In a post on the official Find Madeleine campaign Facebook page on Friday, Kate and Gerry McCann wrote: “While the possibility may be slim, we have not given up hope that Madeleine is still alive and we we will find”. It comes a day after Christian B was declared an official suspect by Portuguese authorities.
Prosecutors in the city of Faro, in the Algarve, released a statement saying a person had been labeled an ‘arguido’, which translates to ‘named suspect’ or ‘official suspect’.
Kate and Gerry McCann also wrote: “We welcome the news that Portuguese authorities have declared a German ‘arguido’ in relation to the disappearance of our beloved daughter Madeleine.
“This reflects the progress of the investigation, led by the Portuguese, German and British authorities.
“We are being kept informed of developments by the Metropolitan Police.
“It is important to note that the ‘arguido’ has not yet been charged with any specific crime related to Madeleine’s disappearance.”
B was identified as a murder suspect by German prosecutors in June 2020, but has not been charged since.
The decision by the Portuguese authorities could allow B, who is in prison in Germany, to be transferred to the Algarve for formal questioning.
German newspaper Bild reported that his lawyer, Friedrich Fuelscher, said the Portuguese decision appeared to be a “procedural trick”.
Reports have suggested the move could be linked to the country’s statute of limitations, which generally does not allow crimes carrying the maximum prison sentence to be prosecuted more than 15 years after they were committed.
This would mean that Christian B could no longer be charged in Portugal after May 3.
Christian B, who is designated as such in Germany due to the country’s strict privacy laws, was convicted in 2019 of the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz.
He was sentenced to seven years in prison by a court in Brunswick, Lower Saxony.
A federal court in Karlsruhe, a city in southwestern Germany, rejected an appeal against the conviction in November 2020.
In Portuguese law, an arguido status can be a preliminary measure before an arrest or charges are brought.
London’s Metropolitan Police continue to treat Madeleine’s disappearance as a missing persons investigation.
Madeleine disappeared from her bedroom on May 3, 2007, during a family holiday in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, while her parents were dining with friends nearby.
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Source: www.express.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-04-22 17:33:00
