The main suspect for the disappearance of the little Brit Madeline McCann from Portugal, the German Christian Brickner, who was released in September, will be able to leave the Germany whenever he wants.
And that’s because a court in Germany lifted the judicial ban that had been in place until now for the suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The Court of Appeal in Celle, northern Germany, “partially overturned one of the conditions imposed on Mr. Brickner, according to which he should reside permanently in Germany,” a judicial spokeswoman confirmed to AFP today.
German tabloid Bild revealed this decision, which was made on October 28, earlier today.
Brinker was released from prison on September 17 after serving a seven-year sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old American woman in 2005 in Portugal. He was never prosecuted in Mandy’s case due to lack of sufficient evidence.
Prosecutors consider him “dangerous” but have been unable to block his release. He will have to wear an electronic wristband, inform the court in advance of his change of address in Germany and get the authorities’ approval for it.
Brickner currently lives in a tent in a park in Kiel, in northern Germany, under the constant surveillance of two police officers who have taken over his protection.
He himself appealed to the Cele Court of Appeal asking for the court’s decision to be reviewed.
After the earlier decision was partially overturned, the court will now have to “re-rule” on his residence issue, the spokeswoman said.
Brickner told the British tabloid Daily Mail that police want to keep him in Germany “to break him”.
“It turned out that there is no need for me to stay in Germany. And as soon as I collect some money, I will leave,” he said.
According to the two newspapers, Brickner had launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Godundme platform to raise money. The platform disabled his page.
The case of Madeleine, the child who disappeared in 2007 in Portugal from the room where she was sleeping while her parents dined at a nearby restaurant, has never been solved.
In 2020, German police named Brickner as the main suspect, saying they had concrete evidence, but that proved insufficient to prosecute him.
At the time Brickner was living in the Algarve, Portugal, near where the McCanns were vacationing. A cell phone bearing his name was found near Madeleine’s room that night
.
In late 2024 Brickner was acquitted of a series of child sex offenses committed in the same area between 2000-2017.