The man who is detained for the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann was injured on a visit to the judge yesterday. Christian B., 43, sustained two broken ribs.
B. attended a hearing on a drug trafficking conviction. In that case, the judge must determine whether he is eligible for a reduced sentence early next year.
Before the hearing at the Braunschweig court could begin, however, B. was taken to hospital to be treated for his broken ribs.
What exactly happened is not clear. B.’s lawyer has reported assault by guards, but according to the judiciary, B. has fallen. Journalists heard from prison guards that someone was “running amok”.
Rape
Last summer, B. was linked by the German judicial authorities to the disappearance of the 3-year-old toddler, thirteen years ago in Portugal. There is not yet enough evidence to prosecute him for this, but the investigation is ongoing.
It is not yet clear what the judge has decided in the drug case against B. If his sentence of 21 months is shortened, he will not be released: he has also been convicted of the rape of a 72-year-old woman in the town where McCann disappeared.
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