A total of five police detectives from Portugal's elite Polícia Judiciária (PJ) detective unit were charged over the weekend for physically attacking and torturing Leonor Cipriano, the mother of nine year-old Joana, who disappeared from her Figueira home in Portimão, in 2004.

The case has also gained international significance when it emerged that one of the investi gators charged by prosecutors, is actively involved in the search for Madeleine McCann.

Mrs Cipriano, having been left with two black eyes, had in 2005 accused eight Portimão PJ members of torture and intimidation.

Mrs Cipriano covered the nation's front pages back then with pictures of her swollen black eyes, allegedly caused by members of the PJ in order to have her confess her daughter's murder and reveal her subsequent whereabouts.

According to Mrs Cipriano, she was forced to kneel on glass ashtrays during interrogations, with her head covered by a bag, before being brutally beaten in an attempt to force her to confess.

The officers, have since denied the accusations, claiming that she threw herself down a flight of stairs. No evidence exists to support either set of allegations, as the interrogations were, as reportedly described by the PJ, ‘informal interrogative sessions'.

One of the police officers accused of ‘torturing' Mrs Cipriano is Gonçlao Amaral, who is also one of the investigators involved with the search for Madeleine McCann.

Prior to the formal accusation by the prosecutor's office in Portimão, Mr Amaral had already made the headlines for the wrong reasons in Britain, when UK media gave extensive coverage to his "two-hour lunches" and consumption of alcoholic beverages during these luncheons.

Back in 2005, alleged police brutality victim Leonor Cipriano, along with her brother, João, were found guilty of gruesomely murdering eight-year old Joana Cipriano in September 2004.

The court, consisting of three judges and four jurors, found Leonor and João Cipriano guilty of murder, handing them prison terms of 20 and 19 years respectively.

These sentences have since been reduced to terms of 16 years each.

Since the verdict, a number of the country's leading lawyers and judges have spoken out against the decision. They claim that a conviction was almost impossible due to the fact that the child's body was never found, therefore lacking the crucial evidence that a murder had in fact taken place and that this alone, should have cast sufficient doubt for the court to absolve the two accused.

In comments to The Portugal News this week the Ciprianos' lawyer, João Grade, said he was confident that he would be able to clear his clients once their appeal was heard, as he believed their guilt had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

He also failed to rule out the possibility that Joana had been sold, especially after someone linked to the family made a €50,000 bank deposit in the days after her disappearance.

A letter written by João from jail to Leonor, which was intercepted by the authorities, also made reference to the exchange of cash and that "a grown-up Joana would one day probably return to Portugal".

However, the court, in reading out its verdict, said it felt there was adequate forensic evidence found at Joana's home, the crime scene, such as human blood found in the freezer and blood stains on the walls and floors (though laboratories were unable to prove the blood was that of Joana) to find the two accused guilty of murder.
A total of five police detectives from Portugal's elite Polícia Judiciária (PJ) detective unit were charged over the weekend for physically attacking and tortur- ing Leonor Cipriano, the mother of nine year-old Joana, who dis- appeared from her Figueira home in Portimão, in 2004. The case has also gained inter- national significance when it emerged that one of the investi- gators charged by prosecutors, is actively involved in the search for Madeleine McCann. Mrs Cipriano, having been left with two black eyes, had in 2005 accused eight Portimão PJ members of torture and intimi- dation. Mrs Cipriano covered the na- tion's front pages back then with pictures of her swollen black eyes, allegedly caused by mem- bers of the PJ in order to have her confess her daughter's murder and reveal her subsequent whereabouts. According to Mrs Cipriano, she was forced to kneel on glass ashtrays during interrogations, with her head covered by a bag, before being brutally beaten in an attempt to force her to confess. The officers, have since denied the accusations, claiming that she threw herself down a flight of stairs. No evidence exists to sup- port either set of allegations, as the interrogations were, as re- portedly described by the PJ, ‘in- formal interrogative sessions'. One of the police officers ac- cused of ‘torturing' Mrs Cipriano is Gonçlao Amaral, who is also one of the investigators involved with the search for Madeleine McCann. Prior to the formal accusation by the prosecutor's office in Portimão, Mr Amaral had al- ready made the headlines for the wrong reasons in Britain, when UK media gave extensive cover- age to his "two-hour lunches" and consumption of alcoholic beverages during these lunch- eons. Back in 2005, alleged police brutality victim Leonor Cipriano, along with her brother, João, were found guilty of grue- somely murdering eight-year old Joana Cipriano in September 2004. The court, consisting of three judges and four jurors, found Leonor and João Cipriano guilty of murder, handing them prison terms of 20 and 19 years respec- tively. These sentences have since been reduced to terms of 16 years each. Since the verdict, a number of the country's leading lawyers and judges have spoken out against the decision. They claim that a conviction was almost im- possible due to the fact that the child's body was never found, therefore lacking the crucial evi- dence that a murder had in fact taken place and that this alone, should have cast sufficient doubt for the court to absolve the two accused. In comments to The Portu- gal News this week the Ciprianos' lawyer, João Grade, said he was confident that he would be able to clear his clients once their appeal was heard, as he believed their guilt had not been proven beyond a reason- able doubt. He also failed to rule out the possibility that Joana had been sold, especially after someone linked to the family made a €50,000 bank deposit in the days after her disappearance. A letter written by João from jail to Leonor, which was inter- cepted by the authorities, also made reference to the exchange of cash and that "a grown-up Joana would one day probably return to Portugal". However, the court, in read- ing out its verdict, said it felt there was adequate forensic evi- dence found at Joana's home, the crime scene, such as human blood found in the freezer and blood stains on the walls and floors (though laboratories were unable to prove the blood was that of Joana) to find the two accused guilty of murder.

The Portugal News