Madeleine McCann suspect could be allowed to leave Germany: Court

Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, was released from prison in September. Photo / Moritz Frankenberg, POOL, AFP

The prime suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann could be allowed to leave Germany following a court decision.

Christian Brueckner, who was revealed as a suspect in the case in 2020 but never charged, was released from a German prison on September 17 after serving a sentence on separate rape charges.

An appeals court in Celle in northern Germany “partially overturned one of the conditions imposed on Mr Brueckner, according to which he had to establish his residence in Germany”, a court spokesperson confirmed to AFP on Sunday.

Following the partial reversal, the court “will have to rule again” on the issue of his residency, the spokesperson added.

The German tabloid Bild had first reported the decision on October 26 .

Considered dangerous by prosecutors, Brueckner was required after his release to wear an electronic tag, inform the court in advance of any change of address or residence in Germany, and obtain its approval.

Brueckner is now sleeping in a tent in a park in Kiel, a city on the Baltic Sea in northern Germany, under the constant surveillance of two police officers assigned to protect him.

Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents dined at a nearby tapas bar.

Despite a huge international search and global media attention, no trace of her has been found and no one has been charged over her disappearance.

German prosecutors, in a bombshell announcement in 2020, named Brueckner, who is known to have lived in the area on and off at the time, as their top suspect.

They have said they have “concrete evidence” but not enough to secure a conviction, and have therefore refrained from charging him over Maddie’s killing.

Brueckner has a string of previous convictions for crimes including theft, drug trafficking, assault, child pornography, child abuse and rape.

-Agence France-Presse