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Madeleine McCann’s parents have lost a case against charges made by a former detective in a bestselling book that linked them to their daughter’s disappearance.
Lawyers for Kate and Gerry McCann have argued that Portuguese authorities violated their right to respect private and family life in court dealing with their defamation lawsuit against Goncalo Amaral.
The case has been going on for years but culminated on Tuesday at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which ruled that there were no violations.
Mr Amaral was the lead detective investigating Madeleine’s disappearance but was removed after criticising British police.
His 2008 book implicated the McCanns in the kidnapping of their daughter and accused them of hiding her body.
The family was on vacation in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve region of Portugal, MadeleineThe then three-year-old disappeared from their holiday apartment.
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Former Portuguese chief investigator Goncalo Amaral pictured with his book Maddie: The Truth About Lies
The European Court of Human Rights said that even if the McCanns’ reputations were damaged, it was “not because of the arguments made by the authors of the book”.
Instead, it was “the result of doubts about them, which led to them being investigated” and caused intense media attention and controversy.
The court added: “Therefore, even before the investigative documents were made available to the media and the book in question was published, the information was brought to the public’s attention to a certain extent.
“Therefore, the state authorities have not failed in their positive duty to protect the applicant’s right to respect his private life.”
McCanns now have three months to appeal the decision.
In 2015, a Lisbon court ordered Amaral to pay McCanns €500,000 in defamation damages, but the decision was overturned and then rejected by Portugal’s Supreme Court in 2017.
investigation continues
Madeleine has not been seen since her disappearance 15 years ago, although her parents Holding on to the hope that she will be found alive.
In April, a convicted child abuser named Christian B was convicted. official suspect – an “arguido” – in her disappearance.
Christian B. Photo: Carabinieri Milan / AP
Less than two weeks later, he announced that he had an alibi, insisted he was far from the scene Having sex with a young woman who supports him.
According to the Metropolitan Police, Portuguese authorities are leading the investigation and the Metropolitan continues to support them.
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