The Daily Telegraph

Mccann suspect in hospital with broken ribs after court cell ‘riot’

- By Justin Huggler in Berlin and Jamie Johnson

THE chief suspect in the disappeara­nce of Madeleine Mccann was reportedly taken to hospital after suffering two broken ribs in a courthouse holding cell yesterday.

It is understood that convicted paedophile Christian Bruckner was taken away under armed guard and placed in handcuffs and leg restraints after the incident.

One source at the complex said there was “rioting” at the site where the 43-year-old career criminal was awaiting a court appearance in connection with a separate offence.

The hearing in the northern German city of Braunschwe­ig was delayed for two hours while he was treated for his injuries, which were not believed to be serious.

It is unclear how Bruckner sustained the injuries and officials refused to comment on the incident.

According to Germany’s Bild newspaper, there was a commotion at the court shortly after he was driven into the complex yesterday morning surrounded by press photograph­ers.

It was his first public appearance since being identified by German prosecutor­s as a suspect in the Mccann case earlier this year.

Just half an hour later, an ambulance pulled up outside the building and paramedics stepped out.

“Someone’s rioting in there,” one of the guards told them, according to Bild.

Bruckner was taken to hospital under police escort and was guarded while he was treated by medics.

He is currently serving a 21-month sentence for drug offences and was in court for a hearing about his potential parole on Jan 6.

But even if he is granted parole he will remain behind bars as he is also facing a seven-year sentence for rape. Bruckner has denied the charges but will remain in custody until the appeal.

It is not the first time that Bruckner has been accused of violence. A British f ormer girlfriend alleged that he became so angry at her hugging another man in an Algarve bar in Portugal that he grabbed her and banged her head against a wall. “He had to be restrained by four men,” she said.

“I didn’t talk to the police because I was scared of what he would do if it meant he got arrested,” she told the Daily Mirror.

While German prosecutor­s are treating the disappeara­nce of Madeleine as a murder investigat­ion, Scotland Yard says it is still a missing persons inquiry.

Bruckner’s lawyers deny that he had any involvemen­t in the girl’s disappeara­nce from the Algarve in May 2007.

The Mccann family have not commented on the case since June, when they denied reports that German investigat­ors told them they had proof that their daughter was dead.

Last week, the Portuguese press reported that a leaked memo from their Policia Judiciaria said they were “shocked” after being briefed on the German case against Bruckner as there was “no evidence, just speculatio­n”.

Portuguese detectives believe the allegation­s against Bruckner are designed to “keep him in prison at all costs”.

A source close to the Mccann family said last night: “This situation doesn’t help anything. They just want justice.”

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