McCann’s defeat Gonçalo Amaral

Judge Maria Gabriela Cunha Rodrigues decided to uphold the ban last Thursday 18th February.

She was ruling on the injunction taken out by the McCann’s and decided the couple were correct in their opinion that the book “decontextualised the investigation” by the authorities.

Thus, the video, in which Amaral defends his thesis that the parents of Maddie McCann were involved in the child’s disappearance, will also continue to be banned from further broadcasting.

In a release distributed to the press, Kate and Gerry McCann criticised the “false and malevolent” way in which “people tried” to involve the parents of the little girl who went missing from the «Ocean Club» tourist development in Praia da Luz in 2007.

Amaral guaranteed that he will appeal against the decision, and referring to the development - widely reported by news services - he said that it isn’t just journalists that “are having problems with liberty of expression”.

The lawyers of publishing house «Guerra & Paz» (which published the book), and TVI (which broadcast the documentary based on the book), will also be appealing against the judge’s ruling.