The main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is now permitted to leave Germany after a legal restriction placed on him was lifted.
Christian Brueckner was released from prison in September after serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of an elderly woman at her home in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2005, reports Breaking News.
On Monday, a German court overturned one of the conditions previously imposed on him, which had required him to remain living in his home country.
Although Brueckner has not been charged in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance, he continues to be regarded as the prime suspect in both the German and British investigations, reports Breaking News.
He declined to speak with the Metropolitan Police after UK authorities sent an international request seeking an interview following his release.
German media reports indicated that Brueckner had refused to participate in therapy sessions while incarcerated, and that a recent psychiatric evaluation found he was likely to reoffend, reports Breaking News.
Madeleine, who was three years old at the time, vanished from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2007, shortly after her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, left her sleeping in their holiday apartment while they dined at a nearby restaurant.
When Brueckner was freed on September 17, he was subjected to several restrictions, including wearing an electronic ankle monitor for five years and maintaining regular contact with probation officers, reports Breaking News.
He was also ordered to provide his residential address to authorities and surrender his passport.
On Monday, a German court removed the requirement for him to reside in Germany, though all other conditions remain in effect, reports Breaking News.
Brueckner has consistently denied any involvement in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.
Multiple searches have been conducted by German, Portuguese, and British investigators since her disappearance, the most recent taking place near the Portuguese town of Lagos in June, reports Breaking News.
In 2023, detectives carried out searches close to the Barragem do Arade reservoir, roughly 30 miles from Praia da Luz.
Brueckner is known to have spent time in the region between 2000 and 2017 and possessed photographs and videos showing him near the reservoir, reports Breaking News.
In October last year, he was acquitted by a German court of separate sexual offences alleged to have occurred in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
Since 2011, total funding for the Metropolitan Police’s investigation—known as Operation Grange—has exceeded £13.2 million, following an additional £108,000 granted by the Government in April, reports Breaking News.
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