I have followed this case with sick feelings of horror, sadness, disbelief, and, frequently, disgust. Disgust at the criminal antics of the Portuguese police, who were obviously lying about the McCanns, leaking confidential information while hampering the McCann’s search for their daughter, launching a smear campaign to discredit the McCanns, and distorting evidence.
The shameful tomfoolery of the Portuguese police was evident even before the 30,000 page dossier was released. Now it’s out there for the world to see: the Portuguese police lied to the McCanns about DNA evidence in an attempt to extort a confession from them, sequestered an e-fit of two suspicious men despite the world’s interest in the case, and withheld possible leads. Not to mention that they made the McCanns suspects with absolutely NO EVIDENCE, and counter to an official forensic report saying that the DNA evidence was inconclusive.
These are not the actions of a professional police force. These are the actions of officially empowered thugs and buffoons. In my opinion, the Portuguese police are no better than the Gestapo–but a lot less intelligent.
My question is: were the Portuguese police in on the crime? Is that why they deliberately sabotaged the McCanns’ search and tortured the McCanns by making them suspects?
Is there a party or parties among the Portuguese police who know exactly what happened to little Madeleine, and has profited by it?
Besides former PJ Inspector Mr. Amaral, who beat a ‘confession’ out of a mother whose daughter disappeared some years ago, but who wasn’t able to do that with Kate McCann because of public scrutiny. Naturally, his fists not coming into play, Mr. Amaral’s usefulness was limited. He couldn’t take time out from his boozy two hour lunches to actually investigate the disappearance. So he was sacked. It was a belated attempt for Portugal to look concerned about the case. But don’t worry about Amaral; he used his free time to write a contemptuous, and contemptible, work of fiction about the case. He’s made money off the McCanns’ suffering. The question is, who else on the Portuguese police force besides Mr. Amaral took in some cash?
A dear friend from the north of Europe says, “South of the Alps they’re all corrupt.” That’s a generalization, but maybe she’s on to something.
Last November at a party, I encountered a beautiful, intelligent, accomplished Portuguese woman who launched into a vicious attack against the McCanns when I inquired about her opinion of the case. “They’re all swingers,” she insisted. “They would drink twenty bottles of wine at dinner.” I wonder what she would say now that SKY News reports that “receipt from the ‘Tapas nine’s’ meal on the evening show that there was only two bottles of wine drunk between them.”
Or would a misguided sense of patriotism lead her to deny the only evidence there seems to be: that the Portuguese Police, with its clumsy, inept and vicious handling of the investigation, has thoroughly shamed Portugal?
I will not travel to Portugal, nor do I buy Portuguese products. I would certainly recommend strongly that no one with children younger than, say, 15, travel to Portugal. Portugal is not a safe place for children. If anything happens to your child, the Portuguese police will blame you and try to extract a ‘confession’ any way possible: through physical abuse, psychological torment, or whatever other means at their disposal.
In the meantime, I will continue to pray for little Madeleine McCann, that she be found alive and well, that she be returned to her parents.