According to Mr. Van Tigchelt (Open Vld), the Belgian OCAM list does not identify any profile similar to that of the Magdeburg suspect. “There is no one on this list who is or was Muslim and has converted to right-wing extremism,” he said. On the other hand, around fifty people on the list and presenting an extreme right profile are subject to surveillance.
A car rams into a Christmas market in Germany: the alleged perpetrator of the Magdeburg attack is an “atheist” Saudi doctor
The Minister of the Interior, Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), also stressed that there was currently no link between the events occurring in Germany and the situation in Belgium. “But we remain vigilant and we are not naive. We have seen 'copycat' behavior in the past,” she told VTM Nieuws on Sunday afternoon.
Five people lost their lives and more than 200 were injured in a car-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on Friday evening. A 50-year-old Saudi doctor, who worked in a small neighboring town, is the only suspect. He was not known for his sympathies with the jihadist movement. His profile rather identifies him as a supporter of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party or of Elon Musk. He was reportedly “unhappy” with the treatment of Saudi refugees in the country.
