A court in Karlsruhe ruled that there were now no immediate grounds for holding Kachelmann, 52, and ordered that the Swiss-born former television weatherman be released.

The ruling does not, however, mean that Kachelmann is off the hook: he still faces trial in September for allegedly threatening his long-term girlfriend with a knife and raping her.

Kachelmann was arrested at Frankfurt airport and has been imprisoned on remand since March 20 at a prison in Mannheim.

The court decided the evidence against him was not sufficient to continue holding him in custody. The complainant, Kachelmann’s girlfriend, was the sole prosecution witness and the case was therefore “her word against his,” the court said.

It could not be ruled out that the complainant had made false accusations, nor that she herself caused the injuries she claimed to have suffered during the rape, the court said.

Kachelmann’s lawyer, Reinhard Birkenstock, said: “Thank God there are still judges.”

The Karlsruhe court had “limited a justice scandal,” he said. He also thanked experts whose analyses of the evidence “brought the truth to light.”

Birkenstock said he was now preparing for the main trial, which begins on September 6 in Mannheim. Kachelmann is accused of threatening his long-term girlfriend with a knife and raping her. He denies the charges.