory remarks or innuendo's, finally, they are starting to know that there is more to this man than that which some would have us believe.

For one brief minute in the hours of viewing material in this case I thought I was reading a Portuguese article.

Joana Morais said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 2

For the first time in two very long years, we have a unbiased article from the UK media mentioning Gonçalo Amaral as a human being.


It may be turn of the tide, hope it becomes a media tsunami.

chrissie1 said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 3

At last a good report, go Joana England is behind you, go Goncalo we love you.
You are the one who wants to find out what has happened to this child xxx

Joana Morais said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 4

Happy Birthday to Sofia Leal, parabéns e feliz aniversário!

Thank you chrissie :)

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 5

The Express finally recognises Madeleine McCann is dead.

Hopefully before long they will be able to print it.

RealHumptyB on Twitter

Joana Morais said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 6

RH, you're right. There are mini hints all over the article...that will no doubt leave a different imprint in the memory of those who will read this article. The SE have Sofia saying «the pain of the loss of a child», it's a subliminal manner of saying that Maddie is dead, and the religious imagery is perfect.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 7

What many fail to understand is that we must always fight for what we feel is right, fair and just.

It is 'just' that everything possible is done to solve the mystery of missing Madeleine McCann - foremost for Madeleine, she is the victim!

Sr Goncalo Amaral by his actions is attempting to do exactly that. Unfortunately he is being more than hindered from certain quarters.

The pain of losing a child is a pain that most parents who have not experienced this personally, can only try to imagine, and I'm sure we do not come close. A pain which no parent should have to endure. The worst possible, to lose your child in any circumstance.

As a father to three daughters, Sr Goncalo Amaral recognises and acknowledges this.

As an experienced former detective of long standing with the Police Judiciary, he understands the need for justice to be served. As a highly experienced former detective he is able to determine, process carefully and thoroughly information gathered during investigative proceedings.

For the findings of the official police investigation into Madeleine's disappearance to be
dismissed entirely by some, is nothing short of an injustice to the child.

It is an injustice also to Sr Amaral and the very many officers both in Portugal and the UK who were part of the team, and who worked tirelessly to help this child. Who worked tirelessly to help her parents.

As Sofia said of Goncalo:

"For him an investigation is like a mathematical equation.

One and one has to make two. Until the answer is found he will not give up.”

For the parents of a missing child, to know that there is a man so dedicated, so prepared, to not give up on their child, they must surely welcome?

To have someone dedicated to making sure that 'one and one make two' and not leave matters as they are - FAR from "two" surely they must welcome?

Sr Goncalo Amaral is a man, the parents McCann should not fear.

Most parents would welcome such a formidable man on their side, helping with their search, wherever that search may lead.

If the McCann parents are innocent, if they have told the truth absolutely - they should have no fear.

What a great opportunity, in Sr Amaral, the McCann parents, let slip through their fingers when searching for competent private detectives to join them in their search for Madeleine.

Five PI companies down the line in the space of two + years and they are no closer to finding the child.

Dave Edgar from recent news reports has clearly not read the police files closely or carefully, at best it would appear that he has simply scanned over them. He has missed so much information contained therein, the result being very serious inaccuracies when making statements to the press.

Madeleine deserves so much more than this.

Sofia mentions the purchase of a jaguar car from the proceeds of book sales.

Whether one agrees with the book having been published, the work was done by Sr Amaral, he earned whatever his share of the proceeds.

If we are to go down the 'tit for tat' route - the McCann's paid mortgage payments from the Fund donated by the public, they did not earn this money.

Sofia says also of Goncalo:

“If he was financially motivated, he would have stayed in his job for the full pension but that is not his way.”

There are many good people in this world who do good deeds, work for others, help those in need or less fortunate, in legal matters or otherwise.

I know this to be true as I have had the good fortune to have received of such kindess. I know too as I have family who have helped others in many ways with not a shiny penny exchanged.

For these people, money is not their master.

I believe this to be so, of Sr Goncalo Amaral.

Kind Regards Joana, and to one and all.

A.Miller

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 8

Sr Goncalo's motivation is not money but a missing child, Madeleine Beth McCann.

We must not forget this. We must not forget Madeleine.

A.Miller

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 9

So nice to read something positive.
There'll be fury in the air around Rothley manor! )

Lynne

Arbiter said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 10

They are going to have to gag her as well.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 11

Totally surprising article... what do the Express think they're playing at? Do they not realise they need to get Mitchell's blessing on all articles?

Nice one - let's hope people understand the subtext

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 12

Funny, I wonder how many people remember the first letter Mrs. Amaral wrote to Mrs. McCann....

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 13

More like this is needed...more honesty and background.

I've always thought how odd that there has never been an honest appraisal of Gerald McCann's parental skills - I'm sure its not true that he was pleased to have time away from the children whilst on holiday (as of course like any other hard working father he would have wanted to spend as much time as possible with the children).

I'd be pleased to read about Geralds views about Kate and Kates about Gerald...but there have never been such interviews.

What was it like, for example, having a wife who had the trauma of being in charge of death certificates when she worked as a locum GP, this must have been traumatic for her and seems so unfair!

What was it like for Gerald trying so hard to baalnce his large mortgage against his pitiful pay packet...barely able to scrape a living - so that after only a month or so of desperately searching for his daughter the harsh NHS refused to pay his salary and forced him to make that dreadful humiliating decision to use the fund set up to find his daughter just to make ends meet! What a terrible building society - refusing to suspend his payments at such a traumatic time, cutting short his search, jogging and desperately playing tennis in his heart wrenching search.

Maria from Brazil said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 14

Eis o nível e a classe da familia Amaral - first class family.

Sofia, parabéns pelo seu aniversário, pela pessoa que voce é e pela maneira como voce responde às agressoes verbais dos contraentes de Gonçalo.

Há um proverbio espanhol muito antigo que diz: " Quem tem zazao, nao grita".

Felicidades, saúde e muita força para que voces cheguem a uma conclusao judicial sensata com aquele que ,para defender sua imagem de bom súdito da Rainha está tentando difamar seu marido.
Admiro-lhes porque voces nunca desceram ao nível deles.
Os dias passam e o rio continua a fluir assim é a natureza.Acredito na Justiça pela qual o Dr. Amaral está lutando porque apesar de todas as maldades humanas nunca, ninguém conseguiu parar a chuva.

Abraços,

Maria- Rio de Janeiro / Leblon

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 15

Happy Birthday Mrs. Amaral.

What a pleasant suprise to read something like this in a UK paper.
It sure made my sunday :-)

(instead the usual: mccann..fury...sue...money...fund...fury...sue...suspect...money...fury...sue...ban...close forums....burn books....fury...lawyers...cartier rucksack....fury...)

weissnicht :-)

Maria from Brazil said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 16

Querida Joana, bom dia!

Que surpresa boa hoje cedo entrar no seu blog e ver a carta da Sofia num jornal ingles.

Quem diria!
Quem sabe a própria media mude o rumo desta investigaçao, sabemos que tudo é possivel.Eles coroam os reis e logo depois os apunhalam.
Voce sabe mesmo qual foi o principal objetivo dos Mccanns irem a Lisboa?
Nao entendi aquela viagem , me parece simbólica para repetir as mesmas frases de sempre e aterrorizar os que lutam para que Madeleine nao seja apenas uma fonte de dinheiro para seus pais e restos mortais no anonimato?Ou era saudade dos flashes da cameras fotográficas?
Na nossa delgacia no Rio o pessoal diz que se há relampagos no céu de Rothley eles pensam que sao os flashes dos fotógrafos.
A estas alturas do campeonato ,Joana acredito que a ansia de Gerry ser Ministro da Saúde foi de águas abaixo nao é?

Beijos
by the way estou na Suiça visitando meu filho.Menina que frio nao é? Quero minhas praias!
Tenho grande admiraçao por voce e seu trabalho.

Abraços

Maria

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 17

I read today in " 24 Horas" newspaper, that the Mccann's are trying to sue and silence blogs and sites in the Internet which defends madeleine's dead. Their lawyers are trying to know which servers are behind this sites and ask them to close the sites.

" La derniere Heur" a Belgium Newspaper refused to close his site on the grounds that British law is not applicable on their Country.

I think, Blogs and sites should Made public, who are the servers behind them and like that we can all start a chain support, sending messages to that servers asking them to not play Mccann's game, because on the other side, ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEDMON OF SPEECH, ON THE SIDE OF THE RIGHTS TO BE INFORMED WITHOUT MANIPULATION, there is trillions of peoples around the world. And will be a great damage to the Internet service, which is largely known as a network and a chain to connect people, if they agree with a very suspicious group, on their demands to silence and change the opinion of a large majority in the world.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT THE MCCANN'S " ARGUIDO" STATUS WAS LIFTED, BUT THEY ARE NOT DECLARED INNOCENTS BY ANY COURT OF LAW. MADDIE CASE WAS SHELVED, BUT WAS NOT CLOSED. AND MOST IMPORTANT, WAS SHELVED WITH AUTHORITIES BELIEVING THAT THE LITLE GIRL IS DEAD.

MCCANN'S CASE WAS NOT TRIALED in any court of law, they refuse to answer several questions to the oficial police; they refuse to do the reconstruction of the night the litle girl disapeared; they refuse any other theory apart the abduction; They failed all the NORMAL, LeGALL and OFFICIAL steps in the investigation. THEY HAVE NO LEGALL OR MORAL AUTHORITIE TO ASK ANYTHING, AND WORSE.... TO ASK PEOPLE TO SHUT UP WHEN THERE IS MORE DOUBTS THEN SURE CONCLUSIONS.

We did not ask them or invite them in our lifes. Refusing the advice of the police, they went in our houses trough a Media campaign in several Tv interviews, bringuing alots of anguishes and stress to the nights of our little childs feeding the idea of an abductor which can go inside rooms at night leaving no traces.

Who damaged the investigation? NOT ME, NOT THAT BLOG. The Mccann's themselves and their behaviour are the ones to blame.
We WANT JUSTICE, but not a justice made with conspiracy, made with silences, fabricated. WE WANT A JUSTICE ACHIEVED WITH TRANSPARENCE, TROUGH AN INDEPENDENT COURT, WHERE ALL THE THEORIES CAN BE TRTEATED AS POSSIBLE AND DISMISSED IF THEIR IS NO EVIDENCES.
The Mccann's assault our lifes when it was convennient for them and create the monster.... Now they cannot ask us to shut up.... Unless they re-open the case, answer the questions in a court, do the re-construction and follow all the normal steps in justice, as we face in the same situation. They are not more and not less, then me or all the bloggers here. When, we all vote in our Country elections or in European elections, our votes have the same power and are treated as IGUAL. Why they want to be different?
The big majority of us, voted on FREEDMON OF EXPRESSION, ON LIBERTY, then how can a small team of neglect parents ask lawyers now to frame our brain?

INNOCENT PARENTS NEED A SUPPORT OF PSICHOLOGISTS TO FACE THEIR PAIN AND THEIR LOSS, NOT A HUGE TEAM OF EXPENSIVE LAWYERS, MEDIA IMAGE ADVISERS, ETC. That shows.... there is something behind which they want to hide.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 18

INTERNET IS A SYMBOL OF FREEDMON, SHOULD NEVER EVER BE A VEHICLE TO CLOSE MOUTHS, TO FRAME OPINIONS. THE MCCANN'S WANTED THEIR CASE TO BE PUBLIC SINCE THE BEGINNING. THEY MADE THE CHOICE AND BECAME CELEBRITIES. THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND NOW, THAT THIS HAVE A PRICE AND THE PRICE IS.... WHEN YOU SHOW TO PUBLIC EYES YOUR BEHAVIOUR AND WHEN YOU PUBLICITE IT you should be prepared for positive and negative critic. It is a risk. Mean's that the Mccann's still not prepared for the monster which they created.... THEY SUB-EVALUATE ALL THE RISKS, after all that huge team of millionaire employees.

Lady Di, faced several critics on her life and never ask anybody to Shut-Up, this is why she is remembered now with great respect.

Bush was the most controversial United States President and he faced a lot of critics and jokes. He never ask anybody to shut-up.

Berluscconni, faces some scandals and bad comments in Italy... never ask anybody to shut up.

THEN WHO ARE THIS MCCANN'S? Apart of being a pair of middle class doctors which assume they leave their child unprotected night after night in a foreign country hotel.

Jo said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 19

Gonçalo & Sofia: Feliz aniversario y muchos por venir.

I could not believe my eyes when I read this article! Truly amazing!

This is a call for compassion from the Amaral family towards the mccanns.It shows the people they truly are,people with an enormous heart despite their difficulties.They still manage to "embrace" the mccanns and here they are giving us a lesson.

Yes,this is the first time in 2 very long years GA is described like a human being and not like a "disgraced" person.
I hope the mccanns will take good note of this as well as the tone of the Express article which definitely hints at Madeleine"s death.As well as acknowlege that even though the Amarals are essentially good at heart people,they will fight back and we can only support them and stand by them.The article is also a warning.Good but not stupid and certainely not scared.

I am now wondering how the mccanns will react to this article which praises what they loath most in this world: the man who wants to find the truth and make justice for a little child. THEIR little child.
Their resistance is cruel for Madeleine.
IF they are not involved they should be working and should have been working hand in hand with the PJ. They still can ask for the case to be re-opened.
Their constant denial has been and is working against them and especially the only victim here: Madeleine.
I believe that even now if they would recognize their numerous mistakes and owe up for whatever happened to Madeleine,they still would have the clemency of a court because the loss of a child is the worse thing to happen.

Will they finally give in and give up their "dreams" of grandeur against the only thing that really counts,the truth for Madeleine?

Continuara......

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 20

It is that a sign of CHANGES IN BRITISH MEDIA? IF So.... Congratulations to the newspaper which decide to inform people and not manipulating information.

That mea's, at the time the Mccann's want to frame people in Portugal and in the Internet, they are loosing the control of the Media in Uk?

Or that mean's... Mitchell jumped out of the circus?

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 21

Happy Birthday Mrs Amaral :)

At last, how refreshing to read the Sunday Express today. I have purposely boycotted UK newpapers - until today.

Joana, thank you for all your hard work.

H

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 22

What a lovely article,-and so refreshing:-)

A little balance in the British press is well overdue and here's hoping we'll now start seeing some.

Happybirthday Sr. and Mrs Amaral

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 23

Sofia is genuine and transparent- She assumed they buy a Jaguar with Money earned from the book. Nothing wrong... Amaral write the book, then the money came from his work.

And the Mccann's.... after two years of a Billionaire Fund, what we know? Where goes the Money from the Fund, earned fooling honest people?


Wonder.... Amaral Buy a Jaguar, a British car, proving that he have nothing against UK. At least his money went inside England...

But, we will see ao long the Mccann's will be silent with this interview and the Jaguar? How long to come across the Media and blame Amaral of having a Jaguar with Madeleine's ground?

VERY CLOUDY, the sky in ROTHLEY today.... a storm is around...

nancy said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 24

I didn't think I'd ever be saying 'THANK YOU' to the Express, but here I am saying it!

At last an article showing the true side of Goncalo to the British public - a side which needed to be shown and which has taken far too long.

The McCann team will be chewing glass and spitting sawdust over this article, not to mention a certain pink blog!!

I hope Sofia and Goncalo enjoy reading the article instead of wincing at the derogatory remarks usually there.

Have a nice day everyone!

Zodiac said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 25

"They are particularly angered over his claims that Madeleine is not alive. Civil servant Sofia says her 49-year-old husband suffered post traumatic stress after he was removed as head of the Madeleine investigation in September 2007. He took early retirement the following month, even though he lost two-thirds of his pension.

“It was a bad time for Gonçalo,” said Sofia. Even in his sleep he was going over in his mind what had happened to him and how his career was brought to a premature end.

“I heard him talking in the night ­because of nightmares. Everything he did, every action he took was going through his head."

Wow! I'm surprised no gobsmacked to read this article in the SE! How refreshing to read some real news and not a heavily laden pink sticky syrup McNon news article. Yes UK, Sofia and Goncalo are real people. Real people who have had their lives turned upside down and inside out because Goncalo was good at his job! I particulary like the above imo a clear indication that Sofia herself has material for a best selling book! Sofia when you write your book please publish in English also!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 26

Dear Sir or Madam,
I have not purchased a newspaper for 2 years since the papers biased and clearly gagged reporting on the Mccann's and missing Madeleine Mccann. Team Mccann were all so neglectful to their children and this has all been brushed under the carpet and the papers writing what the Mccanns what us all the believe.

I form my own opinion and in order to form opinions I have followed other articles available online and not purchased a paper or watched mainstream news for over 2 years. Today I awoke to a pleasant surprise, one I really did not expect. An interview with Sofia Leal, a refreshing view of the respectful and honest husband and wife who have both dedicated their life to truth and honesty. Thank you for printing something other than what Clarence Mitchell must give you to write that is all spot checked by the Mccanns PR companies. I do have a formal complaint below and hope you can address it fully please.

There was one part in which the reported says "Madeleine was snatched" this should not be written, does he know she was " snatched" he should have said gone missing. On this note I formally request that you amend that wording on the internet article right away and can you answer please, does the Sunday Express have a bias to the Mccanns? You are in this article are clearly saying you believe what the McCann’s say about a "so called abduction" as there is no evidence to support this.

There is so much evidence to support Madeleine's death and on this note it would help me continue to buy your paper if you reported "facts" direct from the PJ's files, the dvd files that are public knowledge. An article about the work of Eddie and Keela the wonderful police dogs, along with their findings on the Mccann case would make the general public all buy your paper, I have no doubt.

Thank you again for the article which was very informative and I look forward to the changing online of the error or if not an error can you advise how you can say Madeleine was "snatched"

Kind regards
DT

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 27

After this is there anyone who still does not believe that Donal MacIntyre´s article in last Sunday´s Express was a very clever demolition job on the abduction theory?

Yet again they have managed to publish an article which does the Mcanns no favours, but which cannot possibly be construed as libellous.

Jacinta UK said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 28

Said so last week Donal Macintyre was having a go at the Maccanns perhaps the tide is starting to turn against the Maccanns. They will not like this that's for sure.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 29

Don't know how you guys are reading this UK-article..... but for me it reads like:
"....We are now living on one-third of our budget..." and "...her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money..."

That's not very responsible behaviour, in my opinion !

cusith said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 30

Thank god for this article,the triumph of right over might seems a long time in coming but finally this could be the start.

Dimsie said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 31

Dear me, how did this article get past the censors? Don't the Sunday Express people know that before noon all copies of their newspaper will have to be collected from every shop in the land and delivered to Rothley to be burned in the village square? All Rothley residents who thought they'd have a free afternoon will now find themselves dragooned into attendance at the paper-burning ceremony, until not a word of this dangerous, pro-Amaral stuff is left to sully the minds of the populace.

It could happen ... nothing is impossible.

PS Happy Birthday, Sofia - you and your husband deserve much happiness for all you're doing for Madeleine.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 32

Hum... TEMPO QUENTE NO OUTONO INGLES.

Porque estao a mudar de atitude alguns jornais ingleses? PREMONICAO de que a ultima cartada jogada pelos Mccann em Portugal, foi a mais desastrosa e provavelmente a mais devastadora.

Censurar livros, silenciar opinioes, perseguir cidadaos, e provavelmente a mais perigosa opcao e aquela que o publico menos tolera e nao perdoa. Os Mccann e o seu assessorado de advogados e porta-vozes milionarios, cometeram um erro ao quererem nao so silenciar o policia mas tambem cidadao anonimos em todo o mundo. NAO SE SILENCIA A INDIGNACAO. Nao se mudam opinioes so porque um grupo assim o deseja. E PRECISO CONVENCER O PUBLICO e enquanto nao houver um julgamento isento, o publico nao ficara convencido.

E disso que os jornais tem medo... o assunto chegou a um ponto que ja nao tem retrocesso... Pode ser o Publico a exigir a re-abertura do caso, a querer saber a verdade. Se tal acontecer, os jornais sabem que tem muita culpa no castelo de cartas que os Mccann construiram. Afinal foram os jornais que venderam a imagem de um policia incompetente e bebado, gordo e mal-vestido. Venderam mentiras e difamacoes. Se o caso for a tribunal, Amaral tem todo o direito de dizer que precisou de escrever o livro para provar ao publico que ele investigou, trabalhou e chegou as mesmas conclusoes que outros policiais oficiais, cujos nomes e imagem nao foram banalizados.

Os jornais igleses estao com medo da onda de choque que Amaral, Blogs, Sites e o publico, podem comecar. DECIDIDAMENTE, OS MCCANN FORAM UM MAU NEGOCIO- PAGARAM-lhes indemnizacoes fantoche, perderam credibilidade e leitores e agora tem de reconhecer que foram manipulados.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 33

Loved the headline on the page next to it, 'Kate gets cut down to size'. Ok, it wasn't the same Kate, but it sure looked good!

Mrs Amaral sounds like a very inteligent woman. Nice one, Sunday Express - you've broken my boycott on British newspapers, keep up the good work.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 34

I love the contrast between the photos of the two couples.

Salsa said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 35

So uma nota breve: muitos parabens Sofia e Goncalo (um bocadinho antecipados :-)

Um abraco grande,
Salsa

Jo said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 36

On September 27, Anonymous said...
Don't know how you guys are reading this UK-article..... but for me it reads like:
"....We are now living on one-third of our budget..." and "...her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money..."

That's not very responsible behaviour, in my opinion !
**********************************

The ONLY irresponsble people here are the mccanns.Before and after May 3rd 2007.
Have the courage to post WITH a name and not behind "anonymous".
THAT would be responsible

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 37

What's going on eh? Normally a newspaper picks a side and sticks with it. Not in this case though. We've already had the Express flip from anti to pro. Now they offer a cosy article on Amaral.

One possibility of course is that the Express like a lot of the media is just waiting for its opportunity.
No one likes losing large sums of money in a libel case.

Another might be that Amaral's lawyers have been in touch with the Express! Hence the balance...

I remain however completely mystified and outraged by the UK media. Their complete inability or reluctance to ask even the simplest questions (unlike say Sandra F who asked them if they were going to ask to reopen the case as is their legal right) is baffling. Most news and crime journalists are pretty inteligent. It's not as though they can't know what questions to ask. I think therefore they are not asking them out of fear - fear of the consquences - and that in turn must relate to instructions from editors and that in turn must relate back to libel actions etc

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 38

On September 27, Anonymous said...
Don't know how you guys are reading this UK-article..... but for me it reads like:
"....We are now living on one-third of our budget..." and "...her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money..."

That's not very responsible behaviour, in my opinion !

Oh my, I would hate to see what you thought Anon on the behaviour of the Mccanns & buddies leaving all the children alone night after night. Totally responsible - NOT

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 39

Interresting how Mrs AMARAL speaks about his husband is protecting with his daughters.
PROTECTING!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 40

Hi there!

For the newspapers in the UK the Mccanns & Co are not a big business anymore.It's boring to hear or read the same song about the Egg-Man by Jane Tanner.
Maybe now is a new wave coming.A burned book is more intersting than a pseudo crime.
Just wait and drink tea!
We never know how they plan.

have a nice sunday,

Maria

Himself said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 41

You are a brave woman Sofia Leal and not for the reasons that we normally associate you with, your honesty, integrity and the loyalty you show your husband to name but a few.

Brave indeed, unless you had editorial control over the article, to put your trust in any British newspaper.

Brave indeed to trust this shabby rag not to turn the story completely around and have it serve their purpose du jour.

Whereas it's good to see the article in print I cannot help but ask you to consider the risks and pitfalls when talking to the British media in the future.

They are not to be trusted, they have shown that day in and day out ever since this grotesque circus rolled into town.

That apart, may I take this opportunity to wish you both happy birthday and offer my sincerest thanks, again to both of you, for being so steadfast in the face of so much adversity and equally steadfast in the uphill battle of seeking justice for a wee girl, a wee girl that deserves in death better treatment than she received in life.

My warmest regards to you both.
Himself

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 42

mrs amaral comes over as a very sincere and warm person but is a shame that it has taken 2ys for a decent article with out all the disgraced cop and the bungling pj rubbish.but i personally think the express are up to some thing so dont hold your breathe for another decent article to appear in favour of mr and mrs amaral,

Mairy Hinge said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 43

*rubs eyes* The Express?
Interviewing Sofia Leal, sympathetically? Showing the Amarals' true colours in a UK paper?
Sent hubby out to buy a copy. C'mon folks, show your approval!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 44

Hi,
Brigitte from Germany,

go back to Amaral's article where you commented it is a nightmare to you.
At page 3 ( I think) there is a comment of myself, written to you.
And I repeat, don't blame yourself for crimes you did no commit.
If you continue like that, today or tomorrow you will feel responsible for what happened to Madeleine.

Be strong.
A Dutch lady.

Dimsie said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 45

On September 27, Anonymous said...
Don't know how you guys are reading this UK-article..... but for me it reads like:
"....We are now living on one-third of our budget..." and "...her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money..."

That's not very responsible behaviour, in my opinion !


Well, just be glad you're allowed an opinion, because if the oppressors have their way you'll soon not be allowed to say anything without running it past the censors first! Though I guess your remarks would be allowed through, seeing as they're critical of the Amarals rather than the McCanns.

Come on, what's wrong with buying a Jaguar? At least Mr Amaral earned whatever money he has, and HIS wife works, which is a better way to get money than asking other people to give it to you. You earn your own money, you can spend it how you choose. Sofia isn't pleading poverty, she's simply pointing out that her husband lost two-thirds of his pension, but she says that's ok because he made the right decision.

What a refreshing change from the moaning minnies we usually hear about when the British press write about Madeleine's disappearance. Who could forget a member of the Fund's board saying the public weren't giving enough money? Bad, bad public - holding on to money that should really have been handed over without question!

PS Maybe you'd like to see the Jaguar seized and handed over to the McCanns? I don't think it'll happen, but you never know to which depths some people will sink.

aacg said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 46

I do agree with Anonymous (one of them) about "....We are now living on one-third of our budget..." and "...her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money..."
I think the journalist knows what he quotes and how paradoxical this will appear. And this makes me deduce this interview isn't at all innocent. It might even origin in an advice of the new hired Portuguese Lift Consulting".

I don't agree with another Anonymous who "believes that even now if they would recognize their numerous mistakes and owe up for whatever happened to Madeleine,they still would have the clemency of a court because the loss of a child is the worse thing to happen".
No clemency for them ! The question isn't punishing them, but re-establishing our confidence in justice.
They lost a child, and we all felt extremely sorry for that. They fooled us as if we weren't compassionate, shouldn't we make sure that no one will ever dare trying such a circus anymore ?

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 47

may this year be a Happy Birthday for both of you...

we have our fingers crossed that there may be a resolution of the case:

vindication for you Goncalo, repatriation for poor Madeleine and incarceration for the parents

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 48

Whilst it was good to read the article in the SE, i wouldn't hold my breath for much more from them. The British Press are afraid to report anything negative about the McScums for fear of libel. But i dare say they know full well the McScums are guilty as sin and are waiting for the proof so that they can go ahead and hammer them. The British press are very quick to turn nasty and they will eventually.
Best birthday wishes to Sr and Mrs Amaral, and i hope and pray that justice will eventually prevail.
Jan

MH said... <script type=text/javascript> CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter); </script> 49

Just a thought about the 'national security threat'. Could it be they're scared of an uprising when the truth comes out? Gordon Brown is said to have said people needed to be prepared...

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Re:Sofia Leal

Date Posted:12/19/2010 11:11 PMCopy HTML

131 comments »

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Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>1

Finally, how refreshing to see an article portraying Goncalo as he is, with no derogatory remarks or innuendo's, finally, they are starting to know that there is more to this man than that which some would have us believe.

For one brief minute in the hours of viewing material in this case I thought I was reading a Portuguese article.

Joana Morais said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>2

For the first time in two very long years, we have a unbiased article from the UK media mentioning Gonçalo Amaral as a human being.


It may be turn of the tide, hope it becomes a media tsunami.

chrissie1 said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>3

At last a good report, go Joana England is behind you, go Goncalo we love you.
You are the one who wants to find out what has happened to this child xxx

Joana Morais said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>4

Happy Birthday to Sofia Leal, parabéns e feliz aniversário!

Thank you chrissie :)

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>5

The Express finally recognises Madeleine McCann is dead.

Hopefully before long they will be able to print it.

RealHumptyB on Twitter

Joana Morais said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>6

RH, you're right. There are mini hints all over the article...that will no doubt leave a different imprint in the memory of those who will read this article. The SE have Sofia saying «the pain of the loss of a child», it's a subliminal manner of saying that Maddie is dead, and the religious imagery is perfect.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>7

What many fail to understand is that we must always fight for what we feel is right, fair and just.

It is 'just' that everything possible is done to solve the mystery of missing Madeleine McCann - foremost for Madeleine, she is the victim!

Sr Goncalo Amaral by his actions is attempting to do exactly that. Unfortunately he is being more than hindered from certain quarters.

The pain of losing a child is a pain that most parents who have not experienced this personally, can only try to imagine, and I'm sure we do not come close. A pain which no parent should have to endure. The worst possible, to lose your child in any circumstance.

As a father to three daughters, Sr Goncalo Amaral recognises and acknowledges this.

As an experienced former detective of long standing with the Police Judiciary, he understands the need for justice to be served. As a highly experienced former detective he is able to determine, process carefully and thoroughly information gathered during investigative proceedings.

For the findings of the official police investigation into Madeleine's disappearance to be
dismissed entirely by some, is nothing short of an injustice to the child.

It is an injustice also to Sr Amaral and the very many officers both in Portugal and the UK who were part of the team, and who worked tirelessly to help this child. Who worked tirelessly to help her parents.

As Sofia said of Goncalo:

"For him an investigation is like a mathematical equation.

One and one has to make two. Until the answer is found he will not give up.”

For the parents of a missing child, to know that there is a man so dedicated, so prepared, to not give up on their child, they must surely welcome?

To have someone dedicated to making sure that 'one and one make two' and not leave matters as they are - FAR from "two" surely they must welcome?

Sr Goncalo Amaral is a man, the parents McCann should not fear.

Most parents would welcome such a formidable man on their side, helping with their search, wherever that search may lead.

If the McCann parents are innocent, if they have told the truth absolutely - they should have no fear.

What a great opportunity, in Sr Amaral, the McCann parents, let slip through their fingers when searching for competent private detectives to join them in their search for Madeleine.

Five PI companies down the line in the space of two + years and they are no closer to finding the child.

Dave Edgar from recent news reports has clearly not read the police files closely or carefully, at best it would appear that he has simply scanned over them. He has missed so much information contained therein, the result being very serious inaccuracies when making statements to the press.

Madeleine deserves so much more than this.

Sofia mentions the purchase of a jaguar car from the proceeds of book sales.

Whether one agrees with the book having been published, the work was done by Sr Amaral, he earned whatever his share of the proceeds.

If we are to go down the 'tit for tat' route - the McCann's paid mortgage payments from the Fund donated by the public, they did not earn this money.

Sofia says also of Goncalo:

“If he was financially motivated, he would have stayed in his job for the full pension but that is not his way.”

There are many good people in this world who do good deeds, work for others, help those in need or less fortunate, in legal matters or otherwise.

I know this to be true as I have had the good fortune to have received of such kindess. I know too as I have family who have helped others in many ways with not a shiny penny exchanged.

For these people, money is not their master.

I believe this to be so, of Sr Goncalo Amaral.

Kind Regards Joana, and to one and all.

A.Miller

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>8

Sr Goncalo's motivation is not money but a missing child, Madeleine Beth McCann.

We must not forget this. We must not forget Madeleine.

A.Miller

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>9

So nice to read something positive.
There'll be fury in the air around Rothley manor! )

Lynne

Arbiter said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>10

They are going to have to gag her as well.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>11

Totally surprising article... what do the Express think they're playing at? Do they not realise they need to get Mitchell's blessing on all articles?

Nice one - let's hope people understand the subtext

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>12

Funny, I wonder how many people remember the first letter Mrs. Amaral wrote to Mrs. McCann....

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>13

More like this is needed...more honesty and background.

I've always thought how odd that there has never been an honest appraisal of Gerald McCann's parental skills - I'm sure its not true that he was pleased to have time away from the children whilst on holiday (as of course like any other hard working father he would have wanted to spend as much time as possible with the children).

I'd be pleased to read about Geralds views about Kate and Kates about Gerald...but there have never been such interviews.

What was it like, for example, having a wife who had the trauma of being in charge of death certificates when she worked as a locum GP, this must have been traumatic for her and seems so unfair!

What was it like for Gerald trying so hard to baalnce his large mortgage against his pitiful pay packet...barely able to scrape a living - so that after only a month or so of desperately searching for his daughter the harsh NHS refused to pay his salary and forced him to make that dreadful humiliating decision to use the fund set up to find his daughter just to make ends meet! What a terrible building society - refusing to suspend his payments at such a traumatic time, cutting short his search, jogging and desperately playing tennis in his heart wrenching search.

Maria from Brazil said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>14

Eis o nível e a classe da familia Amaral - first class family.

Sofia, parabéns pelo seu aniversário, pela pessoa que voce é e pela maneira como voce responde às agressoes verbais dos contraentes de Gonçalo.

Há um proverbio espanhol muito antigo que diz: " Quem tem zazao, nao grita".

Felicidades, saúde e muita força para que voces cheguem a uma conclusao judicial sensata com aquele que ,para defender sua imagem de bom súdito da Rainha está tentando difamar seu marido.
Admiro-lhes porque voces nunca desceram ao nível deles.
Os dias passam e o rio continua a fluir assim é a natureza.Acredito na Justiça pela qual o Dr. Amaral está lutando porque apesar de todas as maldades humanas nunca, ninguém conseguiu parar a chuva.

Abraços,

Maria- Rio de Janeiro / Leblon

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>15

Happy Birthday Mrs. Amaral.

What a pleasant suprise to read something like this in a UK paper.
It sure made my sunday :-)

(instead the usual: mccann..fury...sue...money...fund...fury...sue...suspect...money...fury...sue...ban...close forums....burn books....fury...lawyers...cartier rucksack....fury...)

weissnicht :-)

Maria from Brazil said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>16

Querida Joana, bom dia!

Que surpresa boa hoje cedo entrar no seu blog e ver a carta da Sofia num jornal ingles.

Quem diria!
Quem sabe a própria media mude o rumo desta investigaçao, sabemos que tudo é possivel.Eles coroam os reis e logo depois os apunhalam.
Voce sabe mesmo qual foi o principal objetivo dos Mccanns irem a Lisboa?
Nao entendi aquela viagem , me parece simbólica para repetir as mesmas frases de sempre e aterrorizar os que lutam para que Madeleine nao seja apenas uma fonte de dinheiro para seus pais e restos mortais no anonimato?Ou era saudade dos flashes da cameras fotográficas?
Na nossa delgacia no Rio o pessoal diz que se há relampagos no céu de Rothley eles pensam que sao os flashes dos fotógrafos.
A estas alturas do campeonato ,Joana acredito que a ansia de Gerry ser Ministro da Saúde foi de águas abaixo nao é?

Beijos
by the way estou na Suiça visitando meu filho.Menina que frio nao é? Quero minhas praias!
Tenho grande admiraçao por voce e seu trabalho.

Abraços

Maria

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>17

I read today in " 24 Horas" newspaper, that the Mccann's are trying to sue and silence blogs and sites in the Internet which defends madeleine's dead. Their lawyers are trying to know which servers are behind this sites and ask them to close the sites.

" La derniere Heur" a Belgium Newspaper refused to close his site on the grounds that British law is not applicable on their Country.

I think, Blogs and sites should Made public, who are the servers behind them and like that we can all start a chain support, sending messages to that servers asking them to not play Mccann's game, because on the other side, ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEDMON OF SPEECH, ON THE SIDE OF THE RIGHTS TO BE INFORMED WITHOUT MANIPULATION, there is trillions of peoples around the world. And will be a great damage to the Internet service, which is largely known as a network and a chain to connect people, if they agree with a very suspicious group, on their demands to silence and change the opinion of a large majority in the world.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT THE MCCANN'S " ARGUIDO" STATUS WAS LIFTED, BUT THEY ARE NOT DECLARED INNOCENTS BY ANY COURT OF LAW. MADDIE CASE WAS SHELVED, BUT WAS NOT CLOSED. AND MOST IMPORTANT, WAS SHELVED WITH AUTHORITIES BELIEVING THAT THE LITLE GIRL IS DEAD.

MCCANN'S CASE WAS NOT TRIALED in any court of law, they refuse to answer several questions to the oficial police; they refuse to do the reconstruction of the night the litle girl disapeared; they refuse any other theory apart the abduction; They failed all the NORMAL, LeGALL and OFFICIAL steps in the investigation. THEY HAVE NO LEGALL OR MORAL AUTHORITIE TO ASK ANYTHING, AND WORSE.... TO ASK PEOPLE TO SHUT UP WHEN THERE IS MORE DOUBTS THEN SURE CONCLUSIONS.

We did not ask them or invite them in our lifes. Refusing the advice of the police, they went in our houses trough a Media campaign in several Tv interviews, bringuing alots of anguishes and stress to the nights of our little childs feeding the idea of an abductor which can go inside rooms at night leaving no traces.

Who damaged the investigation? NOT ME, NOT THAT BLOG. The Mccann's themselves and their behaviour are the ones to blame.
We WANT JUSTICE, but not a justice made with conspiracy, made with silences, fabricated. WE WANT A JUSTICE ACHIEVED WITH TRANSPARENCE, TROUGH AN INDEPENDENT COURT, WHERE ALL THE THEORIES CAN BE TRTEATED AS POSSIBLE AND DISMISSED IF THEIR IS NO EVIDENCES.
The Mccann's assault our lifes when it was convennient for them and create the monster.... Now they cannot ask us to shut up.... Unless they re-open the case, answer the questions in a court, do the re-construction and follow all the normal steps in justice, as we face in the same situation. They are not more and not less, then me or all the bloggers here. When, we all vote in our Country elections or in European elections, our votes have the same power and are treated as IGUAL. Why they want to be different?
The big majority of us, voted on FREEDMON OF EXPRESSION, ON LIBERTY, then how can a small team of neglect parents ask lawyers now to frame our brain?

INNOCENT PARENTS NEED A SUPPORT OF PSICHOLOGISTS TO FACE THEIR PAIN AND THEIR LOSS, NOT A HUGE TEAM OF EXPENSIVE LAWYERS, MEDIA IMAGE ADVISERS, ETC. That shows.... there is something behind which they want to hide.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>18

INTERNET IS A SYMBOL OF FREEDMON, SHOULD NEVER EVER BE A VEHICLE TO CLOSE MOUTHS, TO FRAME OPINIONS. THE MCCANN'S WANTED THEIR CASE TO BE PUBLIC SINCE THE BEGINNING. THEY MADE THE CHOICE AND BECAME CELEBRITIES. THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND NOW, THAT THIS HAVE A PRICE AND THE PRICE IS.... WHEN YOU SHOW TO PUBLIC EYES YOUR BEHAVIOUR AND WHEN YOU PUBLICITE IT you should be prepared for positive and negative critic. It is a risk. Mean's that the Mccann's still not prepared for the monster which they created.... THEY SUB-EVALUATE ALL THE RISKS, after all that huge team of millionaire employees.

Lady Di, faced several critics on her life and never ask anybody to Shut-Up, this is why she is remembered now with great respect.

Bush was the most controversial United States President and he faced a lot of critics and jokes. He never ask anybody to shut-up.

Berluscconni, faces some scandals and bad comments in Italy... never ask anybody to shut up.

THEN WHO ARE THIS MCCANN'S? Apart of being a pair of middle class doctors which assume they leave their child unprotected night after night in a foreign country hotel.

Jo said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>19

Gonçalo & Sofia: Feliz aniversario y muchos por venir.

I could not believe my eyes when I read this article! Truly amazing!

This is a call for compassion from the Amaral family towards the mccanns.It shows the people they truly are,people with an enormous heart despite their difficulties.They still manage to "embrace" the mccanns and here they are giving us a lesson.

Yes,this is the first time in 2 very long years GA is described like a human being and not like a "disgraced" person.
I hope the mccanns will take good note of this as well as the tone of the Express article which definitely hints at Madeleine"s death.As well as acknowlege that even though the Amarals are essentially good at heart people,they will fight back and we can only support them and stand by them.The article is also a warning.Good but not stupid and certainely not scared.

I am now wondering how the mccanns will react to this article which praises what they loath most in this world: the man who wants to find the truth and make justice for a little child. THEIR little child.
Their resistance is cruel for Madeleine.
IF they are not involved they should be working and should have been working hand in hand with the PJ. They still can ask for the case to be re-opened.
Their constant denial has been and is working against them and especially the only victim here: Madeleine.
I believe that even now if they would recognize their numerous mistakes and owe up for whatever happened to Madeleine,they still would have the clemency of a court because the loss of a child is the worse thing to happen.

Will they finally give in and give up their "dreams" of grandeur against the only thing that really counts,the truth for Madeleine?

Continuara......

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>20

It is that a sign of CHANGES IN BRITISH MEDIA? IF So.... Congratulations to the newspaper which decide to inform people and not manipulating information.

That mea's, at the time the Mccann's want to frame people in Portugal and in the Internet, they are loosing the control of the Media in Uk?

Or that mean's... Mitchell jumped out of the circus?

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>21

Happy Birthday Mrs Amaral :)

At last, how refreshing to read the Sunday Express today. I have purposely boycotted UK newpapers - until today.

Joana, thank you for all your hard work.

H

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>22

What a lovely article,-and so refreshing:-)

A little balance in the British press is well overdue and here's hoping we'll now start seeing some.

Happybirthday Sr. and Mrs Amaral

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>23

Sofia is genuine and transparent- She assumed they buy a Jaguar with Money earned from the book. Nothing wrong... Amaral write the book, then the money came from his work.

And the Mccann's.... after two years of a Billionaire Fund, what we know? Where goes the Money from the Fund, earned fooling honest people?


Wonder.... Amaral Buy a Jaguar, a British car, proving that he have nothing against UK. At least his money went inside England...

But, we will see ao long the Mccann's will be silent with this interview and the Jaguar? How long to come across the Media and blame Amaral of having a Jaguar with Madeleine's ground?

VERY CLOUDY, the sky in ROTHLEY today.... a storm is around...

nancy said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>24

I didn't think I'd ever be saying 'THANK YOU' to the Express, but here I am saying it!

At last an article showing the true side of Goncalo to the British public - a side which needed to be shown and which has taken far too long.

The McCann team will be chewing glass and spitting sawdust over this article, not to mention a certain pink blog!!

I hope Sofia and Goncalo enjoy reading the article instead of wincing at the derogatory remarks usually there.

Have a nice day everyone!

Zodiac said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>25

"They are particularly angered over his claims that Madeleine is not alive. Civil servant Sofia says her 49-year-old husband suffered post traumatic stress after he was removed as head of the Madeleine investigation in September 2007. He took early retirement the following month, even though he lost two-thirds of his pension.

“It was a bad time for Gonçalo,” said Sofia. Even in his sleep he was going over in his mind what had happened to him and how his career was brought to a premature end.

“I heard him talking in the night ­because of nightmares. Everything he did, every action he took was going through his head."

Wow! I'm surprised no gobsmacked to read this article in the SE! How refreshing to read some real news and not a heavily laden pink sticky syrup McNon news article. Yes UK, Sofia and Goncalo are real people. Real people who have had their lives turned upside down and inside out because Goncalo was good at his job! I particulary like the above imo a clear indication that Sofia herself has material for a best selling book! Sofia when you write your book please publish in English also!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>26

Dear Sir or Madam,
I have not purchased a newspaper for 2 years since the papers biased and clearly gagged reporting on the Mccann's and missing Madeleine Mccann. Team Mccann were all so neglectful to their children and this has all been brushed under the carpet and the papers writing what the Mccanns what us all the believe.

I form my own opinion and in order to form opinions I have followed other articles available online and not purchased a paper or watched mainstream news for over 2 years. Today I awoke to a pleasant surprise, one I really did not expect. An interview with Sofia Leal, a refreshing view of the respectful and honest husband and wife who have both dedicated their life to truth and honesty. Thank you for printing something other than what Clarence Mitchell must give you to write that is all spot checked by the Mccanns PR companies. I do have a formal complaint below and hope you can address it fully please.

There was one part in which the reported says "Madeleine was snatched" this should not be written, does he know she was " snatched" he should have said gone missing. On this note I formally request that you amend that wording on the internet article right away and can you answer please, does the Sunday Express have a bias to the Mccanns? You are in this article are clearly saying you believe what the McCann’s say about a "so called abduction" as there is no evidence to support this.

There is so much evidence to support Madeleine's death and on this note it would help me continue to buy your paper if you reported "facts" direct from the PJ's files, the dvd files that are public knowledge. An article about the work of Eddie and Keela the wonderful police dogs, along with their findings on the Mccann case would make the general public all buy your paper, I have no doubt.

Thank you again for the article which was very informative and I look forward to the changing online of the error or if not an error can you advise how you can say Madeleine was "snatched"

Kind regards
DT

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>27

After this is there anyone who still does not believe that Donal MacIntyre´s article in last Sunday´s Express was a very clever demolition job on the abduction theory?

Yet again they have managed to publish an article which does the Mcanns no favours, but which cannot possibly be construed as libellous.

Jacinta UK said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>28

Said so last week Donal Macintyre was having a go at the Maccanns perhaps the tide is starting to turn against the Maccanns. They will not like this that's for sure.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>29

Don't know how you guys are reading this UK-article..... but for me it reads like:
"....We are now living on one-third of our budget..." and "...her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money..."

That's not very responsible behaviour, in my opinion !

cusith said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>30

Thank god for this article,the triumph of right over might seems a long time in coming but finally this could be the start.

Dimsie said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>31

Dear me, how did this article get past the censors? Don't the Sunday Express people know that before noon all copies of their newspaper will have to be collected from every shop in the land and delivered to Rothley to be burned in the village square? All Rothley residents who thought they'd have a free afternoon will now find themselves dragooned into attendance at the paper-burning ceremony, until not a word of this dangerous, pro-Amaral stuff is left to sully the minds of the populace.

It could happen ... nothing is impossible.

PS Happy Birthday, Sofia - you and your husband deserve much happiness for all you're doing for Madeleine.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>32

Hum... TEMPO QUENTE NO OUTONO INGLES.

Porque estao a mudar de atitude alguns jornais ingleses? PREMONICAO de que a ultima cartada jogada pelos Mccann em Portugal, foi a mais desastrosa e provavelmente a mais devastadora.

Censurar livros, silenciar opinioes, perseguir cidadaos, e provavelmente a mais perigosa opcao e aquela que o publico menos tolera e nao perdoa. Os Mccann e o seu assessorado de advogados e porta-vozes milionarios, cometeram um erro ao quererem nao so silenciar o policia mas tambem cidadao anonimos em todo o mundo. NAO SE SILENCIA A INDIGNACAO. Nao se mudam opinioes so porque um grupo assim o deseja. E PRECISO CONVENCER O PUBLICO e enquanto nao houver um julgamento isento, o publico nao ficara convencido.

E disso que os jornais tem medo... o assunto chegou a um ponto que ja nao tem retrocesso... Pode ser o Publico a exigir a re-abertura do caso, a querer saber a verdade. Se tal acontecer, os jornais sabem que tem muita culpa no castelo de cartas que os Mccann construiram. Afinal foram os jornais que venderam a imagem de um policia incompetente e bebado, gordo e mal-vestido. Venderam mentiras e difamacoes. Se o caso for a tribunal, Amaral tem todo o direito de dizer que precisou de escrever o livro para provar ao publico que ele investigou, trabalhou e chegou as mesmas conclusoes que outros policiais oficiais, cujos nomes e imagem nao foram banalizados.

Os jornais igleses estao com medo da onda de choque que Amaral, Blogs, Sites e o publico, podem comecar. DECIDIDAMENTE, OS MCCANN FORAM UM MAU NEGOCIO- PAGARAM-lhes indemnizacoes fantoche, perderam credibilidade e leitores e agora tem de reconhecer que foram manipulados.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>33

Loved the headline on the page next to it, 'Kate gets cut down to size'. Ok, it wasn't the same Kate, but it sure looked good!

Mrs Amaral sounds like a very inteligent woman. Nice one, Sunday Express - you've broken my boycott on British newspapers, keep up the good work.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>34

I love the contrast between the photos of the two couples.

Salsa said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>35

So uma nota breve: muitos parabens Sofia e Goncalo (um bocadinho antecipados :-)

Um abraco grande,
Salsa

Jo said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>36

On September 27, Anonymous said...
Don't know how you guys are reading this UK-article..... but for me it reads like:
"....We are now living on one-third of our budget..." and "...her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money..."

That's not very responsible behaviour, in my opinion !
**********************************

The ONLY irresponsble people here are the mccanns.Before and after May 3rd 2007.
Have the courage to post WITH a name and not behind "anonymous".
THAT would be responsible

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>37

What's going on eh? Normally a newspaper picks a side and sticks with it. Not in this case though. We've already had the Express flip from anti to pro. Now they offer a cosy article on Amaral.

One possibility of course is that the Express like a lot of the media is just waiting for its opportunity.
No one likes losing large sums of money in a libel case.

Another might be that Amaral's lawyers have been in touch with the Express! Hence the balance...

I remain however completely mystified and outraged by the UK media. Their complete inability or reluctance to ask even the simplest questions (unlike say Sandra F who asked them if they were going to ask to reopen the case as is their legal right) is baffling. Most news and crime journalists are pretty inteligent. It's not as though they can't know what questions to ask. I think therefore they are not asking them out of fear - fear of the consquences - and that in turn must relate to instructions from editors and that in turn must relate back to libel actions etc

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>38

On September 27, Anonymous said...
Don't know how you guys are reading this UK-article..... but for me it reads like:
"....We are now living on one-third of our budget..." and "...her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money..."

That's not very responsible behaviour, in my opinion !

Oh my, I would hate to see what you thought Anon on the behaviour of the Mccanns & buddies leaving all the children alone night after night. Totally responsible - NOT

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>39

Interresting how Mrs AMARAL speaks about his husband is protecting with his daughters.
PROTECTING!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>40

Hi there!

For the newspapers in the UK the Mccanns & Co are not a big business anymore.It's boring to hear or read the same song about the Egg-Man by Jane Tanner.
Maybe now is a new wave coming.A burned book is more intersting than a pseudo crime.
Just wait and drink tea!
We never know how they plan.

have a nice sunday,

Maria

Himself said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>41

You are a brave woman Sofia Leal and not for the reasons that we normally associate you with, your honesty, integrity and the loyalty you show your husband to name but a few.

Brave indeed, unless you had editorial control over the article, to put your trust in any British newspaper.

Brave indeed to trust this shabby rag not to turn the story completely around and have it serve their purpose du jour.

Whereas it's good to see the article in print I cannot help but ask you to consider the risks and pitfalls when talking to the British media in the future.

They are not to be trusted, they have shown that day in and day out ever since this grotesque circus rolled into town.

That apart, may I take this opportunity to wish you both happy birthday and offer my sincerest thanks, again to both of you, for being so steadfast in the face of so much adversity and equally steadfast in the uphill battle of seeking justice for a wee girl, a wee girl that deserves in death better treatment than she received in life.

My warmest regards to you both.
Himself

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>42

mrs amaral comes over as a very sincere and warm person but is a shame that it has taken 2ys for a decent article with out all the disgraced cop and the bungling pj rubbish.but i personally think the express are up to some thing so dont hold your breathe for another decent article to appear in favour of mr and mrs amaral,

Mairy Hinge said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>43

*rubs eyes* The Express?
Interviewing Sofia Leal, sympathetically? Showing the Amarals' true colours in a UK paper?
Sent hubby out to buy a copy. C'mon folks, show your approval!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>44

Hi,
Brigitte from Germany,

go back to Amaral's article where you commented it is a nightmare to you.
At page 3 ( I think) there is a comment of myself, written to you.
And I repeat, don't blame yourself for crimes you did no commit.
If you continue like that, today or tomorrow you will feel responsible for what happened to Madeleine.

Be strong.
A Dutch lady.

Dimsie said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>45

On September 27, Anonymous said...
Don't know how you guys are reading this UK-article..... but for me it reads like:
"....We are now living on one-third of our budget..." and "...her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money..."

That's not very responsible behaviour, in my opinion !


Well, just be glad you're allowed an opinion, because if the oppressors have their way you'll soon not be allowed to say anything without running it past the censors first! Though I guess your remarks would be allowed through, seeing as they're critical of the Amarals rather than the McCanns.

Come on, what's wrong with buying a Jaguar? At least Mr Amaral earned whatever money he has, and HIS wife works, which is a better way to get money than asking other people to give it to you. You earn your own money, you can spend it how you choose. Sofia isn't pleading poverty, she's simply pointing out that her husband lost two-thirds of his pension, but she says that's ok because he made the right decision.

What a refreshing change from the moaning minnies we usually hear about when the British press write about Madeleine's disappearance. Who could forget a member of the Fund's board saying the public weren't giving enough money? Bad, bad public - holding on to money that should really have been handed over without question!

PS Maybe you'd like to see the Jaguar seized and handed over to the McCanns? I don't think it'll happen, but you never know to which depths some people will sink.

aacg said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>46

I do agree with Anonymous (one of them) about "....We are now living on one-third of our budget..." and "...her husband has bought a Jaguar car but she insists he has not made a lot of money..."
I think the journalist knows what he quotes and how paradoxical this will appear. And this makes me deduce this interview isn't at all innocent. It might even origin in an advice of the new hired Portuguese Lift Consulting".

I don't agree with another Anonymous who "believes that even now if they would recognize their numerous mistakes and owe up for whatever happened to Madeleine,they still would have the clemency of a court because the loss of a child is the worse thing to happen".
No clemency for them ! The question isn't punishing them, but re-establishing our confidence in justice.
They lost a child, and we all felt extremely sorry for that. They fooled us as if we weren't compassionate, shouldn't we make sure that no one will ever dare trying such a circus anymore ?

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>47

may this year be a Happy Birthday for both of you...

we have our fingers crossed that there may be a resolution of the case:

vindication for you Goncalo, repatriation for poor Madeleine and incarceration for the parents

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>48

Whilst it was good to read the article in the SE, i wouldn't hold my breath for much more from them. The British Press are afraid to report anything negative about the McScums for fear of libel. But i dare say they know full well the McScums are guilty as sin and are waiting for the proof so that they can go ahead and hammer them. The British press are very quick to turn nasty and they will eventually.
Best birthday wishes to Sr and Mrs Amaral, and i hope and pray that justice will eventually prevail.
Jan

MH said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>49

Just a thought about the 'national security threat'. Could it be they're scared of an uprising when the truth comes out? Gordon Brown is said to have said people needed to be prepared...

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>50

Papers don't forgive the thousands of Pounds they pay to that parents without passing a trial court. IT IS TIME TO START A REVANCHE and a Revanche is something that should be "served in a cold plate".


But... We, the Public, need more, much more from Uk papers to start believing on them. Over two years of manipulation, they loose our confidence.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>51

To the spiteful anon. who saw fit to pass judgement on the manner how Mr. and Mrs. Amaral choose to spend THEIR money:
- It is THEIR money, Mr. Amaral wrote a best-seller book, he had the reward for his work, he DID NOT ask people for money by setting-up a fraudulent fund, not even to pay for his legal expenses or any installments on their mortgage like "you know who" did!
Oh, but maybe I'm being unfair to you, maybe you are just such a kind soul that you are concerned that Mrs. Amaral and the children are in danger of becoming destitute because of Mr. Amaral's spending sprees...please don't worry. Mrs. Amaral certainly is not worried, she knows the man she married to, she trusts him thoroughly, so why should you be?
But I'm sure she would thank you for your concern!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>52

THEY ARE SO NICE PEOPLE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BOTH OF YOU! MANY HAPPY YEARS! I WISH YOU A GREAT VICTORY WHICH YOU'LL SHARE WITH ALL OF US. GOD BLESS YOU!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>53

27 Setembro 2009 - 00h30

A voz da Razão
Obviamente, demita-se

"Quem queima livros, queima homens, disse o poeta alemão Heine. Palavras proféticas. Quando os nazis chegaram ao poder, o programa foi cumprido: primeiro, expurgando as bibliotecas do Reich de prosa ‘decadente’ (leia-se ‘judaica’); e, depois, massacrando o povo judeu.


Por isso aplaudo a atitude de Carrilho, embaixador português na UNESCO, que se recusou a seguir as ordens do governo para votar em Farouk Hosni para a presidência do clube. Hosni, um egípcio anti-semita, expressara o desejo ardente de lançar para a fogueira livros de judeus, na impossibilidade de lançar os próprios. O voto em Hosni acabaria por ser depositado na urna por um funcionário diplomático, um gesto que desautoriza Carrilho. E envergonha Portugal.

Resta esperar que o nosso filósofo leve a dignidade até ao fim e obviamente se demita."

João Pereira Coutinho, Colunista

In Correio da Manha

Brillhante artigo de opiniao num tempo em que em Portugal se proibem livros, se perseguem cidadaos e se obriga alguem a ficar calado.

Brilhante atitude de Carrilho, como representante do governo na UNESCO, teve a coragem de fazer o que a sua dignidade mandava, foi ultrapassado, demosntrando como em Portugal ha deficit de democracia. Voltamos a ter vergonha de sermos governados por gente assim, que dualidade de criterios.
Parabens Carrilho e paraben ao colunista que trouxe esta historia a luz do dia. Nem de proposito, na semana em que um tribunal Portugues obriga a queimar um livro.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>54

He bought a Jaguar,

yes, but not with the money of a fraudulent Fund, cheating on the population, paying mortages, staying in the most expensive hotel in Lisbon, using others money.

he earned it himself, ok?

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>55

to anonymus re Jaguar.
so what MR AMARAL PAYED FOR THAT OUT OF HIS MONEY HE RECIEVED FOR THE BOOK HE WROTE, the mccanns PAYED THIER MORTGAGE OUT OF THE FUND WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR THE SEARCH FOR MADELEINE,THEY HAVE NOT SPENT A PENNY OF THIER OWN MONEY ONLY OTHER PEOPLES.
but im just waiting for the mccanns and mitchel to write a book about madeleine and believe me they will write one to see if the same unjust jibes are directed at them.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>56

Why didn'the UK never give any information about the Mccanns to the Portuguese police?

Where was Gerald during those two years when he was unemployed?

Doing some voluntary work, cleaning the streets, walking dogs for his neighbours?

It would have been a very positive propaganda for him.

I never heard about those two years.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>57

it appears that none of us, regardless of book burnings, are going anywhere until justice is served.

we've waited over two years... we can wait a bit longer

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>58

It is hard to trust the UK media, and the reference to the Jaguar car might yet be twisted and flung in the face of Dr Amaral from certain quarters.

I hope not.

Apart from that, Dr Amaral and his wife come across as highly intelligent, caring people.

It would be a real turn up for the book (literally) if the newspaper had already negotiated for the right to publish the forbidden book.

It is about time one or other of these newspapers were willing to stick their neck above the parapet and do a bit of fighting for free speech for a change, instead of following baa baa baa after Clarence.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>59

Os Mccanns perderam uma boa hora de terem ficado quietos.
Teria sido melhor proibirem o livro só na Inglaterra.
Proibir em Portugal causou também revolta nos media ingleses.
Finalmente este caso vai desenrolar.
Vamos lá ver.

IRONSIDE said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>60

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/130287/Embattled-Murdoch


A Good News Day...Murdoch is losing money...and only 5% are willing to pay Online for the garbage in his newspapers...

Ahhhh, I thing I will go for a walk on the Beach..

trainer said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>61

And what car does everyone else involved in this sorry tail drive?
GM? KM? CM?

Kazz said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>62

I really hope now that the tide is about to turn on the Mc Canns I cant believe they have the audacity to sue a 'DETECTIVE' who has searched day and night to look for a child that THEY lost. I think their behaviour is disgusting and I pity those twins.Amaral and is wife come across has honest loyal caring people words that I cannot use to describe the Mc Scams. I want to wish Goncalo and Sofia a very happy birthday and hope things get better for you soon, The best always comes to those that wait. Good luck theres alot of people behind you who believe in you stay strong!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>63

My congatulations to Amaral and Sofia for their birthdays.
May God bless both of them.
Light at the end of the tunnel, shining sharper than the street lights around 5A, on that fatal evening.

And my CONGRATULATIONS to the Express.
During the first and second Gulf war I was impressed about how corageous the British journalists were, in Irak.
It was a deception when I concluded they were scared of a couple.
But it was not like that.
Who knows they made their own investigations in the UK and by now they know more about the McCanns than everybody else.
Who knows they are prepared to help Amaral, with a lot of information.
In this life you have to be careful when making enemies.
Not everybody is suitable to be one.
The British media was gagged but they still have a voice, behind the gag.
They will never forget what the McCanns did to them, after having used them to make money.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>64

The last attempt of the mccann's last week in Portugal, generate more HATE. people are hating them more today.
I went across some portuguese newspaper blogs and find out that a huge ammount of comments are against the Mccann's.

They can hire Lift Consulting and expensive lawyers. It is a waste of money.... People are going to hate them untill the time they decide to re-open the case and go to court to allow a properly investigation to hapen.

The newspaper wich decide to stay on their side they will loose money.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>65

Joana, I went to Madeleine Foundation trough your link. That mean's the site is on again? If so... Great. Tonny Benneth as the right to express and share is feelings, as many of us do. IF was not the courage of people like you and him, we never had the oportunnity to discuss and share our opinions. I hope the indignnity of Trillions of people in the world, show that lawyers where reason lands. SOON AMARAL BOOK WILL BE FREE AND AVAILABLE, peraphs with an extended comment about the last developments in the investigation.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>66

I hope in publishing this interview it represents a new beginning for the Express. The editors must have "more" on the McCanns than they have heretofore printed. I hope they spare the public all Mitchell's comments and follow this article with true investigative facts.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>67

'Have your say' is unavaialble for this story, so says the Sunday Express site - suprise!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>68

Moita Flores spoke of TEN OR TWELVE people who had access to Apartment 5A. Presumably he meant the Tapas 9 and up to three others. Donal MacIntyre spoke of a mystery "at least two kidnappers", one being the driver of a brown or gold Nissan car, the other "a dark-haired woman observed standing near a street light at a road junction that overlooks apartment 5A."
PUT THIS TOGETHER AND WHAT HAVE YOU GOT? The Tapas 9 and 2 or 3 others.
DAVE EDGAR, IF YOUR POSITION IS TO REMAIN TENABLE YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING INTO ALL THIS.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>69

I have just seen (on another site) a copy of the paper edition of the Express article. Accompanying it are pictures of both couples - the Amarals and one of the McCanns. The Amarals appear to be a warm loving couple, while the photo of the McCanns (taken in Lisbon this week) not very flattering.

bob the bluebird said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>70

Well, who'd have thought we would be reading complimentary articles on Mr Amaral two years after the event? Not the McCs, that's for sure.

Happy birthday mr and mrs Amaral.

Mathieu (Belgium) said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>71

Mr.Amaral

please accept my apology for buying only one copy from your book "Maddie" .
I promise to by at least 3 copy's from " A Mordaca Inglesa" to inform my whole family.

We are proud of you and your family

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>72

Just got home from a day in the sun, to read this blog. Now going out again to buy this fantastic paper.

And I never ever buy a Sunday paper, normally.

Hope the paper sells out so they'll do similar again.

Fernis said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>73

This article in the SE makes me think that there are a lot of other journalists that doubt, or simply don't believe the McCanns and they would love to write about it. The problem now is that the case has been so much scrutinized and written about to the point of boredom. Moreover, with the fear the Couple & Co imposes on the majority of the british press, it is my guess that many newspaper editors would (or do) apply ”The English Gag” to any article favourable to Goncalo Amaral. It's a pity.

guerra said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>74

The success the McCanns have had in duping the public, by controlling the British media and imposing their will on the judiciary system of a foreign nation, has gone to their heads.
Their narcissism was fed by this success and because of it they have constantly pushed the envelope looking for more control. The narcissism which led to the start of this circus is also what will eventually finish them. People can only take so much.

Mr. James Murray's article accomplishes the following:

It shows that the Amaral couple empathises with Kate McCanns loss and thus affirms their belief that the child is dead.

It portrays Mr. Amaral as a sensitive man who has suffered from his unjust treatment. A man who is impartial when doing an investigation; "He views an investigation as a mathematical equation."

The statement that Mrs Sofia was angered and amused by what was written about her husband in Britain, is an indication to the public that what was written was libelous and silly.

The statement that his bosses told him that he had done enough and that he stillof it he kept working and working chasing all the leads, contradicts the British medias portrayal of Mr. Amaral as being a lazy drunk.

It portrays Mr. Amaral as a proud family man who loves his children and indulges them, not the image of a strict harsh man given to us by the British media.

“He never yells at them but he can also be a little overprotective. He is always worrying about them having accidents in the playground or ­wherever. I could not wish for a better father.” This statement is a swipe at the McCanns. He never yells at them, the McCanns did yell at Madeleine. He is always worrying about possible accidents, obviously leaving 3 toddlers alone in an apartment in a foreign country shows little concern for their safety.

In my opinion the statement about the Jaguar adds credibility to the article Mrs. Amaral is being forthright she has nothing to hide. It is a car for him and his family, he earned it, there is nothing wrong with that.

I find it silly that an anonymous poster who voices an opinion contrary to our own is depicted as a coward for posting as anonymous. What difference does it make? Am I more courageous because I post as "Guerra" and not anonymous? I guess the people who give themselves what I think is called an avatar, start believing that they are more than a few letters on a computer screen.

trainer said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>75

funny how the sunday express does not allow you to comment on any of the mccann storys ...scared-e-cats

Jolie said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>76

IT'S TRUE!! The Madeleine Foundation website is back up. What a glorious day this is! A positive, sympathetic article appearing in a major UK publication and now this...I am so happy.

Blessings to both Mr. and Mrs. Amaral and many, many more happy years to enjoy together. You have bigger hearts that I do, if the Sunday Express article is expressing your true feelings, after what you've been put through because of the McCanns: their negligence, their farce,and their efforts to shut people up.

Sr. Amaral, please, please publish your books in English, too. I very much want to buy copies. Have you tried American publishers?

Sofia Leal, you write beautifully. I hope that you, too, will write and publish a book on this case.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>77

good luck to you & your family Goncalo...

I really don't know how you have the energy to battle the McCann's. I'm sure most people would have given up by now.

But thank you from everyone who cares about justice for a little girl.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>78

Happy birthday Mr & Mrs Amaral. Just thinking about how this countries media has treated you brings tears of shame to my eyes. Good luck always in your quest for justice. Let us hope that the balanced article in today's SE will be the first of many. You look a lovely couple - MUCH more photogenic than the whining McCanns whose countenance I think most people are sick of seeing.
PS I can't wait to read your books!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>79

i dont trust the SUNDAY EXPRESS not after the way they have been up the mccanns ar***.NO WAY ARE THEY GOING TO REPORT ANY THING LIKE THE TRUTH AND CERTAINLY NOTHING THAT WILL
MAKE MR AND MRS AMARAL LOOK GOOD.

nancy said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>80

Senora Leal -

Your words in the Express show that you live up to your surname, because you come over as being completely loyal to your husband and family.

To you both - para vosotros -

HAPPY BIRTHDAY -
FELIZ CUMPLEANOS

May you spend many more birthdays together!

Kazz said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>81

Good news the Madeleine foundation website is back on

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>82

The Maccanns will be going WOOSH WOOSH all the way to the toilet,after they read this. They have brought it all on themselves, if they had any sense at all they would be better to come clean now. I thought doctors were intellergent. When they ran from Portugal that Sunday morning they thought they had got away from it all and things would die down. but for Mr Amaral it may have. What a man he is.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>83

Again I watched that video of Donal, "when will this circus stop?', on Joana.
That video and that article are masters pieces.
I would love to meet Donal, even for a few seconds.
Brillant and it deserves a special place on you blog, Joana.
I wondered why Donal went to Algarve, only for that article?
It seems he went for more than that.

Today there is that interview with Sofia Leal.
Imo, it happened when Donal was making his article for the Express.
I hope he made a lot more.
I love you, Donal.

warfare said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>84

Thanks Guerra for your support
Anonymous people are also human beings

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>85

To cite Churchil, after the D-Day,

Donal's words are the end of the beginning.

UK started fighting back.


Be strong!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>86

Regarding the reference to satellites - If they had been pointed towards PDL, would it actually be possible to get a clear picture of what was happening on the ground? I'm not a high tech person and I just find this difficult to understand.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>87

Just compare Sofia Interview with Mccann's interview in Portugal, specially on the part that a portuguese journalist ask him something about Amaral- He was furious with question, showing how he hate Amaral and how poor is his education. Not even his lookalike "Armani suit" can give him a sympathic image.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>88

Off - topic, rather, so apologies for that, but have people seen this

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/8277414.stm

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>89

Joana, did you know how can we get the book: "Madeleine Mccann, the fake abduction" Outside USA?

CONGRATULATIONS AMARAL and SOFIA.
CONGATULATIONS, TONNY BENNETH, YOUR SITE IS BACK ON.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>90

I hope we see more of this lady, Mrs Amaral, and her husband, in the media in a positive light.

Her beauty and charm shine through.

Yet, until the truth can be got out into the public domain the McCanns will continue to peddle their TWO MAIN PIECES OF SPIN which have so far been very effective for them.

Namely, the SPIN that Madeleine was abducted.

There is no evidence whatsoever of this, yet plenty of indications that there was a death in the apartment, plus cadaver scent in the boot of the McCann's hire car.

Also, the SPIN that the McCanns have been cleared of any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine.

This SPIN has been used by the McCanns since they had the Arguido status removed, because most people in UK have no idea what that means.

The truth is that the McCanns were lucky the Prosecutor decided not to charge them with neglect because he felt sorry for them as they had lost their daughter, just as Dr Amaral and his wife do.

Hardly the same thing as being cleared of all charges.

Yet, the newspapers continue to report the SPIN as if it is the truth.

The McCanns must be desparate that Dr Amaral's book does not get printed in UK as this has many details which refute the abduction theory.

They must also be very worried the case would be reopened by the Portuguese because then the McCanns may end up as Arguidos again.

This would throw the media into complete confusion as they have been believing the McCanns have been cleared of all charges because they no long have the Arguido status.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

There is also the matter of the concealment/disposal of a body, and other charges which could emerge with even greater penalties.

Dr Amaral is a brave man to have stood up against these people with their SPIN MACHINE and flash, expensive lawyers which only people like the McCanns can afford.

It is a disgrace that the media are not doing their job, and not standing up as bastions of free speech, and freedom to read books and receive information.

They should distance themselves from anybody that tries that on the public, including the McCanns.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>91

Thanks for the link to the Bristol story - l, 2 and 3 yr. olds left alone - woman charged with SUSPICION of neglect - will Gerry and Kate be asked for their thoughts on this sad case?

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>92

Nearly two years ago Mr. Amaral got a bitter "birthday present" from his PJ boss, his removal from coordinator of the investigation into Maddie's disappearance. And this poisoned "gift" did not even come with a greetings card explaining the motives for his sudden, unexpected and injustified removal.
I wish so much that this year he will get the best birthday gift of all, the reopening of the investigation and all the unfulfilled diligences finaly made!
One can wish, can't one?
All the hapiness to Mr. and Mrs. Amaral and their lovely family!


Rosie

Maria, Algarve said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>93

Just a few days ago I was saying the McCanns' strategy was working, but there is hope yet! This is the first time I have ever read something nice about Mr Amaral in the British press! Great birthday present! I don't believe anyone likes being told what to think, say or write. It's also lovely to see the M.Foundation back online.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>94

I believe the McCanns have lied about their checking regime, to avoid charges of neglect. By doing so they have put themselves before their child, as it obviously compromises the police investigation.

This infers that they knew to do so would not put her under more risk, in short they knew what had happened to her and that she was beyond assistance.

The alternative is that they were cold enough to put themselves, their careers, before her safety- which surely isnt the case?

So, the result from this thought process is that they did know what happened to her and did dispose of her body.

Yet they claim they checked and she was abducted....they run a web site pleading for your money...surely false representation...fraud?

Even the Leicestershire Police are part pof the fraud, as they have a link to the fraud site from their won web site!

This is my belief...I have no evidence but supposition and the facts I see with my own eyes.

I am simply freely expressing my belief. This cannot be libel as I do not claim it to be fact.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>95

One more observation I would like to make regarding this article is the following:

Do we all remember that almost every story written on the McCanns in Britain would be finished off by saying they are doctors. Well in this article we are told that the Amaral couple is also no run of the mill couple, they are educated professionals who are active in public service.

I'm sure the McCann team will be irate when they come across this article.

Guerra

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>96

I reckon Donal is on to them all right, big style.
I am looking forward to Donal's next move with great interest.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>97

Undoubtedly, it is one of the most sympathetic articles and they are very few and far between, so it's nice to see. James Murray's other stories left me a bit confused, though (he also seems to be the author of the unfortunate "McCanns' Stalker" piece)- is it naively optimistic to hope that the less flattering articles are just to get information out there, or is it a business decision? Either way, at least it counters the common perception of Amaral as a "dodgy" or "bent" copper, and Sofia always comes across very well (especially when they don't cut out half of what she's said).

lj said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>98

Happy Birthday Mr & Mrs Amaral.

A good birthday present. Even though it still tries to bring the "snatched" message, it shows most of all the difference in class between the 2 couples. It makes the McCanns look even more uncouth.

I wonder how the weelend in Rothley was.

silve said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>99

In my opinion the recent visit to Portugal by the McCanns is about the 1.2 million they hope to gain from Mr. Amarals book. In the press conference Mrs. McCann states that she had wanted to return to Portugal for a long time, she thinks its a good thing to do, its positive and important for them, my thoughts are, WHY it is not important enough to ask for the case to be re-opened she said it "doesnt matter" if it is opened or not (WHY?) She goes on to say that she wants to improve the search by asking everyone to help find Madeline, now correct me if I am wrong but I was under the impression that The McCann Team have been doing this for the past two years,a vast fortune has been spent on searches, information,leaving no stone unturned,the campaign has been very fruitful in providing funds for finding Madeline, but alas it has not been fruitful in finding the little girl. The McCanns now want to ban, remove and sue anyone that has an opinion other than their own, as a member of the British Public I feel there would be an outcry from the public. The McCanns have received a great deal of support, OK they have also received critiscism, innuendos, offensive comments but unfortuantely that is how the media game is played even our Royal Family are not immune.
As a member of the public who believes that every child matters lets get the case re-opened.

I would like to express my thanks to Mr.and Mrs. Amaral for all they have done and wish them and their family the best for the future.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>100

Has Prime Minister Gordon Brown responded to Mr. Bennett's letter and the petition?

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>101

I can't wait for the next article on Sunday Express.

I wish a week would have 14 Sundays.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>102

I still wonder why the UK police never told the Portuguese police who the McCanns are.
No information.

Dimsie said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>103

lj said 'it shows most of all the difference in class between the 2 couples. It makes the McCanns look even more uncouth.'

Yes, I'm afraid the McCanns show none of the graciousness and dignity that the Amarals do. I'm glad this interview has given Sofia a chance to show that the ridiculous picture the British media have painted of the Amarals is totally inaccurate. They are obviously a very well-educated, clever couple, whose daughters are being well brought up, in a responsible fashion.

It's touching to read how Gonçalo worries about their children's safety - if only all parents cared about the safety of their children there would be fewer children coming to harm.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>104

And I also wonder if people who lost their jobs at the Ocean Club and the Ocean Club's management will join Amaral in his process against the McCanns.
Gerry was the first one who started to spread around about a gang of paedophiles in Luz.
And not to forget Murat, who was "recognised"by Jane Tanner.
And the costs the PJ made.
And the fraudulent fund.

Paul said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>105

The recent publicity on the banning of Gonçalo Amarals book has lead people like me to wonder why and search the net to find out what this book was all about as all I knew of the case is what the media had fed me.
My thoughts have changed from sympathy to shock and disgust after accessing the case files etc.
Something is very very wrong and their account of events does not lead to a logical conclusion. I hope the media will publish more than the one sided version it has fed the general public up to now.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>106

Surprise surprise, 24 hours later Clarence hits back with a favourable story complete with staged photos.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1216547/Kate-McCann-mother-wholl-search-missing-daughter-Madeleine.html

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>107

Joana, when did you start this blog(exact date) and were you already suspecting the truth?
What brought you to start writing?

Sooza said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>108

I hope this is the start of the fight back. I was completely startled by Donal's article last week, as he is a freind of a friend, and he is certainly not stuid so it diod come as an enormaous surpise to see his crazy their y last week. If it was tongue in cheek, that makes ense, but a little too subtle for the DE-reading sheeple I would have thought.
This week's article is wonderfuly refresshing - and VERY interesting that the DE are not allowing comments - clearly they are aware that any comments are likely to be neagative towards the McCs now. I bet the Mcs are ganshing their teeeth!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>109

At last we get some inkling of who the people are on the other side. But did he have to buy a Jag and thus leave himself open to the charge that he's making money out of this situation? That's what will stick in peoples' minds. It's bad PR and totally unnecessary.

T4two

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>110

This article hilights the complete contrast in the characters of the Mccanns and the Amarals. Goncalo has shown more compassion towards Mdeleine than her parents ever have. All he wants is to get to the truth of what happenned. Why would innocent parents go out of their way to hinder and gag anyone wanting to do this?

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>111

From the daily mail:

"After a visit in which she and husband Gerry met with lawyers and the local media, she was back in Leicestershire to join 800 competitors for the Great Kibworth charity run."

They just had to jump on this one too! It is a charity run, but not one single word in support to or about the purpose of this run! There were other 800 participants, but did those get their picture on the paper or any recognition for their effort? NO! Only Kate is singled out, and she wasn't even there for the charity, she run with a vest with Madeleine's photo on it, she was there for the publicity and a photo opportunity. It was just another shameless attempt at getting simpathy and more donations into the fund.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>112

Daily Mail of today, about a two miles fun-run in which Kate took part yesterday, wearing a T=shirt with Maddie's photo:

"Mr. McCann, who is also a keen runner, was on hand of support his wife who chose the shorter distance rather than complete in the half marathon event".

I love this.


And the article writes about Madeleine, "who would now be six".
Would?

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>113

Mr. Amaral has bought himself a jaguar!? Truly an altruistic, unselfish guy...

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>114

THE BRISTOL STORY IS JUST FOR MCCANNS. THEY WANT TO CONVINCE EVERYONE THAT IT WAS COMPLICTLY SAFE TO LEAVE THREE YOUNG CHILDREN ALONE. I WAS CRYING READING.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>115

Sofía, guapa, estamos con vosotros.
Un abrazo desde España.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>116

I don't care if he buys a Jag or two or three. Amaral is relentlessly working to get the case reopened. He is Madeleine's only hope.
Where is the McCann's URGENCY in getting the case reopened?
All they do is talk, give interviews, blah blah blah...
Go back to Portimao, walk into the PJ and tell them you want to make a new statement for the process.
BINGO!!!
Case immediately, automatically reopened, investigation revived.
Cost? ZERO!
What are you waiting for, Kate and Gerry?
What on Earth are you waiting for?
Your daughter NEEDS YOU!!!
Madeleine is out there, scared and suffering, and you give interviews, you travel and meet with lawyers.
Your daughter, your own flesh and blood is OUT THERE, somewhere! Your detectives know where she is!
Why don't they go and do a house-to-house search NOW?!
You have "hundreds of thousands" of leads - PLEASE hand them over to the PJ, they have the resources and the expertise to search for your daughter!
If you don't trust the PJ, ok, but please ask the UK police to help. You have managed so much already, money, power, the support of influential people, the prime minister!!!
Surely you could beg, beg those people to open an investigation by the British police?!
THIS IS YOUR DAUGHTER AT STAKE!!!

Your daughter's life!!!

Please, please, Kate and Gerry, please help your daughter, it is

URGENT!!!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>117

I love English humor!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>118

The McCanns themselves, they admit, checked twice, once at 9:10 and once at 10:00.

They left Madeleine and the two other children at about 8 o'clock. Maybe Gerald didnt check at 9:10 either - at least didnt actually look at Madeleine but went to the toilet.

So they may not have seen Madeleine from 8 until 10. The others didnt actually claim to have seen Madeleine at all. Was this because they didnt actually want to claim they knew she'd been there - harder to claim that, to actually tell a direct lie!

The alternative is that they did check with the frequency, as they said they had. So there was no opportunity for an abductor.

Surely the McCanns and their friends wouldnt have confused the checking times and the police investigation just to protect the McCanns? So the most likely scenario would be she wasnt abdcuted.

Wouldnt it?

guerra said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>119

The McCanns could have bought 20 or 30 Jaguars if they wanted, but they preferred to spend public money on: PR firms that suppress free speech; elite lawyers; dodgy detectives; a spin doctor (snake oil salesman) who controls the media; second rate actors and film crews for their incoherent productions of fiction; flights around the world, such as visiting the pope, they probably hadn't been to church in years so why not go to the Vatican; orchestrating talk shows so that only the right questions are asked; tv directors to disseminate their bogeyman stories; retired profile artists who have been reduced to creating comic sketches; mortgage payments etc. etc.

What a marvelous fund to donate to, it accomplishes so much.

ProV. said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>120

In the wake of the Portuguese elections, and weeks from the local elections, I would like to suggest to G.Amaral, why doesn't he seek to run for Mayor of his town (Olhão?), as an independent candidate?
He doesn't need any Parties.
I think hw would win hands down.
Then, maybe he could work the system from inside... ;D
Caro Gonçalo, se estás a ler isto... eu votava em ti!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>121

From the Daily Mail - " Mrs. McCann has continued her passion for jogging despite the strain of coping with the Madeleine investigation...". and "Madeleine who would now be six". Well yes, I suppose she "would" be six, that is if she was still living.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>122

They love jogging so much they did it when everyone else was worried about the little one they 'misplaced'.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>123

Royalties money coming from the sales of his book allowed Sr Amaral the purchase of a car. (by the way,I don't think Sr Amaral collects jags). At the same time, Mr & Mrs Mccann's lawyers (one of the most expensive lawyers in UK) are now suing him for one million euros damages...
I wonder the fees they pay to their different lawyers and how many jags that makes !

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>124

They allways run away from the kids.
Where are Sean and Amelie?
in the kindergarten?

OR ALONE AT HOME?

Run Kate, run Gerry but Justice will catch you one day. I am sure.
You can not run away from your own mirror.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>125

The McCanns - parents of the year, 2007!

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>126

Whose idea was it to change the checking routine on that very night when Madeleine vanished?

Was it the McCanns or somebody very close to them, and if so, what was the reason given?

Was it suggested at the start of the meal or even earlier?

Jacinta UK said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>127

Kate Maccann should be running all the way to Portugal to demand the case of her missing child be reopened.

How do I get on to the madelaine foundation and can you still order Tony Bennett's book or has that gone woosh now.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>128

It must have been stressful during any official police investigation to find that key people are requesting donations from the public, setting up a company, organising a PR/legal team, and asking people to consider and believe in one theory only. Most people would want a clear account of events and a scientific explanation, under these circumstances.

What would have happened if anyone else had even tried to do the above? Why is this different?

It is true other people do have different ideas about it, but it is as a result of the huge media coverage. If any person or company asks for donations, and is told not to question anything about it, whether it is a cancer research charity or whatever, you might be worried.

I wish Sofia and Goncalo Amaral good health and happiness.

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>129

Apology for off topic - I know Hewlett is no longer a person of interest to the McCanns, but has anyone heard any more about him?

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>130

Leicester police in a pickle:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Fiona-Pilkington-Death-Inquest-Verdict-Family-Let-Down-By-Leicestershire-Police-And-Social-Services/Article/200909415394338?lpos=UK_News_Carousel_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15394338_Fiona_Pilkington_Death_Inquest_Verdict%3A_Family_Let_Down_By_Leicestershire_Police_And_Social_Services

"The inquest into the death of Fiona Pilkington ruled the way Leicestershire police and social services acted contributed to her decision to kill herself and her daughter, Francecca.

Following the verdict, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it would independently investigate the response of Leicestershire Police."

During a period of 7 years this distressed mother made around 30 complaints to the Leicester police over the abuse she and her disabbled daughter endured at the hands of their "neighbors from hell". The police ignored most of it, they were always busy elsewhere or not willing to take the complaints seriously, they could not be bothered to tackle an anti-social family who terrorized the neighborhood on a daily bases.
Yet, this is the same Leicester police who came running by the dozens whenever the McCanns cry "wolf" and have no problem in finding available police officers to stand guard outside the wonder couple's house. Of course, completely peaceful people distributing leaflets around Rothley are a mucher urgent and bigger threat to society than a handfull of sociopaths throwing stones and shouting abuse to a disabbled child!
I hope this will not be white-washed, I hope it will be investigated to the full and that some heads will roll! Let's wait and see...


Rosie

Anonymous said... <script type=text/javascript>CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;document.write(CommentsCounter);</script>131

Sorry to insist on this case but I've just found this and it is so sad. In the Daily Mail:

"An extract from the second letter Miss Pilkington wrote to her MP David Tredinnick in 2007:
‘I don’t really know how to handle things anymore. How can I protect my teenagers from this sort of abuse? No-one can help. I have had 11 years of misery. My hair is falling out. What do you do? Do you just let them take control of this lovely street? The kids on the street stop everyone living their lives’"

It was not only the Leicester police, the council and social services that failled this mother and daughter, here is the proof that the political powers also chose to turn a blind eye on the tragic and unbearable circumstances this devoted mother had to live under, every day, for 11 years. It makes my blood boil with anger to think of how some politic powers went head over heals to unprecendently and inexplicably protect a pair of self-confessed child neglectors ( at the very least...)!
Shame on them all!

Rosie

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Re:Sofia Leal

Date Posted:12/19/2010 11:18 PMCopy HTML

http://gerrymccan-abuseofpower-humanrights.blogspot.com/2008/09/sofia-leal-all-of-this-i-did-alone.html
17.9.08

Sofia Leal: "All of this I did alone, without any help from my husband who, for obvious reasons, was looking for your daughter, Mrs Kate."


Open letter to Mrs Kate Healy

Dear Madam,

You will forgive my boldness, but after I read your comment (in an interview to Expresso newspaper) concerning Gonçalo Amaral, my husband and the father of my daughters, I cannot avoid sending you these words of gratefulness. For many years, I have been trying to make myself heard in this sentiment that unites us both: "…as a professional and as a person his behaviour has been a disgrace." Look at it closely:

a) Professionally

- As a Coordinator of Criminal Investigation for the Polícia Judiciária, my husband has always refused to sit around from 9 to 5 in the comfortable chair in his office, as his hierarchical status implies. Instead, he spent the day (and very often, the night) with the investigators on the terrain, coordinating searches, surveillances, apprehensions and other diligences 'in loco'. A disgrace!

But if it was only the fact that he was subject to the weather, it wouldn't be serious, as our climate is not too bad, as you know. The problem is that this dedication to the cause has earned him a non promotion in his career. Indeed, I will explain this to you, even because this case happened when the searches for your daughter were under way. My husband applied to the category of Superior Coordinator, and in between drug apprehensions, sequestrations and homicides, he somehow managed to produce a thesis about drug trafficking by sea, which he defended in Lisbon, in front of a Jury that congratulated him. Full of hope, Gonçalo Amaral returns to the Algarve and awaits the result. To his surprise, he was passed over by other colleagues (real coordinators, truth be told), because he had not been able to score points in the "professional formation" parameter. That's right, Mrs Kate, my husband spent his life working, involved in complex investigations, he was the man who apprehended the highest volumes of drugs in Portugal, but given the fact that he had no time to go to Lisbon to parade himself up and down the corridors of the PJ's Institute, he was not promoted. A disgrace, madam, a disgrace!

- As you probably know, even because you seem like a very well informed person to me, my husband's salary was less than 1.5 times the lowest salary in your country. But as a wife, as a mother and as a Portuguese citizen, I can't complain, because Gonçalo Amaral's salary was equal to 4.5 times the lowest salary in Portugal. But pay attention to the following, which is an example of what I'm going to explain next: At some point, an individual shoots a member of the PSP [urban police] and flees into neighbouring Spain. A PJ team follows him, including my husband. They stayed there for over two weeks. Now at that time, the international expense coverage was around 100 euros. As you can easily imagine, it's not possible to sleep and eat in Spain with this amount of money, much less shortly before Christmas and taking into account that the value will only be paid at around Easter time (if one's lucky). But Gonçalo Amaral never refused, not even for one day, to search for the escaped murderer, relaying the expenses onto our family accounts. And this is just one example among many. At some point in time, I suggested that we should create a fund or something similar to deal with these extraordinary expenses, but he never listened to me. You see, we also have mortgages to pay around here… A disgrace, Mrs Kate, a disgrace!

b) As a person, his behaviour has also been a disgrace, because to begin with we could never distinguish that he even had a personal life, due to the manner in which he dealt with the profession that he embraced. But if my good friend Mrs Kate allows me, I can offer you some examples:

- 5 years ago, a child named Joana "disappeared". Her mother, just like you, Mrs Kate, tried to project the case into the media, but she didn't make it any further than SIC…

Eight days later, came the confessions and the evidence: during an incestuous act between mother and uncle, the child was beaten, then dismembered and her body dumped who knows where. Mother and uncle went to jail, in a process that was coordinated by Gonçalo Amaral and which earned them almost 20 years in jail, each. But let us go a bit back in time. The child died on the 12th of September. On Christmas eve, our family was reunited for prayer, when my husband asked me to prepare a bag with some food and warm clothes, because he had not carried out his Christmas act of penance. Can you, Mrs Kate, imagine where Gonçalo Amaral went on that Christmas night under heavy rain and thunder? He went to the Olhão Prison, where João Cipriano, Joana's uncle, a confessed murderer and a clinically diagnosed psychopath, is detained. According to my husband, to simply offer an alimony to some beggar was not a sacrifice to him. The fact that he embraced and shared his Christmas meal with João Cipriano was the sacrifice that he offered to God, in memory of Joana. Is this not a disgrace? You should also know that every year, on the 12th of September, my husband has a mass celebrated in memory of Joana Isabel Cipriano Guerreiro. He says that nobody will ever remember the poor little girl again. Right, but they remember to unjustly accuse him of actions and crimes that he never committed. Isn't this a disgrace, Mrs Kate?

There is a last episode that I will report to you, one that I still find hard to talk about. Last year, in May, we started to move our family to Portimão. My husband was supposed to enjoy a holiday period starting on the day after your daughter's disappearance. "For obvious reasons" that didn't happen. I started on a new job, looked for a house, moved house, and tried to integrate our daughters in new schools and new routines. All of this I did alone, without any help from my husband, who for obvious reasons, was looking for your daughter, Mrs Kate. In October, on his birthday, a week after our daughters started school, Gonçalo Amaral was dismissed and returned to Faro. This was supposed to be the time of the family's reunion and it turned out to be another separation. Isn't this a disgrace? Our daughters never managed to understand, and we never managed to explain to them what obvious reasons were those that rewarded in this manner a father who left his own daughters to go looking for a child that he had never met and whose parents had neglected her. It was a pity that my dear friend Mrs Kate was not around anymore at that date, because you could have been very helpful to me in explaining these "obvious reasons" that led to their father's dismissal, to our daughters.

Finally, I can only report to you that intimately, Gonçalo Amaral is precisely what the latinos are famed for: shameless, as my pudency does not allow me to write any further.

I ask you, my good friend, to forgive these confidences from a wife and mother, but I'm certain that you will understand. I finish this letter asking you to send your mother my most sincere praises. She sounded so sincere to me, when during an interview she referred that she felt like slapping the face of the person who left her grandchildren alone. She spoke so openly that she sounded like a genuine Portuguese grandmother…

My dear friend Mrs Kate, without wishing to bother you any further, I would like to request one last favour from you: now that you have started to tell some truths, please continue, and let the world hear the truth that it has been waiting for.

Best regards,
Sofia Leal
Wife and Mother of the Daughters of Gonçalo Amaral


Source: Correio da Manhã

Translated by Joana Morais
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