Letters Rogatory - Where Are They Now?

To The Portuguese Policia Judiciaria, Please Take A Good Long Hard Look At The Face Of This Innocent Child, A Child That You "Know" Was Abducted From Her Bed In Praia da Luz On 3rd May - Take A Look And Then Examine Your Consciences, Bring Her Parents Torment To An End And Resume The Search For This Child. You Simply Cannot Go On In This Way And We Will Not Allow It, The Harm You Are Doing Is Immeasurable, Barbaric and Inhumane - 6 Months It Has Taken You to Organise a Letter! Please Stop The Games, You Wont Get a Confession These Parents Are Innocent. If Not PJ You Have To Live With This For The Rest Of Your Lives, I Hope You Can ~ God Help You Because You Will Need It.

Excerpts translated from Jornal de Noticias

Kate and Gerry McCann will not be questioned again, when the investigators of Policia Judiciaria (PJ) travel to England, on the 7th of April, if (IF) Portuguese detectives travel to England as reported.

The Judiciaria wanted to, but the Public Ministry (PM) did not deem it necessary to hear Madeleine's parents, Madeleine disappeared in the Algarve, on the 3rd of May last year. Apparently according to this report, the PJ had prepared several questions that they wanted to ask Kate and Gerry but the Public Ministery allegedly removed the request from the list of priorities.

A source that is connected to the process explained that:

"the prosecutor understood that the diligence was useless and a waste of time, because the parents could refuse to answer the questions, according to the rights that the Portuguese law gives to arguidos".

That was precisely what the couple did when they were questioned by the PJ in Portimao, before they suddenly left for home, in Leicester, England, right after they were made arguidos.

"The couple never cooperated with the Portuguese police, in spite of what they publicly announce, through their spokesman. There were no guarantees that they would do so now, but in a criminal investigation, there are no absolute certainties. It was necessary to take the risk",

Apparent the JN was told that investigators were annoyed that they could not question the parents again.

Both the PJ and the Public Ministery have been criticised over the delay in writing and sending the rogatory letter to England. But JN knows that the document was changed several times.

It is also reported that among other factors, were new questions that were requested by the McCanns, through their lawyers, this a right that is given official suspects (arguidos) in Portugal.

Among the requests are the questioning of the psychologist who has been accompanying Kate, and the questioning of Justine McGuinness, a former spokesperson for the couple. These diligences were accepted by the Public Ministery.

Among other requests, the rogatory letter includes new questionings of witnesses, including the "Tapa 9" (the group of friends with whom the McCann's were spending their holidays in Praia da Luz), and the apprehension of Kate's diary.

When in England, the Portuguese investigators will only be allowed to accompany the performance of these actions, the questions will be asked in a set of interviews held by the local police.

The date that has been advanced for the trip has yet to be confirmed. The PJ awaits confirmation from Stuart Prior, the top senior official at Leicester police.

My Take:

Again we have an incredibly biased and slanted report from a Portuguese Newspaper, if by some remote chance that Kate and Gerry do stand trial in Portugal, the number one and overriding questions has to be:

• Will Kate and Gerry McCann ever be able to have a fair and just trial?
• Will Portugal be accused of allowing gross defamation of the characters of Kate and Gerry, by allowing the publication of gutter fast buck making books by ex arguido PJ officers?
• Will the question of scurrilous leaks said to emulate from the offices of the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria be brought into question?
• It is said that the Portuguese Prosecutor did not allow the re- question of Kate and Gerry because apparently they had already refused to answer questions in Portugal last September! Do you believe this is really the reason or is this just more spurious journalism carried out by Portuguese press with a chip on their shoulders?
• Surely if investigators wanted to ask questions and it was legal to do so, they would ask them, so the question is why?
• Why has the Portuguese prosecutor decided that no further questioning can be allowed at this time?
• Could it be because under Portuguese law the PJ have absolutely no grounds to ask the McCann's these questions?
• Bearing that in mind and also the sacking of disgraced detective Goncalo Amaral from this case and the haste in which the McCann's were made arguidos due to a change in Portuguese law, were there ever grounds to ask these questions?
• Under Portuguese law apparently you have to have evidence to ask arguidos questions, does this mean there is no evidence to ask questions and was there ever any evidence to ask this couple questions?
• Do you think it fair that this couple were made arguidos and under that status, were given certain rights and acting under advice given to them by their Portuguese lawyers and exercising their rights under Portuguese law, that this coupe are then defamed against in the Portuguese press for acting within their human rights under Portuguese law?
• How did the press come to understand that such questions were asked and not answered?
• Who is leaking from the offices of the PJ?
• Should the Portuguese government now act to get to the bottom of the leaks that have mainly all turned out to be deliberate attempts to pervert the course of justice, which have allegedly come from a source from within the offices and ranks of the PJ?
• Again another date the 7th April has been "leaked to the press" that the PJ are to travel to England to ask these now infamous set of questions which have been said to number between 4, 14, 40 and a 100
• Do you believe that the letters are here in England as reported?
• Do you think it right that the PJ and the Portuguese Attorney General's office have totally mishandled the deliverance of these rogatory letters, which have been said to be arriving here since last September 2007 and turn around and blame their apparent incompetence on the UK government, the McCann's, in fact anyone but themselves?
• Again Portugal are pointing the finger at the UK and Leicestershire police, this time Stuart Prior seems to be the latest scapegoat to blame for these elusive "letters rogatory"
• Laughably the JN is not also attempting to blame the UK for Portugal's incompetence, I ask
• Just how much longer the UK government take a back seat and allow this farce to continue? And allow the human rights of two UK citizens to be abused in this way?

Is it time to start asking our MPs to act and ask questions in Parliament? Is it time to start lobbying the British government to put pressure on the Portuguese government to act? Apparently the front page apologies printed by the Express group newspapers has seen a revival in sympathy and donations into the the Find Madeleine Fund. Is it time to galvanise the support that is still obviously there for this couple and channel it to do something positive?

After all at the centre of this chaotic and farcical shambolic Portuguese investigation is a missing innocent little 4 year old girl and all these leaks and underhand tactics are seeking to divert attention away from this abduction of an innocent from her bed in Praia da Luz, Portugal. One question I would like to ask is why? Why are some people hell bent on diverting attention away from this fact by trying to lay blame of this abduction at the parents feet?