Christian Brueckner: To be or not to be

CB if charged will probably be tried under German law , no jury .....cases are heard and judged by judges .
,Jury trials are rare in criminal cases in Portugal.but when the crime in question is punishable by a prison sentence with a maximum limit of more than eight years, either the public prosecutor, the victim or the defendant may request a jury trial.

Vera Krista @ #722:
 
‘They have not lifted McCann’s arguido status as far as I am aware……’
 
I don’t think we actually know, although the ‘party line’ was of course that they had been cleared.
 
This was from July 2008:
 
The couple's spokesman said yesterday that he expected their "arguido" status to be officially lifted if the case was shelved, but it is not unusual in Portugal for people to remain official suspects for years on the basis that new evidence could still emerge.
 
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-big-question-after-14-months-and-no-charges-is-the-madeleine-mccann-inquiry-over-858287.html?r=37382

The presumption is I feel, that neither Gerry nor Kate McCann have ever been 'officially' cleared of suspicion.  That much emphasized word arguido has been overused and misused over a period of time, evoking misconception that the arguido status is final condemnation .... 'guilty'.  Like the word is the be all and end all.

I'm probably the worst offender for repeating that the McCanns are the prime suspects (arguidos?), always have been always will be unless new evidence comes to light that exonerates their involvement in the disappearance of their daughter, Madeleine 100%.  Whether or not they carrying the word 'arguido' is really quite irrelevant - fact remains they still walk under a cloud of suspicion, that will never change no matter how many new suspects are thrown in the cauldron.  It's just a manufactured distraction.

Over the past fifteen years new suspects have come and gone - Raymond Hewlett being a prominent character at some point, circumstances akin to the current [prime suspect', Christian Brueckner.  Even he of the German soothsaying factory mentions the paedophile angle in his latest revelation.

We believe that the main damaged party were the McCann arguidos, who missed the possibility to prove what they have protested since they were made arguidos: their innocence towards the fateful event; the investigation was also hindered, because said facts remain unclear (...)".

In any case, the fact is that the indications that were mentioned above were sufficient to make the McCann couple arguidos.

https://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/court_docs.htm

https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t17306-the-law-vs-the-mccanns#452558

as far as i could find it out, and it would be very much apreaciated peter, if you can ask that from the reliable source.

arguido in itself is not equal to suspect as we use it, but a status used to serve a person you have to question the right to a lawyer, but also some obligations, like the obligation to keep yourself available to an investigation. 

under most mainland law systems a witness has the obligation by law to only answer with the truth. but there is always a chance a witness could incriminate itself, not only in the case he is a witness too, but also to other criminal acts. i do know we have a duty of care, to see to it we not asking that from any person, that could lead to assist in any way of matter in their own conviction. our caution is only  you have no obligation to answer. in case of a suspect. 

if we go back to the time operation grange wanted to hear some people living in portigal, portugal had given all of them the arguido status, but did not deliver a declaration of being suspect. and legally none of those men were suspected of a crime at the time in portugal.
murat asked to be made arguido.
that possibility to active ask to get that status by a person looks to tell, there is in portugal no need for the same burden of suspicion as we have.

we have only witnesses and suspects in an investigation, and we have situations, we can only get beyond our duty of care (for the human rights of a person) to make someone in to a suspect, only that could give the right to a lawyer.

like in this situation, you are as a free person driving on a motorway, and got into an accident with a wrong way driver, in this accident the wrong way driver get himself killed. when you get at the place of accident, you usually end up with someone who is clearly a victim, is very emotional and talks just rubbish, but that rubbish could be words like what have i done, so the protocol in use is, you have to arrest them, even hold them trough the usual hold up channels, process them, and the prosecution officer has to say they could go or not. 
this is not a nice solution. my understanding from what i could get from what is to read in translated law opinions, in portugal you just could reach out, and give that same victim arguido status, and with that there is a declaration why that status is served to you. 

so that would mean arguido in itself is only a status by law, that translates more into the not legal term person of interest, but it fills also the gap between a witness with risk of incrimination, and a victim the legal assistance that is needed sometimes.

it would also fit with the arguido status of cb, without evidence of defined criminal act it is usually impossible to make someone into a legal suspect as meant in the law. 

so my understanding is always been, arguido is a status, but has no declaration of the role you have, but together with the giving of the arguido status, there is a declaration, why you get that status, and only there we start to see suspect, 'protected' witness, and even the difficult situations like i already painted, or just because another government want to ask you questions. 

we do not have what you more often see under a british based common law system, a witness under oath, or that what you say can be used in court as evidence. 
most mainland law, or continental law, based on roman law, with some french, spanish, german and other historical governments in it, give usually a very strict working to , that right to not incriminating yourself. 

for us it means, a confession is not a solution, in a police investigation, it helps very much, but we can use it as just all other information to finding out what must have happened. suspects can choose to tell porkies, retract what they said, keep their mouth shut. 

i would welcome a status as arguido looks to be, because it could solve a lot of nasty situations. you need a lower burden of suspicion and sometimes maybe not even that. 

i don't think i could make a decision under law, and do not even have a ground for making someone into a suspect without that burden of suspicion from facts and circumstances. joint investigations are not that unique, but i do not see how i could use the law, as it meant to be and could find the competences i needed for it, because germans say i have to make someone a suspect under dutch law. it is no choice in wanting to see the burden of suspicion, it is a must. our first article of law in both books of punishment the procedural and the criminal acts is nothing is punishable if not named as punishable by law. so without information, their would be no authority to act from that same law. 

and from what i do know about the still pretty recent history of portuguese goverments, they have pretty strict rules of law, they do not concur with playing them down.

but as i am correct and the arguido status is an separate entity, that just gores together with the role or title you get in or from a case, it means, you always have to go back to the declaration why that status is given, and that means you can not translate it into suspect. but it could be arguido plus suspect, arguido plus witness with protection. or maybe even for a vulnerable witness. 

arguido would than only be a set of rules for protection of your rights, and obligations to an investigation. 

the press communication from the portuguese sounds also in this case as if it are just different things, with the mccanns, it was said as they are know arguido's and why. so arguido is not the finger, but a status from that. 

the portuguese did have a word for suspect; suspeito

and it would nicely tell why the mccanns could make a habit of their own translations of arguido. 

we only have very recent the possibility to get a lawyer in advisory role when taking a witness statement, and not even as a overall rule. before it was for the the officer to decide if a lawyer could be present, but silent and out of sight if the witness, but the spray of diehard criminals made that to change, sometimes. 

again it is not easy to get a full understanding of your own laws and legal procedures, in other countries, in a languague you have to little knowledge of it is almost impossible to be really shure you did get the full understanding.  but in case of the term arguido in this case it would help if we get that one clear for ever. 

when you put arguido through deepl in the languages you understand you get very different translation back, all except what usually is used as suspect. even the old dutch word verweerder is showing up, and that had no conclusion in it that stands for guilt. in english defendant, accused, all i see is more as used before the courts, not a meaning during a investigation.

Q&A: Suspects and Portuguese law

Madeleine McCann's parents have been named official suspects by Portuguese police investigating their daughter's disappearance.

Previously, a 33-year-old British man - Robert Murat - was also declared "arguido" by detectives.

People given arguido/a status are officially treated as a suspect in a crime.

None of the three have been arrested or charged.

How is arguido status given and what does it mean?

Under Portuguese law either the police or a person being questioned can request that they be formally named as a suspect, a process called arguido.

Artur Rego, a Portuguese lawyer, told BBC News: "Arguido is the person who has been accused of being the perpetrator.

"This is just an accusation made exactly at the end of the investigation."

A person can ask for arguido status if they feel the line of questioning is implying that they are a suspect. This gives them more rights than a witness would have.

What rights does an arguido have?

Arguido status gives a range of legal protections, such as the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer during questioning.

Mr Rego said: "Sometimes when they [the police] suspect someone, they call that person in as a witness.

"They don't constitute him as arguido and they extract as much information from him as they can, because as a witness he cannot refuse to collaborate with the police.

"Now the moment he is constituted as arguido, as the defendant, then he can not only refuse to answer questions because they can incriminate him, but also he has the right to be accompanied in the questionings by his own solicitor."

Once someone is an arguido they can be arrested, but only if there is sufficient evidence.

What action can the courts take against an arguido?

The police can use their powers to bring the suspect before a judge to ask for restrictions to be imposed on their movements.

If they do, they could be banned from leaving their house or the area, or held in custody while the case continues.

In this case, the suspect is not subject to a judge's order, but has signed an identity and residence statement.

It prevents the person moving house or leaving the country. If they stay anywhere other than their given place of residence for more than five days they have to notify police.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6657977.stm

Ever decreasing circles..

Are we expected to take this dude seriously - Banksy's answer to crime graffiti?





Talks a good job, until you get to the bit about who buried what and where.

I feel a guessing game coming on, who is the Foreign Detective?

My money's on Tony .

Meanwhile back in the land of the Pisa taker..

Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner is 'hiding something', says handwriting expert as he mounts letter-writing campaign protesting his 'innocence' in disappearance of British toddler 15 years ago

Christian Brueckner, 44, was officially designated as a suspect last week
Now, a handwriting expert has analysed letters he sent to try to clear his name
Tracey Trussell described his writing - in near perfect English - as 'too perfect'
Madeleine McCann vanished from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2007

By Nick Pisa for MailOnline

Published: 11:10, 29 April 2022 | Updated: 12:46, 29 April 2022

Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner is 'super-cool, unflappable, calm and collected’ but he’s ‘hiding something’, says a handwriting expert who has examined letters in which he protests his innocence.

Convicted rapist and paedophile Brueckner, 45, who has embarked on a dedicated letter writing campaign to try to clear his name - was named by Portuguese authorities as an arguido - official suspect - in the McCann case.

Brueckner, who this week had his application for early release from a seven-year jail term for a brutal 2005 sex attack on a 72-year-old woman rejected by the German authorities, has written to MailOnline - along with his supporters around the world - to claim he had nothing to do with Madeleine’s disappearance almost 15 years ago.

In all the notes – handwritten in near perfect English – Brueckner explains how he feels he is being ‘persecuted’ by prosecutors and police and even accuses them of ‘fitting’ him up.

Image: Stan Laurel
Brueckner, 45, who has embarked on a dedicated letter writing campaign to try to clear his name - was named by Portuguese authorities as an arguido - official suspect - in the McCann case

But MailOnline showed the letters to handwriting expert Tracey Trussell, who reported back with a three-page expert analysis of his distinctive handwriting, describing it as ’perfect, too perfect’.

Tracey added: 'On closer inspection there is much more going on than meets the eye. It looks almost eerily unnatural – slow, contrived, mechanical and robotic – unforgiving in its transmission and deliverance.

‘The writer comes across as super cool, unflappable, calm and collected, not easily rattled, because the slant of the writing is vertical or upright. He’s also incredibly polite and well mannered, the left margin is dead straight, the script is legible and there are a number of arched or arcade shaped letters throughout. He’s motivated to present himself in the best possible light, and he’s hiding something.’



Tracy, author of Life Lines, and who is based in Hertfordshire, went on: 'The size of the writing is also very small, he is an introverted individual who wants to keep a low profile. He tried hard to avoid reality and escape into a world of his own.

'The thing is, people with such tiny handwriting, tend to see things objectively but are unable to step out of a problem, and end up completely missing the point.

‘This is a man who takes great care of appearance and calculates his behaviour painstakingly and conscientiously. His public face is uber correct, formal and together. He likes everything to be just so. He is almost unbelievably well organised and regimented in his outlook.

‘He overthinks things and everything he does is meticulously planned and thorough, the baseline spacing is uniformly and relentlessly regular, with the mentality of a perfectionist’s penchant for precision because there are no missing I dots and all the bars are crucifix style – crossed centrally, as well as his preferred style of block printing.

‘He resents intrusion into his thinking processes, which are likely to be somewhat warped. So his morals, are questionable and he’s good at blagging and faking things. Paranoia, dishonesty, manipulation or a second agenda is implied.’

But it was his signature that gave the most chilling insight, according to Tracey, as she said:’ This transmits a desire for nondisclosure. It’s not legible and transparent, like the rest of the script. He doesn’t want to be questioned, he wants to conceal his character and intentions, he wants to mislead.

‘He wants to appear to be more approachable and outgoing than he really is, whilst keeping his hand hidden so people never really know what he’s up to and that’s just how he liked it. He’s shrewd and wants to twist his way out of trouble.’

Brueckner was sensationally named as prime suspect in the abduction of Madeleine in June 2020 by German prosecutors – who even went so far as to claim they had ‘concrete evidence’ she was dead.

But after almost two years no charges have been brought and there is a growing fear that despite the clamour all police have is circumstantial evidence which is not strong enough to bring charges against him.

In his latest missive seen by MailOnline and written to a supporter overseas he slams his rape conviction and accuses the German police of planting DNA evidence to frame him.

He was jailed for the sex attack three years ago after being convicted of raping an American woman, in 2005 in her own home and just a few minutes from where Madeleine went missing.

In the letter, seen by MailOnline, Brueckner, writes: 'In 2019 I received a seven-year prison sentence for torturing and raping an old woman.

'This was the beginning of the story. I did not do that, so I was starting (sic) a fight by writing letters and complaining.

'At this time, I had the most lazy (sic) lawyer you can imagine, that is why I did it all by myself.

'The German investigators said that they found a hair after 13 years on the bedsheet of the victim which belongs to me.

'The trues (sic) are that they found 14 hairs but only two of them had enough DNA to find the owners. The victim - and me.

'That is hard to believe, isn't it but the prosecutors and the judge said 'guilty!'

'By the way how the culprit acted there must be found much more than 'only' one hair. But there was nothing else of me.'

Brueckner, who is currently in Oldenburg prison, was convicted after two former pals told the court they had found a camera in his Portuguese house which they had stolen, with footage showing him raping two women.

They said the victims were an older woman and a younger girl but neither has been traced and the camera has also never been found and it is now being used to bring two further rape charges against Brueckner as revealed by MailOnline last week.

But in his letter he wrote: 'Two guys I knew in the past said that they stole a camera of me and there was film inside showing me raping two different women.

'But nobody knows where this film is. It just disappeared. Both of these two guys told twice what they 'have seen' on this film (once by the police and once by the court) and there were four different stories.

'But totally different, the prosecutor and the judge said 'absolutely believable, guilty'! I really thought this was a hidden cam show but no, this is serious.

'The court definitely had the order to put me in prison, to convict me. But why ? At this time I didn't know what I know now but one thing for sure.

'The hair of me what they 'found' on the sheet was found because someone was putting it there afterwards. Who? There is only one possibility, the BKA which is the German FBI or Scotland Yard.

'I now know my real 'enemy'. For one reason I didn't know then, they wanted me in prison. Believe it or not I respect old persons more than most of the 'normal' people.

'It is just so sad to see how they are treated by the German government. I have double the reason to fight for my life!'

Brueckner then accused the German authorities of keeping him in prison so they could build up a baseless case against him for Madeleine's abduction.





He said: 'No problem for them (BKA) to find out the 'truth' in the McCann case where Scotland Yard and half the world have searched. What a good reputation!

'But now...without any helpful information from the public, the pressure gets high on them. People like to see facts. 'Not just say that he was it. Proof (sic) it!' But they can't.

'Instead of that the prosecutors shows in the public that I'm the right person by showing more crimes 'I did' in Portugal. Crimes against kids and women.'

He added: 'I'm sitting in front of the television and watch people talking about me and creating a monster out of me. To be honest this is very fascinating.

'It is incredible what people like to see. Not the truth, no, a horrible human being, a monster. And they get feeded (sic) by the prosecutors.'

Earlier this week MailOnline revealed how Brueckner claims in another letter he was not even in the area when Madeleine vanished from her parents Kate and Gerry's apartment in Praia da Luz.

Brueckner who has convictions for child abuse said he had 'Done nothing, ok, almost nothing' as he instead he had not kidnapped and murdered Madeleine.

While another of his notes sent to MailOnline accuses the German police and prosecutors of ‘persecuting’ him and leaking negative information on him designed to blacken his character to the media.

Former police officer Mr Williams-Thomas, who has also been in correspondence with him and who will reveal the letters in his show says Brueckner has told him where he was the night Madeleine disappeared and that he was not where the police say he was.



Last week Brueckner was made an ‘arguido’ or official suspect by Portuguese police in the case but this was purely on procedural grounds as they have a statute of limitations which prevents anyone being charged with a serious crime 15 years after it occurred.

In the letter sent to MailOnline, Brueckner confirms he has not spoken to German or Portuguese police and he is maintaining his right to silence until prosecutors in either country conclude their case and present him with files.

One highly placed Portuguese source even told MailOnline the ‘arguido’ status could also be a way to ‘officially clear him of any involvement and drop proceedings against him’.

Next Tuesday’s documentary by Mark Williams-Thomas, Madeleine McCann: Prime Suspect will also highlight mobile phone records which Brueckner’s lawyer has already said do not prove he was in the area and could in fact place him up to 20 miles away as the ‘cell’ coverage covers a wider radius than initially thought.

German investigators homed in on the mobile phone records which they said ‘prove’ Brueckner was near the apartment where Madeleine vanished from on May 3 2007 and this combined with his previous offending and profile makes him in their view a ‘prime suspect’.

How the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann unfolded

2007

May 3: Gerry and Kate McCann leave their three children, including Maddie, asleep in their hotel apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal. When they return, they find Maddie missing from her bed

May 4: A friend of the McCanns reports of seeing a man carrying a child away in the night

May 14: Robert Mural, a property developer who lives a few yards from the hotel, is made a suspect by Portuguese police

May 30: The McCanns meet the Pope in Rome in a bid to bring worldwide attention to the search

August 11: Police in Portugal acknowledge for the first time in the investigation that Maddie might be dead

September 7: Spanish police make the McCanns official suspects in the disappearance. Two days later the family flies back to England

2008

July 21: Spanish police remove the McCanns and Mr Mural as official suspects as the case is shelved

2009

May 1: A computer-generated image of what Maddie could look like two years after she disappeared is released by the McCanns

2011

May 12: A review into the disappearance is launched by Scotland Yard, following a plea from then-Home Secretary Theresa May

2012

April 25: After a year of reviewing the case, Scotland Yard announce they belief that Maddie could be alive and call on police in Portugal to reopen the case, but it falls on deaf ears amid 'a lack of new evidence'

2013

July 4: Scotland Yard opens new investigation and claim to have identified 38 'people of interest'

October 24: A review into the investigation is opened by Portuguese police and new lines of inquiry are discovered, forcing them to reopen the case

2014

January 29: British officers arrive in Portugal as a detailed investigation takes place. During the year, several locations are searched, including an area of scrubland near the resort

2015

October 28: British police announce that team investigating Maddie's disappearance is reduced from 29 officers to just four, as it is also revealed that the investigation has cost £10million

2017

March 11: Cash is once again pumped into keeping the investigation alive, with £85,000 granted to keep it running until September, when it is extended once again until April next year

2018

March 27: The Home Office reveals it has allocated further funds to Operation Grange. The new fund is believed to be as large as £150,000

2019

April: Controversial new Netflix documentary re-examining Maddie's kidnap is released

June 5: The Home Office gives the Metropolitan Police enough funding to investigate for another year

December 7: Paulo Pereira Cristovao, a long-time critic of Maddie's parents, was convicted of participating in the planning of two violent break-ins at properties in Lisbon and the nearby resort of Cascais. He is jailed for seven and a half years

2020

February 22: Scotland Yard detectives questioned a British expat about her German ex-boyfriend. Carol Hickman, 59, claims police entered her bar in Praia da Luz to ask questions about her former partner

June 3: Police reveal that a 43-year-old German prisoner has been identified as a suspect in Madeleine's disappearance.

2022

April 21: Christian Brueckner, now 44, is made an 'arguido', a formal suspect, by Portuguese authorities.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10766775/Madeleine-McCann-Suspect-Christian-Brueckner-hiding-says-handwriting-expert.html

Christian Brueckner was flagged as a key Madeleine McCann kidnap and murder suspect YEARS ago

Christian Brueckner was flagged as a key Madeleine McCann kidnap and murder suspect years ago by police but the report was ignored by German authorities.

According to German magazine Spiegel, police in Braunschweig sent a report about him being a prime suspect to the Federal Criminal Office (BKA) in 2013, two years before Inga Gehricke, 'Germany's Maddie McCann', disappeared. It was ignored.

Braunschweig police were monitoring the 43-year-old around the clock at the time. The report was triggered after an appeal from British police on a German unsolved crime show, on which the news about Brueckner was also broadcast this week.

Spiegel went on: 'One person did submit a tip about Brueckner but the resulting report from police in Braunschweig to the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation was apparently not acted upon, much to the consternation of the local investigators.'

Brueckner was born to a woman named Fischer but given over to youth authorities at an early age. Between 1992 - when he was 16 - and 1994 he lived in a facility for young people with learning difficulties.

A neighbour told German newspaper BILD: 'There were only bad young people there.'

He was involved in crime across Europe after that.

The pizza delivery boy wrote:German investigators homed in on the mobile phone records which they said ‘prove’ Brueckner was near the apartment where Madeleine vanished from on May 3 2007 and this combined with his previous offending and profile makes him in their view a ‘prime suspect’.

Evidence anyone?

Verdi wrote:Are we expected to take this dude seriously - Banksy's answer to crime graffiti?


I feel a guessing game coming on, who is the Foreign Detective?

My money's on Tony .

Tony putting on an American accent  

At first I thought it might be Alan Elsdon, but he's South African and isn't writing a bewk on Maddie. I doubt very much he would wear a hoodie and sunglasses to protect his identity either as he's got nothing to hide - he would just write a book in his capacity as a former police officer, and promote it on his website.