Sniffer dogs have said to have barked when entering an underground cellar near where suspect Christian Brueckner lived outside Hannover, Germany. Video / Agencia EFE via AP
The main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will never talk to police about the matter, his lawyer has said.
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald just days after German police dug up a disused cellar where Christian Brueckner previously lived, his lawyer Friedrich Fulscher hit outat officials, accusing them of creating a smokescreen.
He denied his client had "anything to hide" but says he will not co-operate with any investigation.
"Before our client starts to co-operate with the prosecutor's office, you could order holy water as a long drink in hell. That is not unusual. It is very normal not to talk to the police when you are suspected of committing a crime.
"The prosecutor's office has to prove that a suspect has committed a crime, and not the suspect prove that he hasn't."
Fulscher also claimed the search of Brueckner's former property in Hanover where he lived until 2007 was designed to build "bad media" against the convicted rapist and paedophile.
German police officers search with dogs an allotment garden plot in Seelze, near Hannover, Germany. Photo / AP
German police officers search an allotment garden plot in Seelze, near Hannover, Germany. Photo / AP
Brueckner could be freed from prison after serving his sentence for drug trafficking if the European Court of Justice believes an arrest warrant relating to Brueckner's rape of a 72-year-old woman in 2007 was legal.
The lawyer accused German prosecutors of staging the Hanover search as an attempt to swing opinion ahead of the decision by the European Court of Justice.
"I am very surprised they have started a search there now and not much earlier," Fulscher said.
"I was very surprised because the police had known for over two years that the garden was used by my client. I think the prosecutors are trying to influence the decision of the European Court by making bad media."
Fulscher insists Brueckner is "not a monster", despite numerous offences dating back 25 years, including child sex offences, rape and drug trafficking.
Christian Brueckner is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Investigators have claimed they have evidence proving Brueckner was near the apartment in Praia Da Luz where the McCanns were staying at the same time Maddie disappeared.
German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said a pre-paid mobile belonging to Breuckner "pinged" a reception near the holiday resort just minutes before McCann went missing.
Wolters is not trying to find proof their prime suspect was on a 30-minute call to another man before McCann's disappearance.
Brueckner's lawyer says just because his cell phone was logged into the tower, it doesn't prove he was standing near the apartment.
He told SMH there is a lot of room for error and that Brueckner could have been "20km away".
