Fears Maddie 'prime suspect' could be set free

MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner could walk free after German prosecutors failed in their bid to oust "biased" judges.

- Rob Hyde

Officials believe the convicted paedophile and rapist abducted and killed Madeleine, three, in May 2007 but so far he has not been charged.

Brueckner, 47, is currently on trial on charges unrelated to Madeleine's disappearance, accused of three rapes and sexual abuse of two children in the Algarve between 2000 and 2017. But attempts to have three judges dismissed for alleged bias towards him failed last week.

Unlike the UK where defendants in criminal trials are tried by juries, in Germany a panel of three judges decide the verdict.

In particular, prosecutors objected when Judge Ute Inse Engelmann overturned an arrest warrant, ruling the court had not heard strong enough evidence from witnesses to keep him behind bars.