Further articles about, and by, Gonçalo Amaral
"There is no political will to reopen the case", 25 February 2009 24Horas/SOSMaddie
Gonçalo Amaral says that the authorities wanted
to abandon the Maddie case
Duarte Levy 25 February 2009
Translation by Nigel Moore
The former PJ inspector, who led the investigation
into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, is strongly
critical of the Portuguese and English authorities
In an interview recorded in Vigo, Spain in October last
year, but only now revealed, the former coordinator of
the PJ, Gonçalo Amaral, accuses the Portuguese
authorities of not having the political will to reopen the
case and the investigation to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
"The political will does not exist; there is no political will to reopen," accused the man formerly responsible for the investigation and added that "when a process of this type is archived, with so many diligences to take care of, with so many facts that needed clarification, that's because there was no will to continue the investigation and that was clear when we left the investigation on the 2nd of October."
To Gonçalo Amaral, there was a clear intention of the Portuguese authorities to abandon the investigation and "it will be very difficult for the process to be reopened."
In the interview, available on video on the internet (http://joana-morais.blogspot.com), Gonçalo Amaral reports the existence of "situations in the process which in our opinion have not been taken into account, which have not even been read or became known to those who had the duty to know it," stressing that the declaration of the couple of British doctors, that refer to a holiday in Majorca, where they saw the "gestures and words indicating the existence of a child molester within that group of people who were on vacation", were not taken into account before the process was archived.
To Gonçalo Amaral, those responsible in the public ministry should have read the details of the process, adding that he "cannot believe that they read such statements and passed over them."
UK accused of blocking
The author of "Maddie: The Truth of Lie," a successful book that continues without an edition in England - on the objective of cooperation with the British authorities - also accused those at the "top of the English police hierarchy" of having blocked the progress of investigations.
According to the former PJ man, on the ground, collaboration with the British officers "was very tight, very intense," but things have not progressed when it came to the hierarchy.
The case is confidential in England
During the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the British police were "invited" to sign a document of confidentiality that prevents them today from talking about what happened in Portugal or in England, a procedure that is not normal for police in England. "It is normal in cases with the secret services, and that document is signed right at the beginning. Now with normal police, undertaking a criminal investigation, that doesn't happen," said Amaral.
The former coordinator of the Judicial Police of CID in Portimão goes further and notes that it was Stuart Prior, one of the most important officers of the British police sent to Portugal, who said, regarding the evidence collected against the parents of Madeleine, that "he had arrested people in England with much less."
Paedophile list hidden from PJ Correio da Manhã (full article appears in paper edition only)
Investigation: Attorney General's Office prevent police from gaining access to documentation on abusers
Tânia Laranjo
19 April 2009 - 02h00
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation
An extensive dossier holding information about several dozen English paedophiles that reside in the Algarve was sent by the British authorities into Portugal within the investigation into the disappearance of Maddie McCann. It is now in the Court of Portimão, locked in the office of the prosecutor who headed the case, Magalhães e Menezes.
The Attorney General's office, led by Pinto Monteiro, accepted that said documentation was removed from the inquiry, at the British' request, and was not even handed over to the police authorities for the investigation into other cases that may involve Portuguese children.
These are hundreds of pages, with data, addresses and facts about English citizens that have been condemned over sexual acts with minors, who are living in the Algarve. There is also data about individuals who live in Southern Spain, in cities near the border, who have a criminal past due to sexual acts with minors.
The PJ in Portimão, that was confronted with this kind of information, checked out all of these men, when Maddie disappeared, in order to find out if any of them had been involved. Alibis were confirmed, and in some cases, telephone information was analysed, as well as the mobile phone locations, in order to verify where they were on the date of the disappearance. Nothing was found, and during the following months, the English continued sending information into Portugal. Whenever someone was condemned over paedophilia and decided to settle in the South of Portugal, the authorities alerted the PJ.
When the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine was closed, the English demanded that the dossier was removed from the process, alleging the need to protect those individuals, given the fact that the process would be made public.
The dossier was handed over to Magalhães e Menezes and is now locked in his office. The PJ does not own a copy and cannot use the information for other investigations.
England has also stopped sending the Portuguese authorities information about the travelling of paedophiles.
Método 3 hired a homicide suspect
His name is Amor and he is in jail for raping his 19-year-old daughter. He has recently been indicted over the strangling of a prostitute, whose cadaver was found dismembered by an animal, in Faro.
During the past year, Amor was one of the men that were hired by Método 3, the Spanish detective agency that worked for the McCann couple, to demonstrate that Maddie was alive.
At the time, the man said that João Cipriano – the uncle of Joana, the girl that was killed in the Algarve a few years ago – had assured him that his niece was alive after all, and that she had been sold to a couple. Método 3 paid Amor to find her, with the intention of proving that Madeleine was also alive, by proving that someone had been convicted over a death that had not taken place.
The result was not what was expected. Amor took the money, but he knew nothing about Joana. Last year, in the summer, he went to the PJ to file a complaint against the Spanish detectives over attempted murder. The process was then handled by the PJ in Faro, and ended up being archived.
Abduction theory defended by English
The investigation into the disappearance of Maddie, on the 3rd of May 2007, in Praia da Luz, rapidly acquired the outline of a national case to the British. They bet everything and sent a liaison officer into Portugal, supplying all the data that might sustain the theory of abduction by a paedophile network. Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesperson, continues to sustain the same theory – that this was an abduction – and remains at the McCanns' side, after abandoning the English government, that has also supported Madeleine's parents.
Luz rejects the couple's return
The possibility that Kate and Gerry return to Portugal, before or after the date of the second anniversary of their daughter's disappearance, is not seen with pleasure by the residents in Praia da Luz. In the Algarvian village, the tiredness over the case's dimension, as well as the revolt against the parents, is evident. With major cuts in business and with the Ocean Club almost bankrupt, the residents even refuse to discuss the possibility of the couple returning to the area where the little girl was last seen. Gerry has recently been to Luz, and he was jeered at.
Documentary | Rights. The rights for the broadcast of TVI's documentary about Madeleine McCann, that counted on the participation of Gonçalo Amaral, are being negotiated for Europe
Anniversary | Luz off the map. Kate and Gerry are not due to return to Portugal, namely to Luz, where Madeleine was seen for the last time. The village won't mark the date of the anniversary of the disappearance.
Couple | Accepted archiving. The McCann couple has accepted the archiving of the process. Kate and Gerry could have requested the opening of the instruction, but they didn't risk keeping their arguido status.
Link to video
Transcript & translation of the Correio da Manhã video interview
Thanks to Joana Morais for transcript & translation
British Police sent List of Paedophiles
Data was only sent due to the disappearance of the English childJournalist [Tânia Laranjo] – At the time they sent an extensive document, with persons convicted for paedophilia, who would be here, in the Algarve.
Gonçalo Amaral – Indeed, we received that information; it was the first time ever that that type of information [list of UK British paedophiles] had arrived. It was worked upon; everything was seen, and located. We reached the conclusion that it had nothing to do with this case. In fact, according to them [UK authorities], this little girl did not have the profile and, explained why, was due to the age reason...
Journalist – She was too young?
Gonçalo Amaral – Exactly, he focused that point, and it is a person with experience in that field. And who is here. These are people [the sex offenders] who are living here, or who have been here. It is important that the Police are able to keep that data. It's in the office of the Prosecutor, who was in the process here in Portimão [Magalhães e Menezes]. When the process was made public, there was no care to avoid the names of the witnesses, their addresses, their phone numbers... There was more care regarding criminals, paedophiles, than with the common citizen, who had nothing to do with the case.
Journalist – In any case, the English only decided to send to the Judiciary Police that list, after a British girl went missing. That is, never before, never a priori.
Gonçalo Amaral – No, at least here in the Algarve, never. In fact, besides sending the list, two or three months later, there was a paedophile, coming from the UK convicted of paedophilia, which they informed that he was here, and we had to establish surveillance on that individual, for that time. So, they adopted then a new type of cooperation, of collaboration with the Portuguese authorities. They informed us of the coming of that man, something that they wouldn't do before. And then they just stopped doing it. So, it was just during that period of time. [video cut] And here it seems that there is an excessive zeal, concerning one British child and it seems that the Portuguese children have fewer rights than the British children. In fact, that information only served for one child and cannot be used to prevent other cases that might happen here in Portugal.
Journalist – And this was the only file that was removed from the process? That the English were able to have removed from the process?
Gonçalo Amaral – It appears to be like that, yes. But there are also other files that went missing, so, that is a matter of consulting the process, and understanding what is missing there.
Freedom and Children's Rights
Source: Correio da ManhãMatter of fact
Gonçalo Amaral
25 April 2009 - 00h30
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation and addendum
In a time of carnations and odes to freedom, we can not forget how much is still left to do, namely in the protection of children. The criminal law does not protect children, they are being left to sleep alone, while the parents get drunk at social gatherings, falling from windows and balconies like ripe fruit, or drying inside vehicles without the according penal sanction occurring.
When the main source of risk and danger is inside the home or the family, the law seems to forget a fundamental right of the child: security.
The UN Declaration on Children's Rights [see below*1] is clear: "The child should grow supported by parents and under their responsibility, in an environment of affection and security."
The crime of abandonment or exposure is inadequate [see below*2], one should criminalize the mere negligence in custody in order to recognize and safeguard the children's right to safety. Then, there would be no more doubts about the scope of the application of the criminal law, thus preventing relaxed tourists from abandoning our country, without any consequences, after neglecting the custody of their children, night after night, and now walking freely around the media stages.
---
*1 in Declaration of the Rights of the Child Principle 6
The child, for the full and harmonious development of his personality, needs love and understanding. He shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the responsibility of his parents, and, in any case, in an atmosphere of affection and of moral and material security; a child of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from his mother. Society and the public authorities shall have the duty to extend particular care to children without a family and to those without adequate means of support. Payment of State and other assistance towards the maintenance of children of large families is desirable.
*2 Gonçalo Amaral refers to Article 138 of the Portuguese Penal Code, which covers the crimes of exposure or abandonment. Portuguese law only punishes exposure or abandonment if intent exists, i.e. it has to be proved that the caretaker was aware of the danger that the person under his/her vigilance was subject to. In practical terms, this annihilates any possibility of a criminal accusation when 'simple' neglect takes place.
"The politicians are the same"
Source: Correio da ManhãMaddie: Former investigator launches criticism in Oporto
Manuela Teixeira 28 April 2009 - 00h30
Thanks to Astro for translation
Gonçalo Amaral, the former Judiciary Police head of the
Maddie investigation, thinks that the Freeport process is
being handled at the same "power pressure" level as the disappearance of the little English girl.
'The politicians are the same. Take this at face value', Gonçalo Amaral said in Oporto yesterday, during the 'Desire' congress.
Concerning political pressures, Gonçalo Amaral stated once more that they existed in the Maddie case. 'There was pressure from London to archive that one, now it seems there is pressure from London not to archive the Freeport process in Portugal.'
The PJ investigator, who has retired in the mean time, even launched a challenge to the Freeport process investigators' team. 'The prosecutor could go and have tea with Kate McCann. Maybe she'd tell her the truth. And they might as well solve the manipulation of the forensics results', said Gonçalo Amaral.
Amaral and former policemen are investigating the "Maddie" case
Source: Jornal de NotíciasFormer coordinator reveals that Portuguese, Spanish, English and Germans are working with him
by Alexandra Serôdio
30 April 2009
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation
A group of former policemen from Portugal and other countries, which includes Gonçalo Amaral, is investigating the Maddie case at their own expense.
The former Judiciária coordinator told JN that the result will be communicated to the Attorney General.
Restlessness and curiosity were heavy and the bitter taste of a "precocious and political" archiving left them "brooding" on a solution. The words are from Gonçalo Amaral – the first head of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann – who reveals that the group of investigators, that is made up by Portuguese, Spanish, English and Germans, wants to "know the truth".
"We have been talking, exchanging ideas, trying to understand what happened, discussing possibilities and thinking about the entire process", the former coordinator of the Polícia Judiciária's Criminal Investigation Department in Portimão reveals. Despite refusing to reveal what is being done on the field and in what form, he asserts that "this investigation is not to arrange for evidence against the McCann couple".
"We want to contribute for the truth to be known and in that way, for justice to be made. If there are guilty people, they must stand before justice. This is a right that assists any citizen in this country, to fight for justice to be done in every case", Gonçalo Amaral sustained, stressing that "it's not only the courts, the policemen and the judges that fight for justice, anyone can do it".
Asserting that this investigation does "not intend to persecute anyone", the former coordinator stresses the need to understand "what could have been done back then and what can be done now". Always in an attempt to "find the truth and to understand what really happened to Madeleine". Opting not to reveal major details, Gonçalo Amaral says that the group is made of retired policemen, who investigate "at their own expense" and "without the use of funds".
What is established will then be put into a "well based document" that will be delivered to the Attorney General, with the request to reopen the process that has been archived since July 21, 2007.
"The criminal investigation was abruptly interrupted, before it even got halfway. There is still a lot to be investigated that may even lead nowhere, but it may lead to other paths and to the truth", the former coordinator advances, asking for "political courage" to those who have the power to "reopen the process".
"If the Attorney General's mailbox was flooded with, for example, three million requests to reopen the process, I believe the case might be reopened", the investigator stated.
Former PJ Inspector Gonçalo Amaral investigating Maddie Case
Source: TVI News (Video no longer available)30 April 2009
Thanks to Joana Morais for transcript/translation
Transcript/Translation
Marisa Rodrigues, Journalist: What has started with an exchange of phone calls and emails about the Madeleine McCann process might be now the beginning of a private investigation. Along with Gonçalo Amaral, a group of former police inspectors from various countries have one certainty: the girl died in the Ocean Club's apartment.
Gonçalo Amaral: We are working on the death, the death of the child, which is an agreed point. And we are trying to understand what we can do in terms of diligences [coordinating investigative steps] to inspect the circumstances and the causes of that death; and afterwards we will inform the Attorney General of the result of that analysis.
MR: The group, which comprises four retired police inspectors, investigates at their own expense and without the use of funds. The objective is the reopening of the process.
GA: The case should never have been archived; to be reopened it is a usual procedure. There are still many diligences to be made, they are in the process when it was archived; and that situation has to be emphasised and has to lead to the reopening of the process.
MR: Two years after the disappearance Gonçalo Amaral does not give up, and asks for political bravery to those who have the power to reopen the process.
Ex-Maddie officer launches own hunt
Source: Metro(Article no longer available online)
By JO STEELE
Thursday, April 30, 2009
A detective who was sacked from the hunt for Madeleine McCann is launching his own investigation into the youngster's disappearance.
Goncalo Amaral said he wanted justice for the missing girl.
He will work with investigators from four countries - including Britain - and has promised to hand over his results to officials in Portugal in the hope that the case is reopened.
'This investigation is not aimed at finding evidence against (parents) Gerry and Kate McCann or persecuting anyone,' he said. 'We want to help make sure the truth comes out and justice is done. The criminal investigation ended prematurely and there's a lot that still needs to be investigated.'
The father of three has written a book which claimed Madeleine died in a 'tragic accident' at the McCanns' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, the day she was last seen in May 2007.
He was removed from the hunt for the three-year-old after he claimed that British police were 'too close' to Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire. The couple's status as 'official suspects' in the disappearance was lifted last year.
Two years later
Source: Correio da Manhã(Article no longer available online)
Matter of fact
Gonçalo Amaral
02 May 2009 - 00h30
Thanks to Astro for translation
Two years after the death of Madeleine McCann, much has happened in the Justice sector, but the conclusion is that we are worse off, despite the great solutions being the same: when a certain process is unhelpful, it's archived.
But two years ago already, seven helpless English children were abandoned to luck, while their parents dined and socialised with their holiday companions, a light matter to some, who consider it normal, but something that is severely punished in England. For some, they were safe, despite one of them having been abducted, by Portuguese paedophile networks, admitting no other possibility, limiting and conditioning the investigation's purpose, pressing into that direction. As that was not enough, they demanded the end of the investigation and the precipitated archiving of the process, showing their satisfaction. For those, any police investigation, Portuguese or British, is not convenient, expensive private detectives and psychics are the solution.
They don't care about finding the truth, or about the unemployment and the crisis that were generated in Praia da Luz. They continued denying the child's death, despite the strong indications, because they run a millionaire fund that searches for a child that is alive and in good health, and any recoil will have baleful consequences.
Gonçalo Amaral: "Prime ministers are not eternal"
Source: IOL Portugal Diário(Article no longer available online)
03-05-2009 - 11:02h
Thanks to Astro for translation
With "some irony" and always defending the theory that Madeleine McCann died on the evening of the 3rd of May 2007, in the apartment in Praia da Luz, where she was spending holidays with her family, Gonçalo Amaral, a former Polícia Judiciária coordinator inspector, states to tvi24.pt that he has doubts whether the appearance of a corpse "would be enough to reopen the case". Despite that, he adds, "prosecutors are not eternal, prime ministers are not eternal either. We live in a democracy and things are going to change".
Two years after Maddie disappeared, the man who led the investigation for six months and ended up being removed from the case, states that, at the moment, "the will that exists is to keep everything silent, without talking much about the subject". Nevertheless, he awaits "someone influent" with the courage to reopen the inquiry. "That person will come and say: 'Let's find out, once and for all, what happened here'," he says, filled with hope.
From the investigation that he led, he draws two lessons. "Political pressure cannot exist within criminal investigations" is the first that he refers. But the second one is so much more personal: "We often say yes, but there's always that one time when we can say no. We can abdicate from our careers and do some good in the search for justice and truth".
"They wanted to fill us with sightings"
Having been removed from the case after controversial statements about his British counterparts, Gonçalo Amaral reaffirms his accusations and goes further: "There was information management done by the English police". "A lot was concealed and they wanted to fill us with sightings", he adds.
He offers two examples. The first denunciation associating suspicious behaviour by one of the members of the group of friends that was on holidays in the Algarve, David Payne, was made on the 16th of May 2007, by a doctor, to the British police. "The information arrived in Portugal in October, after I had already left", he recalls.
But if this information arrived several months later, others were never seen. The former PJ recalls that, with the consent from Portuguese authorities, an appeal was made for tourists to send in photos from the day and the night of Maddie's disappearance. The purpose was "to identify anyone suspicious who might appear looking at the family", he says. But despite "much that arrived at the English police, none of those images ever reached us".
Many diligences left to carry out
When questioned whether he is still investigating the case, Gonçalo Amaral refuses to use the term investigation because "he is dedicated to other things in life". But he admits that he has been "in contact with other people, including retired policemen, both Portuguese and foreign" and that "the entire process is being analysed, in order to understand what was done and what diligences are left to carry out".
Despite the archiving coming as no surprise, he defends that it was rushed and that "there is much left to clarify". Like, for example, "to find out whether or not David Payne, one of the last persons to see Maddie, was with Kate in the apartment and bathed the children". This name is actually a piece of the puzzle that he considers to be "crucial" to clarify "what really happened that day".
Still, he insists: "What happened is in the process. There are indications that the little girl's death happened in that space. Now, it is necessary to reopen the process to find out about the circumstances and the possible involvement of a third party, and to advance in that direction. That was what we were doing when I was removed".
The cost of a Madeleine interview
Source: Sky News(Article no longer available online)
By Martin Brunt
May 06, 2009 1:27 PM
If you were wondering why there was no interview with former Algarve police chief Goncalo Amaral in our recent Madeleine coverage, here's why.
His agent emailed us: "Since he left Policia Judiciaria his main concern is to reveal to the general public the facts (which) occured during the investigation."
Then he wrote: "He will be available, but will charge a fee of 80.000 euros VAT."
Yeah, we wondered if he meant 80 euros, too.
We didn't wonder for long.
Nem pensar, Jose!
Axed Maddie cop: I'll talk for £75k Daily Star Link
By Jerry Lawton8th May 2009
The police chief sacked from the Madeleine McCann probe after declaring her parents suspects is selling interviews at £75,000 a time.
Goncalo Amaral, 48, has already cashed in on Maddie's disappearance by writing a best-selling book.
He also acted as adviser to a controversial TV documentary based on his belief that Madeleine died in her parents' holiday apartment.
Now Amaral is trying to rake in more money by selling interviews to TV firms across Europe.
According to his representative Luis Varela Marreiros, the disgraced detective is willing to spout his views about the mystery "for €80,000 plus VAT" – which works out at £75,000.
In an email Mr Marreiros said: "Since he left Policia Judiciaria his main concern is to reveal the facts that occurred during the investigation.
"If you prefer to interview Mr Goncalo Amaral at this moment he will be available but will charge a fee of €80,000 + VAT."
Last night Madeleine's doctor parents Kate, 41, and Gerry, 40, slammed his money-making antics.
Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell raged: "It is scandalous that anyone should seek to make money out of Madeleine's abduction.
"Further than that Kate and Gerry will not dignify anything that Mr Amaral says with any comment."
They had to conduct their own search for their daughter – helped by public don-ations – after Amaral heaped suspicion on them four months after Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007.
Kate quit her job as a GP to spend six months going through 17 volumes of police files.
Last night's Channel 4 documentary, Madeleine Was Here, highlighted potentially vital leads that Portuguese police ignored.
These include five reported sightings of a sinister scar-faced stranger casing out the McCanns' apartment – by four witnesses.
The McCanns' investigators believe her kidnapping was a planned two-man operation.
They think she may still be alive and not even realise she has been abducted.
Gonçalo Amaral: The truth about the charges
Nigel MooreFriday 08 May 2009 10:08 AM
Two days ago, Martin Brunt, Sky News Crime Correspondent, decided to use his blog to reveal the contents of an email Sky News had received from Gonçalo Amaral's agent.
The private email stated that it would cost 80,000 euros to facilitate an interview with the former PJ co-ordinator.
With unsurprising relish, Jerry Lawton, of The Daily Star, has today regurgitated the information contained in Mr Brunt's blog into a full-blown article.
Speaking exclusively to mccannfiles.com today, Gonçalo Amaral revealed the reasoning behind the decision.
He said: "I want you to know that I made the decision to get paid for any interview given to any British media, but that doesn't apply to anywhere else in the world.
"Its quite simple. I have given so many "free" interviews to the British media that were never published. They were censored and thrown to the trash. Next time they do it, I'm sure they will think twice about the money they pay."
Only this week, in Amsterdam - to launch the Dutch version of 'the Truth of the Lie' - Gonçalo Amaral and Sofia Leal gave their time freely to members of the public and press. In a 'question and answer' session, scheduled for 30 minutes, they stayed for 1 and a half hours discussing the case.
Mr Brunt, who has published details from a private email, and Mr Lawton, who, like so many Britsh journalists, is unable to write the name of Gonçalo Amaral without prefacing it with 'axed', 'disgraced' or 'shamed', need to question what they are doing to help find the truth about what happened to Madeleine. And how much are they getting paid for doing it?
Clarence Mitchell raged in The Daily Star: "It is scandalous that anyone should seek to make money out of Madeleine's abduction."
But should a man currently taking wages from Madeleine's Fund - which, let's not forget, draws from the pocket-money and savings of children and pensioners and was donated in good faith to search for Madeleine - really be adopting such a high moral tone?
And why do the McCanns even need a PR person? Can they no longer speak for themselves outside of a scripted TV studio or film set?
And, as Columbo would say, one final thing...
This interview with Gonçalo Amaral didn't cost one penny. Or euro.
Gonçalo Amaral tapped Duarte Levy Wordpress and 24horas
The Maddie case is taboo for the PGR and the PJDuarte Levy
May 29, 2009 • 3:58 pm
"Many people linked to the Maddie case and the investigation made in Portugal, were, or are still, the target of tapping and surveillance," said a source of the Home Office to 24horas in answer to the affirmations made by the ex-coordinator of the Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC) of the Judicial Police (PJ) of Portimão.
Gonçalo Amaral said that he was "under surveillance" and he knows that his "phone is being tapped". The former head of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann "does not know who is watching him," but he affirms that his email has been the target of a constant curiosity and that part of this information has been transmitted to the McCanns.
"At the moment, there is information which has to be developed regarding the localisation and what might have happened to the body of the young girl," said Amaral, accusing the Public Prosecutor (PGR) and the management of the PJ of making a taboo of the Maddie case, where "nobody does anything" allowing "that people external to the Portuguese justice and police force investigate crimes under the PJ's responsibility".
Gonçalo Amaral, who, until now, has not received any notification regarding the complaint for defamation announced by the McCanns, confirms that he will sue Kate and Gerry McCann and will prove that an "agreement existed" between the couple and the British police during the investigation, which supposedly influenced the end result of the investigation.
Maddie's parents want to prevent the publication in English of the book "Maddie: The Truth of the Lie", in which the ex-coordinator of the PJ reveals many details of the investigation he was leading in Praia da Luz and where he sustains the theory of Madeleine's death. The decision of the couple was supposedly taken as a consequence of the disclosure of the documentary based on this book that TVI (Portuguese TV channel) broadcasted and is available on internet with English subtitles.
Amaral shows the Public Prosecutor to have "trapped" him in the Leonor Cipriano case.
"I haven't got any doubt that there was a trap from the Public Prosecutor which then led him to say during the judgement that I made a false testimony, because I should have been made arguido the first day, at the first hour, like my colleagues," said Gonçalo Amaral on TVI (see video) on the fact of having been condemned in the lawsuit of Leonor Cipriano, confirming that he is going to appeal against the sentence.
The ex-coordinator, talking about his most recent experience made with law in Portugal, gave the example of two complaints presented around the same report worked out by an association in the Joanna Cipriano case: the complaint presented by Amaral over a year ago is on standby, whereas the second, presented by the opposing party, already has some arguidos.
An abduction alert – what for?
Source: Correio da Manhã
Matter of Fact
Gonçalo Amaral
04 July 2009 - 00h30
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation
This week we saw the Minister of Justice, happy and content, signing a code of conduct that creates a child abduction alert system. In his own words, a "new" and "powerful" instrument that will allow for lives to be saved. Is he supposed to feel proud about such a system? Doesn't the massive dissemination of photographs of the victim and descriptions of the abductor place the victim's life at risk?
An abduction may have various purposes but the mentors seem not to have thought about that. In the cases of abduction for paedophilia, statistics say that in most cases, the children die during the first hours. In the case of abduction for ransom, public disclosure is harmful. Looking at the procedures, all of them have been applied to recent cases without bringing anything new. I speak about disappearances, because this is the Portuguese reality. From here, I ask you: how many abductions for paedophile purposes or with a ransom demand have been confirmed in our country?
We feel the McCanns' pain as well Sunday Express Link
By James MurraySunday September 27, 2009
THE wife of Portuguese detective Goncalo 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.
"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 Portimao, 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 Goncalo," 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 Portimao 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 Goncalo 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 Goncalo 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.
"Goncalo 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.
Sofia Leal: Our daughters suffered emotional damage
Source: Maria (appears in paper version only)The wife of the former Polícia Judiciária inspector speaks about the family problems, the difficulties in their marriage and the suffering of her daughters.
10 October 2009
Thanks to Astro for translation
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".
Amaral support petition launched on the net Portugal News Link
21/11/2009 (appeared online 20/11/2009)A support group created for former police inspector Gonçalo Amaral, who once headed the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, has this week launched two on-line petitions that they intend sending to Portugal's Parliament, the European Parliament, and the European Human Rights Court.
In a press release, the 'Citizens Support Gonçalo Amaral' group indicated the two petitions were already circulating on the Internet and that their objective was to "reinforce the constitutional right to freedom of speech, carried out in a responsible manner and without any other limitations unless defined by law".
"Our first line of action is to put these two petitions online, one aimed at Portuguese citizens and foreign residents in Portugal, the other aimed at foreign citizens, and we intend to submit them to the Portuguese Parliament, European Parliament and the European Human Rights Court", the statement read.
The 'Citizens Support Gonçalo Amaral' movement was created following the launch of an Internet site entitled 'Project Justice Gonçalo Amaral' the purpose of which is to 'give back the freedom of speech' to the former police chief.
According to the movement, ex-inspector Gonçalo Amaral has done no more than "publish, in a book, the report of a criminal investigation: a report based on facts, which translates the conclusions of an extensive team of investigators, a clear result of a procedure that has already been made public".
Published in 2008, sales of Gonçalo Amaral's book, 'Maddie: the Truth of the Lie', were banned in September this year by Lisbon's Civil Courts.
The theme of the book is Madeleine McCann's disappearance.
Then aged three, Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3rd 2007 from a bedroom in an apartment at the Ocean Club tourist resort, Praia da Luz, Algarve.
She had been sleeping in the apartment with her two younger siblings, twins Amelie and Sean.
Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were at one point made official suspects in the investigations, but later cleared.
Ex-inspector Gonçalo Amaral has maintained he believes Madeleine's parents are involved in her disappearance.
The McCann family is demanding compensation of at least €1.2 million from Gonçalo Amaral for his declarations, which they consider to be defamatory.
Edition: 1037
Citizens in Defence of Rights and Freedoms – Project Justice Gonçalo Amaral pjga.blogspot.com
On the 9th of September, 2009, Portugal and the World learned, through the media, about an extremely serious occurrence in this country that fought so hard for Democracy: an act of censorship against a book.
The book "Maddie: A Verdade da Mentira" was subject to an injunction that sought not only the suspension of sales of the book and the DVD that was based on it, but also of any and all divulgation of the thesis that is defended by Dr. Gonçalo Amaral, author of the book and former Judiciary Police coordinator, about the 'Madeleine McCann' case.
Through this action, a ban was imposed not merely on the written work, but on an entire line of thought: the expression of an opinion, based on the facts of a police investigation; a rational, responsible, mature decision.
Nonetheless, said injunction was merely the tip of an iceberg. In the main action that it refers to, Madeleine's parents seek to extort the sum of 1.2 million Euros from Dr. Gonçalo Amaral – an astronomical amount that is out of any proportion, both legal, and ethical.
A second injunction succeeded in apprehending belongings and professional income from the defendant, stifling his capacity to respond in financial terms, given the fact that judicial and process costs are indexed to the value that is demanded through the main action. In this manner, stripped of his freedom of expression and economically asphyxiated, the siege on a Man who, at huge personal and family cost, seeks nothing more than the reopening of a judicial process, in order to conclude an investigation that so many consider has been cut off halfway through, closes in.
Dr. Gonçalo Amaral cannot speak. But we, Citizens of the World, can speak for him.
We can speak, and we can act.
We can act to defend freedom of expression, a constitutional right that we see as inalienable, mainly when it is exercised in a responsible, mature manner.
We can act to support a Man who is deprived of the means to legally defend himself, following deliberate manoeuvres from those who seek his personal and professional destruction.
We can act because today, the victim of censorship's gag is Dr. Gonçalo Amaral – tomorrow it can be any one of us.
This Project seeks action and support for a Man who wants Justice. The Citizens that initiate this movement associate in a free, independent and apolitical form, united in the defence of freedom of expression, and in mutual respect.
Our first action is the launch of a petition; other initiatives will follow.
For the exercise of free, firm and responsible citizenship, we will not be silenced.
Join us!
Gonçalo Amaral receives support on the Internet
Source: Lux.pt
09-11-2009 11:42
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation
The former PJ Inspector is receiving support of citizens who want to take to the Portuguese Parliament and to the European Parliament a text in his defense.
Taking to the Portuguese Parliament and to the European Parliament a text in defense of Gonçalo Amaral is the objective of the petition «Projecto Justiça para Gonçalo Amaral», organized by a group of citizens who support the former PJ coordinator.
The petition already has more than fifty signatories, mostly Portuguese, and will be delivered to the Portuguese Parliament, to the European Parliament and to the European Court of Human Rights.
The petition was also released in English and already has 206 signatures.
Online petition and account opened in support of former policeman
Source: Correio da Manhã
(appears in paper edition)
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation
Projecto Justiça Gonçalo Amaral. This is the name of an initiative started by a group of citizens showing their solidarity, who have launched a petition for the defense of freedom of expression and the right to defend himself concerning the former PJ coordinator who investigated the Maddie case.
The project is on the internet at http://pjga.blogspot.com. A petition in Portuguese and another in English were launched 3 days ago. At the end of the afternoon, yesterday, the first had 247 signatures and the second 406.
The objective is to denounce at the Portuguese Parliament, at the European Parliament and at the European Court of Human Rights "this attack on freedom of expression", said the forensic psychologist, Paulo Sargento, one of the leaders of the project.
Yesterday a bank account was opened. "It's a support fund to pay the legal expenses of the court cases of the former PJ Inspector" said Paulo Sargento.
Gonçalo Amaral support movement launches petition on the Internet Lusa
14 November 2009
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation
The movement "Citizens support Gonçalo Amaral", the former Judiciária inspector who investigated the "Madeleine McCann" case, has informed today, Saturday, that it has placed two petitions online to deliver to the Portuguese Parliament, the European Parliament and the European Court of Human Rights.
In a press release, the "Citizens support Gonçalo Amaral" movement indicates that it has already placed two petitions on the internet and that the goal is to "support the constitutional right to Freedom of Expression, exercised in a responsible manner and without any other limits except those defined by law".
"The first initiative by this movement is to place two petitions online – one for Portuguese citizens and foreigners that reside in Portugal, another one for foreign citizens, which we intend to submit, respectively, to the Portuguese Parliament, the European Parliament and the European Court of Human Rights", reads the press release that was sent to the media today.
The movement "Citizens support Gonçalo Amaral" has appeared after the creation of a website that is titled "Project Justice Gonçalo Amaral", whose purpose is to "return Freedom of Expression" to the former Polícia Judiciária inspector.
According to the movement, Gonçalo Amaral "has not done more than to publish, in a book, the report of a criminal investigation: a report that is based on facts and on the conclusions of an entire, vast team of investigators, as clearly results from the process itself, which has been made public already".
Gonçalo Amaral's book, "Maddie, the truth about the lie", was published in 2008, but in September this year the Civil Court of Lisbon prohibited the sale of the book, whose subject is the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Madeleine McCann disappeared on the 3rd of May 2007, from the room where she was sleeping with her two younger twin siblings, in an apartment at the "Ocean Club" tourist resort in Praia da Luz.
On the 7th of September 2007, the child’s mother, Kate, and the father, Gerry McCann, were made arguidos.
Nonetheless, the authorities have never been able to establish what really happened to Madeleine McCann and, on the 21st of July 2008, the Attorney General's Office announced the closing of the investigation and the archiving of suspicions against Gerry and Kate McCann.
The McCann family demands the payment of a compensation of at least 1.2 million euros from the former PJ inspector, over his statements about Madeleine's disappearance, that are considered to be defamatory.
The movement for Gonçalo Amaral warns that "other actions will follow", always with the purpose of supporting the "constitutional right to Freedom of Expression".
Amaral to train with former "enemy"
Source: 24horasJoão Grade dos Santos
Gonçalo Amaral's patron was Leonor Cipriano's defender until the trial of five PJ inspectors over torture on Joana's mother. Now they are great friends
By Rute Coelho
23 November 2009
Thanks to Astro for translation
Life's irony: Gonçalo Amaral, who in court helped to condemn Joana's mother over her daughter's death, is going to train, from January onwards, at the Portimão office of João Grade dos Santos, Leonor Cipriano's first lawyer.
On the other hand, João Grade stopped defending Leonor – who exchanged him for lawyer Marcos Aragão Correia – on the eve of the trial of the five PJ inspectors and former inspectors that stood accused by the Public Ministry of torture over Joana's mother.
"Since the first moment of the Joana case, I never forgot that I was merely a lawyer playing my role, and Amaral was a policeman," João Grade dos Santos told 24horas.
"Gonçalo contacted me to become his patron during the training, which is due to start in January. Given the fact that he resides in Portimão and I have an office there, I think he chose me for a practical reason," he explains. "That would be the reason, otherwise he would have proposed to practise at the office of his lawyer, António Cabrita, with whom he has an excellent relationship," the lawyer explains.
It's been months since João Grade dos Santos and Gonçalo Amaral started regular contact. "We speak very often," the patron says about the retired inspector. João Grade even believes that the former inspector who led the Joana case investigation "may have been the victim of an injustice in the process over torture against Leonor Cipriano".
Gonçalo Amaral ended up being condemned, on the 22nd of May this year, to a penalty of one year and six months in prison, suspended for a similar period, over the crime of false deposition. He was acquitted of the crime of omission of denunciation. The former coordinator in the Joana case investigation has appealed the sentence.
"He knows more than a 20-year-old trainee"
According to the Laywers' Order's rules, the training starts at the Lawyers' Order itself, for six months, and only then can the candidate start his practical experience at a lawyers' office. It is always the candidate who must find a patron. The full training period lasts almost three years. Then, one still has to pass the Order's exams to be accepted as a lawyer.
João Grade dos Santos believes in his new trainee's abilities. "My instinct tells me that Gonçalo is going to be very good. He has a refined smell and a brilliant career at the Polícia Judiciária: he become a coordinator during the time when inspectors were still called agents," he praises, considering that "with his experience, he already knows a lot more than a trainee in his early twenties".
Criminal investigation gives experience. "I have no doubts that he will be very good in the penal law area," he says. As for other areas, like civil or family law, the future "master" of pupil Amaral bets on the student's ability to learn: "I will explain to him how a process works. He won't know how to carry out a divorce or an evacuation action at the first attempt, but I believe he will learn quickly." The patron and the trainee are from the same generation. João Grade dos Santos is aged 51, Amaral is 50.
He even gave him the book
Gonçalo Amaral offered his patron a copy of his book about the Maddie case, "The truth about the lie". "I read his book and I was convinced, as I had been before, anyway, that it was not an abduction. But the book does not defame the McCanns, Gonçalo Amaral does not express his opinion in it, but an investigation thesis," says João Grade. Long before they became friends, the lawyer refused to cooperate with Spanish detective agency Método 3, which, according to a special programme on SIC on the 12th of February, wanted to count on his help in the investigation due to the Amaral factor, which was common to the Maddie and Joana cases. Grade refused. Método 3 contacted Marcos Aragão Correia, who accepted.
Gonçalo Amaral: Thank You Note Projecto Justiça Gonçalo Amaral
Dear friends,
My name is Gonçalo Amaral. I am a former Criminal Investigation Coordinator, and the author of the book "Maddie – The Truth about the Lie", written with the purpose of contributing to the discovery of material truth and the performance of justice, and under the perspective of reinstating my reputation that was blackened in public.
This book was written under the use of my full rights, and stands as a technical opinion that is based on facts, indications and events that are part of the process that underlies the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
In September this year, an injunction was granted without previously hearing the defendant, based on lies and abusive interpretations of the intentions that were behind the creation of said book.
In order to render the defence of my rights more difficult, a request for damages worth 1.200.000 euros was filed, followed by the arrest of rights and goods.
The strategy of those who continue to dirty us was simple: the man is silenced, and the path to influence attitudes and behaviours, through the manipulation of public opinion at their pleasure, is opened. A campaign to discredit and to misinform is under way, at the same time as they try to asphyxiate us financially, in order to win the case without having to go to trial.
We will not conform to the limitation of our fundamental rights, through unconstitutional judicial decisions that put the responsible exercise of free expression at stake.
I thank all those who over the last couple of years have supported me, and who have signed the public petitions over the last days, as well as those who, through financial effort towards the recently created fund and a demonstration of solidarity, have reinforced my belief in the defence of values that should shape modern and democratic societies, freedom of expression, the discovery of the truth and the performance of justice.
As far as I'm concerned, I commit myself to embody the hopes of all of you, and not to give up, despite the survival of my own family being at stake, but the defence of those values and principles is essential.
To all, a heartfelt thank you.
Portimão, 2009-12-03
Gonçalo Amaral
Gonçalo Amaral: Conference
16 January 2013
The Association of Parents and Guardians of Education at EB1 C/JI Adriano Correia de Oliveira invite you to...
Conference: "The prevention of abduction and child abuse. Challenges at a World Wide Level"
Speaker: Gonçalo Amaral
Author of the book: Defenceless Lives
16 January 18h00
At the Adriano Correia de Oliveira school
Come and hear one of the major national experts on the subject
FREE ENTRY!
Adriano Correia de Oliveira School - Olivais mariacpois.blogspot.pt
Photo of Gonçalo De Sousa Amaral by Humberto Lopes Crava — at the Adriano Correia de Oliveira School, Olivais
"We get to know our friends in moments of crisis. That is when we find out who our true and unconditional friends are, and surprisingly, we get to know true friends" - GA
Gonçalo Amaral returns to his childhood school
Source: Expresso do OrienteGonçalo Amaral at the Adriano Correia de Oliveira school conference
Published 17 January, 2013
With thanks to Ines/MCF for translation
In the EB1 C/JI Friano Correia de Oliveira, in Olivais, the school which he had attended during his childhood, the ex PJ inspector presented his most recent book "Defenceless Lives" and spoke about the prevention of abduction and child abuse.
The initiative of the Parents and Education Employees of the EB1 C/JI Adriano Correia de Oliveira, in Olivais, connected parents, teachers and many members of the local community who wanted to hear Gonçalo Amaral's conference, entitled "The prevention of abduction and child abuse. Challenges at a World Wide Level".
A subject that increasingly raises more worries for those in charge of education, forming the inspiration for the author's new book. In "Defenceless Lives", Gonçalo Amaral reveals remarkable moments from his infancy, remembering the years spent in the EB1 C/JI Adriano Correia de Oliveira. Returning to the institution many years later was a unique experience: "I have given many speeches, but this was the one that had most impact on me, maybe because I went to the school that I attended 40 years ago. It was a return to my origins," the ex criminal inspector explained to EXPRESSO do Oriente.
During the conference, Gonçalo Amaral highlighted the work carried out by police in situations of child abduction, what still has to be done regarding this subject, explained the difference between abduction and disappearance, warning of the importance of parents giving their children autonomy and he spoke of the means of preventing abduction nowadays, especially of the dangers from virtual friends found on Internet.
The President of the Board of Freguesia dos Olivais was also present at this event. For José Manuel Rosa do Egipto "the subject addressed by Gonçalo Amaral was very important for the educational community, in order that they become aware of the current dangers facing their children and the way in which they should deal with these problems".
Courtesy of mccannfiles
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