Christian Brueckner wants to flee to a non-extradition country if he is released as expected in September, so prosecutors have applied to the courts to impose restrictions on his movements
Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner is set to be tagged and have his passport confiscated amid fears he could disappear when released from prison.
Prosecutors want the convicted paedophile to face stringent conditions if he is freed from jail as expected in September. His lawyer previously said Brueckner wants to vanish overseas to a country that has no extradition treaty with the EU or UK.
Investigators have applied to a court for him to be subjected to ‘führungsaufsicht’ – a form of judicial supervision. It is reserved for prisoners who have served time for serious crimes but are still deemed as being high risk.
Brueckner would have to hand over his passport to authorities and could also be made to wear an electronic ankle tag. This would make it almost impossible for the German to disappear or flee to a country without an extradition treaty.
Brueckner would also be banned from going near schools, nurseries or other places regularly used by children. And he would have to regularly ‘check in’ at a local police station and need approval to change his home address.
A source told the Mirror : “Under ‘fuhrungsaufsicht’ you can impose conditions, seize passports and so on. Of course we’re trying to make sure he can’t flee abroad – you can absolutely count on that.”
Prosecutors are desperate to keep Brueckner “within reach” so they can immediately arrest him if a warrant is issued. The German’s lawyer said earlier this year that he plans to change his appearance and head to a nation that has no extradition.
Philipp Marquort told the Mirror: “Sometimes he wants to stay here in Germany, sometimes he wants to leave Europe. If I were him I would leave and look for a state which doesn’t extradite to Europe or Great Britain, maybe like Suriname.
“We talked about the possibility of changing his appearance. I would get a face operation if I were him. I mentioned it would be nice for him to change how he looks so nobody can recognise him anymore.”
Brueckner is nearing the end of a seven-year jail sentence for raping a pensioner in Praia da Luz. He is expected to walk free from Sehnde prison near Hannover on September 17.
German authorities had hoped outstanding fines for an offence in jail would keep him behind bars until January. But they were dealt a blow in June when a former police officer paid the £1,300 levies out of the blue.
German prosecutors named Brueckner as their prime suspect in the Madeleine case in June 2020 but have yet to charge him.
Despite a lengthy police investigation, detectives appear to be no closer to charging him over Madeleine’s disappearance. He was cleared last October of a string of sex crimes he was accused of carrying out in Portugal.
Prosecutors are awaiting the outcome of an appeal against those verdicts lodged in Germany’s Federal Court of Justice.
Brueckner denies any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance in May 2007. German search teams spent three days hunting for evidence in Portugal last month.
Brueckner was living in a ramshackle farmhouse on the edge of Praia da Luz when Madeleine vanished.