Madeleine McCann’s Parents Lose Court Appeal Over Alleged 'Covered Up' Of Daughter's Death

Madeleine McCann's parents have lost a court appeal to silence a former police officer who claims they covered up their daughter's death.

Portuguese Supreme Court judges met in Lisbon this morning to resolve the couple's battle against a decision last April to reverse their 2015 libel win against Goncalo Amaral.

The hearing took place in private and an official public decision will not be made until later in the week.

Gerry and Kate McCann could now face a huge legal bill, which had been frozen until the outcome of the final appeal.

The couple have been engaged in an eight-year fight over a book written by Amaral, who led the initial hunt when then-three-year-old Madeleine vanished from their Algarve holiday apartment in May 2007.


In 2015, a Lisbon court ordered Goncalo Amaral to pay Kate and Gerry €500,000 (£429,000) in compensation for the claims made in the book. However, last year, an appeals court overturned that conviction before reaching Portugal's top court.

The McCanns' Portuguese lawyer, Isabel Duarte, lodged the couple's new appeal last May after vowing to fight the U-turn by judges over Amaral's book.

Criticising the ruling in favour of the ex-police chief, Duarte said the ruling had left the couple 'seething'. She said: "This decision was an appreciation of the law and not the facts.

"We can appeal to the Supreme Court which we will do as we have instructions from our clients."

The book was published in 2008, three days after Portuguese police formally closed their inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance, clearing the McCanns of any wrongdoing.

Gerry and Kate McCann pictured in 2014. Credit: PA Images

Amaral is understood to have earned £344,000 from his book and a subsequent TV documentary before it was banned.

He claimed in the book Maddie had died in their holiday flat and they had faked her abduction to cover up the tragedy.

Mr Amaral argued in his defence that the claims stemmed from the police investigation and that Portuguese media had already reported the possibility the parents may have played a role in Madeleine's disappearance.

More than £50,000 wasraised in support for the detective, donated via a Go Fund Me page, after he was ordered to pay damages.

Speaking ahead of today's hearing, a source close to the case said: "The Supreme Court judges can either confirm the first court's decision that ruled in the McCanns' favour or the Lisbon appeal court judgement that went in Goncalo Amaral's favour.

"The ruling itself will take at least four or five days to come out officially but it's possible there'll be some unofficial guidance by the end of the day on what the ruling is.

Full text http://www.theladbible.com/now/news-madeleine-mccanns-parents-lose-court-appeal-over-alleged-covered-up-20170131


Cheers Ria

good news indeed!