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International Law

: prisonlawinsideout

McCanns: Is a private prosecution the only way to get them into court?

By John Hirst

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McCanns: Is a private prosecution the only way to get them into court?

I am seriously considering bringing a private prosecution out against the McCanns because I feel that this is the only way that Madeleine will get the justice she deserves. I am not sure what happened about this attempt by Anthony Bennett. But I suspect that it fell by the way side because there are only specific offences which allow you to bring a private prosecution in England for offences committed in another jurisdiction, for example, Portugal. Whilst I have not been able to find any legal authority to bring a private prosecution in the UK for child neglect committed abroad, however, there is legal authority to bring a private prosecution for murder if the victim or perpetrator is a UK citizen.

UPDATE: According to wikipedia: "on 21 July 2007, the Crown Prosecution Service lawyers held "informal discussions" to consider whether any offence may have been committed under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, which deals with ill-treatment, cruelty, neglect and abandonment of children under 16". This would explain why Anthony Bennett's private prosecution attempt did not really get off the ground.

Originally, the McCanns, in phone calls to relatives and friends on the night of the 3rd of May and early hours of the 4th of May, alleged that an abductor broke into the locked apartment via the shutters. On the 10th of May, the Portuguese police were asking questions of the McCanns: "about why the three children were left alone in an apartment, with the patio doors unlocked, while they dined at the restaurant".

Whilst it is interesting to hear about the second version of events, I am more interested in learning why the McCanns felt they needed to invent and publish the first version of events.

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on April 28, 2008 (boomark / email).