Former Madeleine McCann investigator slams German prosecutors over their treatment of suspect Christian Brueckner, says ‘they have no hard evidence against him’

A former Madeleine McCann investigator has criticized German prosecutors for dropping charges against the prime suspect in the British girl’s disappearance, saying it undermined Scotland Yard’s investigation.

Christian Brueckner cannot be charged in Germany over the disappearance of the British toddler after a court there ruled that prosecutors had no jurisdiction to bring a case against him.

The convicted rapist (45) was named as the man responsible for Madeleine’s kidnapping and murder after investigators in Germany claimed they had “concrete evidence” that she was dead.

Last year, Brueckner was charged with a series of sex offenses allegedly committed between 2000 and 2017 in the Algarve, where the three-year-old disappeared in 2007.

An investigator hired by the missing toddler’s family in 2007 said the court’s decision showed prosecutors had “no hard evidence” against Brueckner.

Convicted rapist Brueckner, 45, has been named as the man responsible for Madeleine’s abduction and murder after investigators in Germany claimed they had “concrete evidence” of her death

Brueckner has maintained his innocence in her case in a series of letters to MailOnline, insisting that prosecutors are “after him” and that they have “no evidence” to bring charges. Pictured: Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry

Julian Peribanez told The Sun: “German prosecutors have spent almost three years trying to name Christian B as the main suspect but have not brought any charges against him. This means they have no hard evidence against him.

“You cannot say that he was Madeleine McCann’s kidnapper and murderer and make him the prime suspect without charging him because that would go against Scotland Yard’s current investigation as it could stop people’s potential leads,” the researcher said. continued.

He added that he did not understand the reasoning behind the court’s decision that it had no jurisdiction, especially since Brueckner is in prison for the 2005 rape of an elderly woman in Portugal.

“Let’s hope it’s not a strategy to stay out of the Madeleine McCann case too by saying they have no jurisdiction – and hiding the real truth, which is that they have no hard evidence.”

The detective, who has lost contact with the family, said he would continue to handle the case personally.

German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said yesterday that nothing had changed in the baby’s case and that the Braunschweig regional court’s decision should be reviewed.

In a statement to MailOnline, Mr. Wolters remained optimistic and insisted that nothing will change soon.

The private investigator was hired by Madeleine McCann’s family in 2007 to find new leads in the case

He said: “We will continue to investigate the Maddie case and the suspect will remain in custody.

“As for the decision of the Braunschweig Regional Court on jurisdiction in the pending proceedings, we will first carefully examine the reasons and then probably have the decision reviewed by the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court.

“We continue to believe that we are responsible for a decision by the High Court to ensure that the investigation into the Maddie case proceeds as planned.

“From our point of view, there is currently no reason to speculate about a possible responsibility of the Magdeburg public prosecutor’s office for the investigations into the Maddie case and a possible termination of the proceedings.”

Brueckner has maintained his innocence in her case in a series of letters to MailOnline, insisting that prosecutors are “after him” and that they have “no evidence” to bring charges.

His lawyer Friedrich Fulscher told MailOnline: “By decision of 19 April 2023, the Braunschweig Regional Court declared that it had no jurisdiction to charge Christian B. and lifted the arrest warrant against him.

“The defense has already pointed out in the summary proceedings that the Braunschweig court should not be locally responsible.

“For reasons that are not understandable here, the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office insisted on their jurisdiction and therefore threatened to be overturned in the event of an opening by the Federal Court of Justice. This is very doubtful, especially considering that an annulment would require a large number of witnesses (too highly incriminating points) to appear in court again.

“The court’s decision also means that the Braunschweig court has no jurisdiction over the ‘Maddie’ case.”

The decision means the warrants for Brueckner’s arrest in the case will be denied, but he will not be released from prison, where he is serving a seven-year sentence for rape, and will not be released until 2026 after a request to be denied parole. .

In the German legal system, after receiving an indictment from the public prosecutor’s office, a court must decide whether to bring a case to court.

The Braunschweig court said alleged responsibility for the case in the area was based on his last residence before he went overseas and then went to prison.

But this is not true, because the suspect proved that he later lived in the neighboring state of Saxony-Anhalt, where he was registered as the owner of a property that he kept after moving abroad.

The court said that, based on her decision, she withdrew a new arrest warrant she had issued against the suspect in November.

In a statement, it is said that this will not affect the suspect’s current sentence.

The decision can be appealed to a higher court in Braunschweig.