Christmas market attack in Germany: Saudi suspect identified with far-right, anti-Islamic views
Police walks through an empty and closed off Christmas market where a car crashed into a crowd killing 4 and injuring more than 60 people the evening before, on early December 21, 2024 in Magdeburg, eastern Germany. (AFP Photo)
The death toll from a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, has risen to four, with over 60 others injured, including several in critical condition.
German authorities have identified the suspect as 50-year-old Saudi-born psychiatrist Taleb A., who has lived in Germany since 2006 and held permanent residency since 2016.
The incident has sparked renewed debates about security, migration policies and extremist threats in Germany as authorities piece together the suspect’s background and motivations.
Suspect’s background and online activity revealed
Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, a trained psychiatrist who practiced in Bernburg, was known for his anti-Islamic views, far-right affiliations and support for Zionist ideologies.
Reports from German media outlets indicate that he had been active on social media, where he shared posts critical of Islam, supportive of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, and hostile toward both Muslims and Christians.
Screenshots from his now-suspended X (formerly Twitter) account revealed disturbing content, including threats of retribution against Germany.
In one post from December 2023, Taleb A. accused the German government of persecuting Saudi refugees and warned of “inevitable retaliation, even at the cost of his life.”
Additionally, he reportedly shared an imaginary Greater Israel map and criticized German authorities for their immigration policies.
What we know about Christmas market attacker?
According to initial findings, the man is a 50-year-old specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy from Saudi Arabia.
- He was born in 1974.
- The authorities currently assume that he is a lone offender.He came to Germany in 2006 and lives in Bernburg, around 50 (31 miles) south of Magdeburg.
- According to information from WELT, a police operation took place at his place of residence during the night.
- According to information obtained by WELT from security circles, the alleged perpetrator is said to have worked as a doctor in the Bernburg psychiatric hospital.
- The Bernburg psychiatric hospital is a facility run by the state of Saxony-Anhalt for the recovery and rehabilitation of addicted offenders.
- He has a permanent residence permit because he was recognized as a refugee in Germany in 2016.
- In an interview with the FAZ newspaper in 2019, the perpetrator described himself as the “most aggressive critic of Islam in history”.
- He was an atheist and had applied for asylum in Germany because he feared persecution in his home country as an unbeliever and critic of Islam.
- BBC and “Spiegel” reported similarly in 2019.
- He had made it his mission to show other persecuted people in Saudi Arabia a path to asylum in Germany or Australia, for example.
On Friday evening, he posted several videos there in which he says in English: “I hold the German nation responsible for the killing of Socrates.” And: “Another reason why I blame the German citizens for the persecution I experience in Germany is the story of a stolen USB stick from my mailbox.”
He later says in the video: “The government are criminals instead of protecting me. The police are the criminals. In this case, I blame the German nation and the German citizens.”
The man’s profile text reads in English: “Germany hunts Saudi female asylum seekers inside and outside Germany to destroy their lives”. And: “Germany wants to Islamize Europe”. His cover picture shows a rifle.
Saudi Arabia warned German authorities
A source from Saudi Arabia told Reuters that Riyadh had previously warned German officials about Taleb A.’s extremist online activity, citing concerns over his inflammatory posts. Despite these warnings, he was not deported to Saudi Arabia, where authorities had reportedly sought his return.
The Saudi government condemned the attack in an official statement, expressing condolences to the victims and reiterating their prior warnings about the suspect.
Political affiliations and ideological extremism
German media, including Der Spiegel, reported Taleb A.’s links to Germany’s far-right AfD party and other anti-Islam extremist groups in Europe. He reportedly supported an “academy for ex-Muslims” project in collaboration with AfD members and regularly criticized Germany’s refugee policies while sharing conspiratorial theories about Islamization in Europe.
In earlier social media posts, Taleb A. also accused Germany of conducting “a global operation to suppress Saudi dissidents” while simultaneously granting asylum to “Syrian militants.”
He even appeared on BBC’s documentary and publicly mentioned he’s an ex-Muslim.
Investigation ongoing; Second vehicle rumors dismissed
German police have conducted extensive searches of Taleb A.’s home and vehicle, but no explosives or secondary attack plans have been discovered so far. Authorities dismissed social media rumors suggesting a second vehicle was involved in the attack, stating that all evidence points to a lone perpetrator.
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) is leading the investigation, focusing on the suspect’s online activity, affiliations, and potential connections to extremist networks in Germany and abroad.
