À propos du jugement sur le référé
Notes de Kate MC sur le site officiel 15.01.2010
We are currently in Lisbon for the trial to determine whether the injunction against Mr Amaral's book and DVD should remain in place. This trial is about whether the book is a true reflection of the official judicial process into Madeleine's disappearance and whether its contents damage the ongoing search for Madeleine, her siblings and our reputations.
Mr Amaral's book and DVD contains some information from the PJ files but there is a lot in the files which is not in Mr Amaral's book. Hence it is highly selective and therefore biased. (1) Mr Amaral's book contains his opinions rather than fact. His opinions differ from the findings in the PJ file. The conclusions of the latter are: 1.there is no evidence that Madeleine is dead and 2. there is no evidence that Gerry or I are involved in Madeleine's disappearance. (2) This is very different to the theories and conclusions of Mr Amaral. It is logical and common sense that spreading these theories as Mr Amaral did (and continues todo) damages the search to find our little girl. If the general public (and the Portuguese people in particular) are bombarded day in and day out with such theories, this will eventually 'colour' their understanding and judgement -lies and inaccuracies become fact. If people subsequently believe that Madeleine is dead and that we are involved in her disappearance then they will not look for Madeleine, will not consider any suspicions about others which they may have and will not come forward with information. We consider this highly detrimental to the search for Madeleine. (3)
There are few points which have been raised in the last few days which I would like to address specifically:
Abduction theory : For us, there is only the abduction theory possible because we were not involved in Madeleine's disappearance and we know Madeleine did not wander off by herself. It is obvious and right that the police should consider other theories initially. (4) Tant que l'affaire n'est pas résolue, la police ne peut éliminer aucune piste sans preuve à l'appui. Or il n'y a pas d'élément prouvant que les MC ne sont pas impliqués.
The window: I described to the police officers exactly what I found that night, as it was and is highly relevant and I knew that every little detail could be helpful in finding my daughter which is our only aim. The window which is a ground floor window was completely open and is large enough for a person to easily climb through it. Whether it had been opened for this purpose remains unknown. It could of course have been opened by the perpetrator when inside the apartment as a potential escape route or left open as a 'red herring' (5)
The dogs : We realise that the behaviour of the dogs was the turning point in the investigation for the PJ. The use of dogs has proved to be problematic and unreliable in previous cases (please refer to the Jersey 'Haut de La Garenne' case and other research published about their use and reliability). It is vital to note that alerts by such dogs are classified as intelligence rather than evidence, as police officers familiar with their use will verify. These alerts must be supported by forensics in order to be used as evidence. The results of the forensic examinations did not identify any blood or Madeleine's DNA. To suggest or use the dogs' reactions as evidence is simply wrong and abusive. (6)
The proposed reconstruction : The suggestion of a reconstruction of our movements and other key witnesses at the crime scene and/or surrounding area in the early days following Madeleine's abduction was declined by the PJ as 'not usual' for Portugal. (7) When the PJ finally requested a reconstruction to take place in 2008, Gerry and I were still arguidos and as such would have attended for a reconstruction. Some key witnesses (including some of our friends)declined to attend the planned reconstruction as they were not convinced of the aims and usefulness of it. In particular, as the reconstruction was not to be shown to the media (and hence the general public), they did not feel it would help to find Madeleine. Had the intention been to show it to the general public, it may have 'jogged' memories and encouraged people to come forward with information. It should be added that other key witnesses were not invited to attend. (8)
Our team is confident that the injunction will remain in place because none of the witnesses thus far have been able to prove in court that Mr. Amaral's right to express his opinion is superior to the rights of our family to peace, respect and protection of reputation, and above all, the right to continue the search for our daughter Madeleine effectively and without hindrance. As has been made clear this week, Mr Amaral's 'thesis' is not supported by any evidence. The search for Madeleine must go on until we find her and bring her abductor(s) to justice. (9)
(1) Il est évident qu'un livre de 300 pages à propos d'une enquête comportant dix mille pages doit être sélectif. De là à être biaisé, c'est une autre affaire et il est regrettable que Kate MC n'apporte pas d'exemple à l'appui d'une affirmation qui frise la diffamation.
(2)
Un tel discours abusera ceux qui n'ont lu ni les PJFiles, ni les
rapports de la PJ et du procureur. Le livre de GA est sûrement plein de
ses opinions, tout comme cette chronique-ci qui le conspue. Les conclusions sont un peu
plus subtiles que ce qu'en dit Kate MC. Oui, il n'y a pas de preuve
que MMC soit morte, mais il n'y a pas de preuve non plus qu'elle soit en
vie. Oui, aucune preuve de l'implication des MC n'a été mise au jour,
mais cela ne veut naturellement pas dire qu'ils ne sont pas impliqués.
(3)
Il a été démontré devant le tribunal que la PJ continuer à examiner les
informations qui lui parvenaient. Les gens croient ce qu'ils veulent,
il est douteux que quelqu'un qui observerait des sévices sur une enfant
semblable à MMC n'alerterait pas les autorités sous prétexte que
l'enfant mal traitée ne saurait être MMC puisque celle-ci est morte.
(4)
Tant que l'affaire n'est pas résolue, la police ne peut éliminer aucune
piste sans preuve à l'appui. Or il n'y a pas d'élément prouvant que les
MC ne sont pas impliqués.
(5)
Si cette fenêtre et ces persiennes étaient ouvertes, pourquoi la scène
de crime a-t-elle été modifiée ? Car personne n'a vu cette fenêtre et
ces persiennes ouvertes hormis Kate et Gerald MC. Même leurs amis qui se
sont précipités derrière eux ne les ont vues que fermées. Par ailleurs
il a été démontré qu'il était pratiquement impossible de sortir par
cette fenêtre avec un enfant dans les bras... Qui pose un "red herring"
ici ?
(6) Ce qui est abusif, c'est de décréter que les chiens n'ont prouvé qu'une chose, c'est qu'ils ne sont pas fiables, en évoquant une affaire non encore résolue et sans prendre la peine de citer les nombreux cas où les chiens ont prouvé précisément le contraire. Kate MC met singulièrement en question, indirectement, l'honnêteté de Mark Harrison. Si les chiens n'étaient pas fiables (et Eddie et Keela étaient d'excellents chiens), le grand spécialiste des personnes disparues aurait-il berné la PJ pour qui la venue de ces chiens constitua une dépense conséquente ? Du reste personne n'a dit que les alertes des chiens étaient des preuves, MH indiqua très clairement que les alertes n'étaient que des renseignements susceptibles de réorienter l'enquête. Keela trouva du sang en quantité si infime que le laboratoire conclut qu'il ne provenait probablement pas de MMC. Mais Eddie capta une odeur de cadavre (et non de sang) et on peut mourir sans saigner.
(7) Si une "reconstruction" fut suggérée et rejetée, le motif (poli) "pas habituel" est probable. Les polices des pays à système inquisitoire ne pratiquement pas la "reconstruction", mais la reconstitution avec les protagonistes et non avec des acteurs et sans les médias.
(6) Ce qui est abusif, c'est de décréter que les chiens n'ont prouvé qu'une chose, c'est qu'ils ne sont pas fiables, en évoquant une affaire non encore résolue et sans prendre la peine de citer les nombreux cas où les chiens ont prouvé précisément le contraire. Kate MC met singulièrement en question, indirectement, l'honnêteté de Mark Harrison. Si les chiens n'étaient pas fiables (et Eddie et Keela étaient d'excellents chiens), le grand spécialiste des personnes disparues aurait-il berné la PJ pour qui la venue de ces chiens constitua une dépense conséquente ? Du reste personne n'a dit que les alertes des chiens étaient des preuves, MH indiqua très clairement que les alertes n'étaient que des renseignements susceptibles de réorienter l'enquête. Keela trouva du sang en quantité si infime que le laboratoire conclut qu'il ne provenait probablement pas de MMC. Mais Eddie capta une odeur de cadavre (et non de sang) et on peut mourir sans saigner.
(7) Si une "reconstruction" fut suggérée et rejetée, le motif (poli) "pas habituel" est probable. Les polices des pays à système inquisitoire ne pratiquement pas la "reconstruction", mais la reconstitution avec les protagonistes et non avec des acteurs et sans les médias.
(8)
a) les MC ne pouvaient se dérober
b) les TP7 ont hésité, leur crainte
étant qu'un refus ait des conséquences négatives pour eux (puisque nul
d'entre eux n'était convaincu que la reconstitution servirait à quelque
chose)
c) quels sont ces témoins-clefs non invités ? La famille S ?
(9)
On voit mal comment un témoin pourrait prouver devant un tribunal que
le droit à la liberté d'expression de GA est supérieur au droit à
l'image. Personne n'a contesté le droit des MC de rechercher leur fille.
Enfin et surtout, si aucun élément probant suffisant fonde la thèse de
l'équipe dirigée par Gonçalo Amaral, il en est exactement de même de la
thèse du couple MC.
24-01-2010
transcrit par Nigel Moore
Clarence Mitchell : Good morning, Jenna, good to be with you.
JW : So, as we mentioned, this does mark... this week will mark the 1,000 date anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance. Can you tell us how her parents are holding up?
CM : Kate and Gerry have good and bad days, as you would well expect given that their daughter is still not home, as you say, nearly a thousand days on. They draw greatest strength from when they sense there is momentum in the search, and in the wider campaign to keep awareness of Madeleine high in the public eye, and so, on Wednesday, to mark a thousand days exactly they're going to be holding a fund raising event in London and they'll be surrounded by their long term friends and supporters, so they will draw great strength from that. But it is very difficult and they do find any, errr... anniversary or occasion like this to be very difficult.
JW : We understand that
Gerry and Kate have also hired their own, errr... private
investigator. Can you tell us a little bit about how that
investigation is going? Has it led to any leads?
CM : There are lots of
leads, whether they're the significant one that will lead to
Madeleine is the question, and no... have we found her yet? No we
haven't. Errr... It's a very small team currently looking into
Madeleine's disappearance, led by some former British detectives now
acting as private investigators. They're doing a very thorough job of
going back over all the evidence, all the Portuguese police files
that were finally released after a lot of pressure from... from this
end (1) and, errr... they feel that there is useful information still out
there to be had; we still need people to come forward. If people go
to the findmadeleine.com website all of the contact emails and phone
numbers for anyone who thinks they may have seen her, or has any
information about her, should... should look at that website. That
information will go straight to our investigators and they are
following it up on a daily basis. They go back to Portugal, from time
to time; they were back there recently. The work is very much
ongoing, although Madeleine isn't quite in the headlines as much as
she was, the search is very much continuing and there are hundreds of
calls that are still being checked out.
JW : Well, I understand
that Gerry and... and Kate are attempting to block the sale... one of
the new pieces of information out... are intending to block the sale
of a book released by a Portuguese policeman who says that Madeleine,
errr... is dead and that the parents, errr.... her parents are
suspects. Can you tell us where we are in that civil case, right now?
As if they need something else to continue to worry about.
CM : Well, absolutely,
that's the last thing they need. This is a book written by a former
police officer who was removed from the case after he criticised
British police, errr... in the inquiry, errr... some two years ago.
Errr... He's written a book in which he makes those allegations, as
you say, he claims that he believes Madeleine is dead and that Kate
and Gerry know what happened. It is totally untrue. (2) Nor has he any
evidence to make those wild, libellous allegations and that's why
Kate and Gerry have gained an injunction to stop his book from being
published anymore. He currently is appealing against that and we're
expecting a ruling from a judge in February... mid February. Kate and
Gerry obviously remain very hopeful that the judge will do the right
thing and ban the book completely. We don't like to take that sort of
legal action but the allegations this man is making will make people
believe that Madeleine is dead and therefore they won't look for her
and that will damage the search.
JW :Alright, Clarence
Mitchell, we thank you so much for your time. Our thoughts continue
to be with the McCanns in their search. Thank you.
(1) Nulle pression n'a été nécessaire pour décider le Ministère public de mettre le dossier MC à la disposition de tiers intéressés. Imaginant que l'afflux serait à la mesure du gigantesque intérêt médiatique, le MP décida de publier les PJFiles sur DVD. Certes les MC n'ont guère été ravis que le public ait connaissance d'un dossier dont, comme victimes, ils se sentaient les détenteurs prioritaires.
(2) Comment sait-il ce que pratiquement toute la planète aimerait, en vain, savoir ?
transcrit par Nigel Moore
Tom Lowe (voice over): The parents of Madeleine McCann say they're "trying to move forward", as another milestone passes since their daughter's disappearance. It's now a thousand days since Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz.
Kate
and Gerry McCann were joined by celebrity supporters including Gloria
Hunniford and actor Peter Bowles at a charity fundraising event to
mark the sad anniversary.
Kate
McCann:
Well, it's obviously difficult but we're trying to move forward and,
you know, to help Madeleine and help all missing children, so...
Martin
Houghton-Brown (Chief Executive, Missing People): It's
a thousand days since Maddie, errr... went missing and it's a timely
reminder of the thousands of parents around Europe, errr... and in
the UK, errr... who tonight are alone and, errr... hoping for news of
their missing child and, errr... it's an important night for all of
us to remember those families who are left behind when a child goes
missing.
Tom
Lowe (voice over):
Comedian Jack Dee and television presenter Fiona Phillips were also
among the guests at the event in West London.
