Braunschweig - The main suspect (48) in the case of Madeleine McCann , who was abducted in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007 , could soon be released - but the authorities are doing everything they can to prevent this.

According to the British daily newspaper"The Sun", Christian Brückner is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of an American woman in 2005 at the same resort where Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007. This sentence ends in September.

Despite his current sentence, Brückner applied for early release in 2020, but no final decision has yet been made.

After the court acquitted him of further rape allegations in Portugal last year, investigators have since been working under enormous time pressure to bring charges against him in the McCann case.

They fear that if Brückner is released early, he could disappear and never be found again. Only a new arrest warrant could keep the 48-year-old behind bars.

Christian Brückner was named the prime suspect in the McCann case in 2020. A call to his cell phone on the night of Madeleine's disappearance brought him into the focus of the investigation and linked him to the crime.

Since then, the investigators have been doing everything they can to convict him, but time is running out. However, they are said to have strong circumstantial evidence.

If the court grants his application for release before charges are brought against him in the McCann case, he could still be released.

In May 2007, three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from her family's vacation apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas bar.

Despite an extensive international investigation and worldwide media coverage, there are still no clues as to her whereabouts.