Overview

• A former Bundeskriminalamt surveillance technician paid Christian Brueckner’s £1,300 fine earlier this month, clearing the way for his September 17 release.
• The donor, who once wiretapped Brueckner’s cell, said she mistakenly believed the payment was for an insult fine and could not reverse it in time.
• Brueckner, serving a seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American in Praia da Luz, remains the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s 2007 disappearance without facing charges.
• Investigators lost an anticipated four-month extension to pursue forensic leads, forcing a rushed effort to build a case before his early release.
• Brueckner has refused to cooperate with police and plans to go into hiding, with reports indicating he may relocate to the North Sea island of Sylt.