![]() ![]() "The focus is now rightly on the search for Madeleine and her abductor(s). "We took action for one and only one reason: Mr Amaral's unfounded claims were having a detrimental impact on the search for Madeleine," the statement said. Kate and Gerry McCann said they were "disappointed" with the decision in a statement via lawyer, Ricardo Correia Afonso, but added that "much has changed" since they started the proceedings. "Even assuming that the applicants' reputation had been damaged, this was not on account of the argument put forward by the book's author but rather as a result of the suspicions expressed against them," the ECHR ruled.Īmaral told Reuters the decision was "a victory for justice and the Portuguese justice system and for all those who fight for freedom of expression and opinion." ![]() The ECHR ruling said the Portuguese judiciary had not failed in its duty to protect the rights of the McCanns and that their arguments concerning presumption of innocence were ill-founded. The parents then appealed to the European court, arguing that their right to a fair trial, right to private family life and freedom of expression had not been upheld by Portugal. Two years later the ruling was reversed by Portugal's highest court. In 2015, a Portuguese court ruled in their favour, ordering Amaral to pay them damages. Kate and Gerry McCann sued Amaral for libel. The police officer, Goncalo Amaral, who worked on the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance in 2007 on a family holiday in Portugal, suggested in a book he authored, "Truth of the Lie", that the youngster's parents had been involved. "We are sure that he killed Madeleine McCann.PARIS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday against the parents of missing British toddler Madeleine McCann, saying that Portugal had given them a fair hearing in their libel battle against a former Portuguese policeman. He went on to say: "We are sure that he is the murderer of Madeleine McCann. "The investigation is still going on and I think we found some new facts, some new evidence, not forensic evidence, but evidence,” he said on MCTV. He did not comment on Ms Felgueiras’s revelation, but said his team had themselves found new evidence against Brueckner. 'We are sure that he killed Madeleine McCann' She made the revelation in an interview on German television with Hans-Christian Wolters, the prosecutor leading the German investigation into the case. Sandra Felgueiras, a Portuguese television journalist who has previously interviewed Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s parents, said a police source in the country had told her that a fresh search of the camper van had turned up the possession. ![]() The discovery of an item, or traces of it, belonging to Madeleine would represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in the multiple investigations into her disappearance.īrueckner was living in the camper van several miles away from the holiday apartment in Praia da Luz when Madeleine went missing.Ĭurrently in jail in Germany for the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal, Brueckner has been under investigation for Madeleine’s disappearance for two years, but denies any involvement. Whatever the nature of the new evidence, a Portuguese police source told The Telegraph on Wednesday: “Officers in the Algarve may leave for Germany, possibly next week." German investigators also revealed they had uncovered new evidence, but described it as “not forensic”. ![]() It came amid unconfirmed speculation that the new item may comprise threads from pink Winnie the Pooh-printed pyjamas that Madeleine wore on the night she went missing. Portuguese police could travel to Germany within days after items belonging to Madeleine McCann were reportedly found in the prime suspect’s van.Ī prominent Portuguese journalist closely associated with the case said on German television on Tuesday that a fresh search of Christian Brueckner’s VW camper van had unearthed items belonging to the three-year-old who disappeared from a holiday apartment in the Algarve in 2007. ![]()
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