A new investigation, for alleged violence against a police officer, targets the main suspect in the disappearance of the British girl Madeleine McCann in Portugal, the German Christian Brückner, the Kiel police (north) said on Thursday, confirming information from Spiegel magazine.
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Contacted by AFP, the police of the Hanseatic city confirmed Thursday the opening of an investigation, on June 6, for “physical aggression or resistance towards officials responsible for the execution of the laws” which caused the injury of an agent.
According to Spiegel on Thursday, Mr. Brückner photographed police officers standing in front of a supermarket on June 6, then resisted when they asked him to hand over his phone.
The agent in question was injured in the knee, according to the same source.
Christian Brückner, the main suspect in the disappearance of the British girl Madeleine McCann. Photo taken on March 1, 2024.
AFP
Christian Brückner’s lawyer, Philipp Marquort, confirmed the incident to Spiegel, accusing the police of a disproportionate reaction.
In May, the same police indicated that he was being prosecuted for “intentional reciprocal violence” after an altercation.
According to the Bild newspaper, he responded to the attack by a stranger – presumably the owner of land he had ventured onto – before calling the police himself.
Released on September 17, 2025 after serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman more than twenty years ago in Portugal, Mr. Brückner was never charged in the Maddie case due to lack of sufficient evidence.
Madeleine McCann, known as “Maddie”, disappeared at the age of three in 2007 from holiday accommodation while her parents were dining in a nearby restaurant.
In 2020, German investigators suddenly named Mr. Brückner as their main suspect, claiming to have concrete evidence which proved insufficient for an indictment.
At the time of the events, the accused lived on the Portuguese coast of the Algarve, near the McCanns’ vacation spot, and a cell phone in his name was located near their accommodation on the evening of the disappearance.
He was acquitted at the end of 2024, notably of sexual crimes against children committed in the same area between 2000 and 2017.
