German prosecutors have called for 'biased' judges to be thrown off the trial of Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner.
Brueckner is suspected of abducting and killing three-year-old Madeleine in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
He is nearing the end of a seven-year prison term for raping an American pensioner in the Portuguese resort.
The 47-year-old is also currently standing trial for unconnected sex crimes he allegedly committed in the Algarve.
But in a shock move on Wednesday, Judge Ute Inse Engelmann overturned an arrest warrant for Brueckner after ruling the court had not heard strong enough evidence from witnesses to keep him behind bars.
Judge Engemann's ruling was a strong indication that Brueckner will be cleared of the charges he is facing and if found not guilty, could be freed from prison by the early part of next year.
Furious prosecutors have filed a motion to have Judge Engemann and her two fellow judges dismissed after 'concerns about bias', The Mirror reported.
The public prosecutor's office said it feared the criminal court had already formed its opinion about the crime and guilt.
As well as rejecting the current judges in the rape trial due to concerns about bias, the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office requested that the case be 're-appointed with impartial judges'.
It also intends to file an appeal against the decision to lift the arrest warrant against Brueckner, Bild reported.
Now a 'chamber of representatives' in Braunschweig must make a ruling by early August.
If the prosecution application is successful, the trial will collapse and a retrial will have to take place.
Brueckner is accused of five offences in Algarve between 2000 and 2017.
The offences include the alleged rape of Irish tour rep Hazel Behan in her Praia da Rocha apartment in 2004.
The Madeleine McCann suspect is also accused of 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.
Also, it is alleged that he indecently exposed himself in front of an 11-year-old in Sao Bartolomeu de Messines in 2017.
But prosecutors seem no closer to proving Brueckner was behind Madeleine's disappearance.
If their prime suspect walks free in the latest trial after a not-guilty verdict, it would increase the pressure to charge Brueckner over the toddler's disappearance.
Convicted paedophile and rapist Brueckner, 47, was served the court document last year as he was due to be released from jail and it was used to detain him in custody while he went on trial for the unrelated sex crimes.
In June 2020 he was named as the prime suspect for the 2007 'abduction and murder' of Madeleine McCann by German police but since then he has not been charged with any crime in relation to the case.
He was due to have been released from prison early last year after being convicted of raping an elderly American woman in the same area Madeleine vanished from when she was three years old.
The trial in Braunschweig, near Hannover, Germany, has heard from several witnesses including two men who claim Brueckner was involved in Madeleine's disappearance and a Scotland Yard officer investigating the case.
Judge Ute Engemann's decision following a request from Brueckner's legal team was announced in a brief press release from the court which said 'the Chamber revoked the arrest warrant at the request of the defence'.
There was no immediate comment from the prosecutors in the sex cases and from Hans Christian Wolters who is a spokesperson for the German McCann investigation but it is understood they can appeal.
Brueckner appeared in court in Braunschweig, Germany last Friday in a wheelchair after injuring his ankle and the application to have the warrant was made by his legal team was made last month.
Speaking to MailOnline Brueckner's lawyer Philipp Marquort said: 'This is great news for us and it's the end of the case - 99% certain.
'You just have to see the quality of the evidence presented so far to see there is no case to answer.
'His legal team is delighted with the news and I will be calling Herr Brueckner now to tell him. His main lawyer (Friedrich) Fulscher is on holiday.
'It means that the prison where he is serving his sentence has to start preparing him for his release, technically that should be next spring or summer but there is a good possibility it could happen later this year.'
The news was announced in a press release from the court.
In a text message to MailOnline Mr Fulscher said: 'I am the best,' adding a sunglasses emoji.
It remains unclear exactly what will happen in this saga next, but it's possible Bruckner could be released imminently.
And certainly his legal team are expected to begin pushing for this to happen immediately.
In the event that he was freed it would potentially be much harder for authorities in Portugal, Germany or the UK to pursue him over the Madeleine case as he could drift back into the nomadic lifestyle he lived when previously freed - while still having access to legal resources to put obstacles in the way of anyone trying to investigate him.