Investigators are trying to urgently press on with the court case of the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance after fears he could be freed.
Christian Brueckner, 47, has been behind bars in German for seven years for raping an American woman in the area where Madeleine vanished.
However, now detectives are concerned he could be released even sooner despite being suspected of killing the little girl who disappeared in Portugal in 2007.
Brueckner is now seeking an early release from prison for the 2005 rape in Praia da Luz for which he was given a seven-year sentence in 2019.
The prosecution is said to be in a race against time to issue a fresh arrest warrant.
He was acquitted of other rape and sexual assault charges last year, but a court is considering an appeal against an acquittal, according to the Sun.
This means he could face a retrial.
German prosecutor Hans-Christina Wolters hinted in January that ‘there is currently no prospect of an indictment in the Maddie case.’
Now, witnesses in the Madeleine case have reportedly been called to a secret meeting to prepare for charges against Brueckner in a bid to bring the German national to court, the Sun reports.
‘Normally a move like his bid for an early release would be laughed out of,’ a source close to the investigation in Germany told the outlet.
‘But everyone is very nervous after what happened with his rape trial last year.
‘The court was surprisingly favourable to him.’
The source claimed that Brueckner will ‘disappear’ and is likely to ‘never be seen again’ if he is freed.
Investigators have not revealed what evidence they have to prove Maddie is dead and they have previously admitted they are looking for forensic evidence to link Brueckner to her.
Brueckner has not been charged over the disappearance and he has denied any involvement in it.
The source told the Sun that charging Brueckner in the case ‘would be the only ace left up their sleeve for keeping Christian B behind bars.’
One of Brueckner’s lawyers, Philipp Marquort, said previously his client is considering leaving Germany and moving to a country ‘like Suriname,’ which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with his native country or the UK.
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