Madeleine McCann: New arrest warrant issued for suspect in other cases

A new arrest warrant has been issued by authorities in Germany in separate cases for a man who is also suspected in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The suspect, identified by media as Christian Brueckner, is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for a rape he also committed in Portugal in 2005.

The term in prison is scheduled to end in September 2025.

Prosecutors in Braunschweig announced last month that they had charged the 45-year-old in five separate cases involving sexual offences allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 to 2007.

The Braunschweig state court said it has approved an arrest warrant, citing an “urgent reason” to believe he was behind three cases of serious rape and two cases of child sexual abuse.

The warrant is yet to be approved by authorities in Italy, where he was arrested in 2018 before his extradition to Germany.

Brueckner is yet to be charged in the McCann case, in which he remains under investigation on suspicion of murder.

The suspect spent time in the resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance in 2007.

He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.