As the world waited for a press conference to be given by the police authorities in Portugal on Monday evening, BBC News 24 in the UK held an interview with the president of Innocence in Danger.
Homayra Sellier spoke of her concern that the Portuguese authorities were not positioned correctly to investigate cases of missing children. Following a visit to Portugal in 2003,Innocence in Danger, a Swiss-based association with branches throughout the world, took a decision not to establish a branch in Portugal.
Homayra said that during her visit she was unimpressed with the resources and lack of will to learn displayed by the Portuguese authorities she met.
During the visit of representatives from Innocence in Danger, the Casa Pia (paedophilia) scandal broke and the way in which this was handled added weight to the association’s concerns and subsequent decision not to try to work further in Portugal.
When Homyra spoke to The Resident today (Tuesday) she said that she did not want to cause problems, but was desperate that things should change and change now to ensure that issues relating to crimes against children were dealt with in an acceptable way.
Readers wishing to learn more about the work of Innocents in Danger should visit their website www.innocenceendanger.org
