The Metropolitan Police is reportedly pushing for the extradition of Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, to face trial in the UK. Detectives believe they can gather sufficient evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service to charge the 48-year-old German national with abduction and murder.
However, a request to bring Brueckner to the UK for trial at the Old Bailey could be blocked by Berlin. Article 26 of the German constitution prevents the extradition of German citizens to non-EU countries. Prior to Brexit, extradition would have been straightforward, but now the Met must rely on the reciprocal extradition agreement between Britain and Germany, which came into force in 2021.
The Met is also exploring other options, such as handing over evidence to Portuguese authorities. As an EU state, Portugal could extradite Brueckner from Germany. Brueckner was sentenced for the rape of a pensioner but released last year. While incarcerated, he was named as the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance, but German authorities have yet to charge him.
Hans Christian Wolters, who led the German investigation into Brueckner, has repeatedly claimed there is concrete evidence against him but has never managed to secure a charge. Nick Vamos, former head of extradition at the CPS, noted that Germany's constitutional bar on extraditing its own citizens cannot be lifted, but Brueckner could be extradited if he left Germany or if Portugal chose to prosecute him.
This weekend marked the 19th anniversary of Madeleine McCann's disappearance from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, posted on Facebook: "19 years. The search goes on… to find our Madeleine, to achieve some justice, to make the world that bit safer." Brueckner, who lived near the McCanns' holiday abode at the time, has denied any involvement.
