Gonçalo Amaral - Madeleine's voice

As you can understand, I can't do any comment about the investigation on the "McCann Case"... (I have omitted the next part, in the interests of privacy and it did not in any way compromise the judicial secrecy laws)
Looking towards my freedom of speech, I asked for my retirement last month. All the insults, false accusations and lie's from the past year are now being brought to court from my lawyers (the very last one is from Daily Mail, yesterday).
I would like to say thank you to the thousands of persons that every day, for the last year, are supporting me all over the world. I would like to answer all the phone calls, emails and letters, but is not possible...there are so many! As you can imagine, most of the days are not that easy, and these messages have been a great support not only for me, but also for my family. Once again, thank you all!
You're allowed do display this message on you site, and I thank you for that. One last thing:
*Soon, very soon the world will know the "Truth about the Lie" and "we will gain truth and justice for a little girl who has no voice", dead on the evening of May 3rd at apartment 5A, Ocean Club, Praia da Luz, Algarve, Portugal"*

Best regards,Gonçalo Amaral

These words from Gonçalo Amaral are, in my opinion, very revealing. Gonçalo Amaral dedicated a big part of his life to the PJ and consequently to serving his country. Thanks to men like him, Portuguese people have been allowed to live in a country which, although not perfect, is still quite safe and whose crime rates are fortunately not high (eigth safest country in the world according to statistics). People who know him personally, like Moita Flores, a former PJ officer, have stated that Gonçalo Amaral dedicated a huge amount of time to his work and was known to live his cases in an almost obsessive way, until the investigation was sucessful. Personally, I have absolutely no problems believing this. 6 months after having been taken from the case (and I bet some people were more than relieved because of that), Gonçalo Amaral still hasn't given up and for that I will always be grateful.

The way he was portrayed in the gutter British press was disgusting, revolting and unimaginable. His personal life was dragged to newspapers' covers and articles were written that discussed ridiculous aspects, such as clothing, lunch habits and physical appearance. Even confronted with those pathetic smears, lies, spin and irrelevant issues, Gonçalo Amaral kept his dignity and silence. Now we know that he has patiently waited to ask for his retirement so he can regain his freedom of expression, as he wisely calls it. And I say it was about time, Gonçalo. I am certain that some people are now very scared and I also think that they probably should be. In fact, I think that people who have something to hide will always have to go through life fearing someone or something. That is the price to pay. A kind of prison of the soul, let's call it. And I also believe that other smears, lies and spin will follow, especially when Gonçalo Amaral decides is time to put his freedom of expression into practice.

Sometimes, I even fear for him. I know that he doesn't and I know that even if he did, that would not stop him. He certainly isn't the kind of man who turns his back on challenges and problems. And he certainly didn't turn them on an innocent, sweet child called Madeleine Beth McCann. Even when those who were supposed to be willing to die for her did. Once, twice, and many times after that. I think that in some way Gonçalo Amaral has been her voice: a patient, calm but strong and persistent voice. And I know that voice will be heard. Soon. Very soon. But loud and clear.

Este texto é para si, Gonçalo. Quando o poder político se verga a outros poderes mais ou menos óbvios, cabe aos cidadãos anónimos tomarem uma atitude. Como cidadã deste país, como beneficiária do seu trabalho e do trabalho dos seus colegas, como jovem num país que quero orgulhoso de si, das suas instituições, dos seus agentes e das suas gentes, aqui ficam estas minhas palavras. Inconsequentes, muito provavelmente. Mas sentidas.

Obrigada por tudo. Os cidadãos de bem estão, certamente, orgulhosos de si. Eu estou.

Welcome

Hello, everybody.
This place has not been created to discuss the Madeleine case. To do that, there are other great alternatives that people who have been following this case are perfectly aware of. This place was created by me, as a Portuguese citizen, to express my deep gratitude to many men and women who have, since May 3rd, worked relentlessly to find out what happened to Madeleine Beth McCann, aged 3, neglected and left alone by her parents, in a resort apartment in a foreign country.
Because of the selfish, irresponsible, neglectful behaviour of two young, supposedly intelligent doctors and loving parents Madeleine McCann went missing and her twin brother and sister's lives were also put in danger. The men and women who work for the Polícia Judiciária have cancelled their holidays and forgotten about weekends so they could try and solve this mistery, in spite of all the obstacles which were put in their way. These men and women, who also have families, have been shamefully treated by the gutter press in the UK, which seems to be nothing short of mere puppets, controlled by unknown (are they really unknow?) powers.
One of these days the world will know. Madeleine Beth McCann will never be forgotten and some people are willing to sacrifice themselves enourmously so she can have a voice someone has tried to silence.
To all the people who have given everything they have to this case: thank you. Your commitment, your courage and your efforts will never be forgotten by the huge majority of, at least, the Portuguese people. I would also like to thank the former PJ police officers who haven't forgotten what their job was all about and who know well how difficult it is to deal with a missing child case, especially when the main characters of the plot do not cooperate like they should. To all of you who have been generous enough to put yourselves in the line of fire to fight the good fight, I also thank you.

A todos vós, e em especial a si, Gonçalo Amaral, obrigada por tudo. A sua coragem, empenhamento e rectidão de carácter irão sempre ser lembrados pelos Portugueses com grande orgulho.