UPDATED 17.25 ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2007
THE MAN who gave a public face to the PJ investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has returned to police duties in Lisbon.
Chief Inspector Olegário Sousa, who was not a member of the investigation, became the PJ team’s press officer due to his previous experience in another case involving intense media exposure a few years ago.
Now, as the official PJ reports are with a judge in the Ministério Público, it was a natural that Chief Inspector Sousa would be released from his PR role.
The chief inspector has returned to normal police duties, leading a team of investigators in a department at the Lisbon PJ office dedicated to art robberies and connected crimes.
Olegário Sousa faced many difficult moments during his time as PR for the Madeleine investigators, declining to comment officially on numerous occasions about articles published in the press, particularly the Portuguese-language media.
The reason is now clearer, as it is understood he was kept away from the more sensitive information of the case throughout to ensure nothing was said to the press.
This was said to be a strategic decision by the investigators, so that no official statement could compromise the investigation.
It is also understood that he is very critical about the systematic violation of the secrecy of justice rules that prohibit official comment, in the form of leaks to the media.
