11 February 2024 , 18:37
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German police are setting up an unprecedented ‘ring of steel’ for Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner ’s court appearance this week.
The convicted paedophile, 47, is standing trial on Friday accused of carrying out a string of vile sex attacks in Portugal. It will be Brueckner’s first public court appearance since being named the prime suspect in Madeleine’s 2007 disappearance.
Media from across the world are due to descend on Braunschweig Regional Court for his long-awaited hearing. Authorities have drafted a series of enhanced security measures for the trial, which is due to last until June.
Armed police will be stationed inside and outside the court for each of the 29 hearings, the Mirror can reveal. Brueckner is expected to be moved from his high-security prison in northern Germany for the duration of the trial. He will enter courtroom 141 via a secure tunnel from a holding facility accompanied by his legal team.
Lawyers, media and members of the public will have to show formal identification to police before entering the court. Court spokeswoman Lisa Rust confirmed a ‘polizeianordnung’ - police order - had been issued for Brueckner’s trial.
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The convicted paedophile, 47, is standing trial accused of carrying out a string of vile sex attacks in Portugal (REX/Shutterstock)“These heightened security measures have now been compiled,” she told the Mirror. “The polizeianordnung is like an official directive issued by the law enforcement authorities - here the police. It governs certain actions or behaviour in accordance with the law and public safety.”
Photographers and TV crews will be allowed into the hearing - giving the public their first glimpse of Brueckner. Officers from Germany’s crack Special Deployment Commando (SEK) are expected to be in court.
Police will also guard witnesses in the trial, who are being flown from across Europe for the hearings. A German source said: “This trial is a big deal for the authorities. The eyes of the world will be on Braunschweig and they are determined nothing goes wrong.
“Because of the Madeleine McCann connection, the trial is probably bigger in the UK and Portugal than it is in Germany. Security will be extremely tight - the judge and the police will not be taking any chances.
“Given the high-profile nature of the case, there is a very high likelihood of increased armed police presence, both inside and outside court.”
The courtroom holds 100 spectators, with 45 seats reserved for the media, who have been pre-accredited. Brueckner is alleged to have carried out five offences in the Algarve between 2000 and 2017. They include the alleged rape of an Irish tour rep, who was attacked in her apartment Praia da Rocha in 2004.
Brueckner is also accused with raping a teenage girl in his Praia da Luz home and raping an elderly woman in her holiday apartment. He also faces a child sex charge for allegedly exposing himself to a German girl on a beach in Salema in April 2007.
His final charge relates to an alleged indecent exposure in front of an 11-year-old in Sao Bartolomeu de Messines in 2017. He was charged with the offences in October 2022 but the case was delayed following a legal row over jurisdiction.
Madeleine disappeared from her parents’ holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007. Her parents Kate and Gerry, from Rothley, Leics, were dining with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant at the time.
The couple have refused to give up hope that their daughter will one day be found alive. Brueckner, who lived in a ramshackle Praia da Luz farmhouse at the time of her disappearance, was named as a suspect in 2020. He denies any involvement in the crime.
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The German is serving a seven-year prison term for rape and drug trafficking and is due for release in 2026.