MAGDEBURG. Doctor, anti-Islam activist, 50 years old of Saudi origin, lived in Germany since 2006 with a permanent residence permit. Here's what we know aboutMagdeburg attacker, Taleb Al Abdulmohsenwho landed with one on Friday night BMW for rent on the crowd of the Christmas markets, killing at least two people, including a small child, and injuring 68, of which fifteen seriously.
Recently, the man had expressed himself online in a confusing way: he regarded German police officers as promoters of Islamism and had promoted a ccampaign in favor of the ultra-right AfDwhich in the region was the leading party in the last European elections in June, with 30.5%. First also in the city, which is the capital of the Saxony-Anhalt region.
Al Abdulmohsen was arrested immediately after the crazy act, which currently remains unexplained. Last night shortly after 7pm he fell into the mass of people walking through the Weihnachtsmarkt in Magdeburg, driving at speed for 400 metres. In one video, officers order him to get out of the vehicle. He gets down on the ground, raises his hands and says something. According to initial findings, Taleb A. is a doctor with a specialization in psychiatry and psychotherapy.
Born in 1974, arrived in Germany in 2006, obtained refugee status in 2016. Lives in Bernburg30 thousand souls, about 50 kilometers south of Magdeburg. His house was searched, as was his car: he was carrying a bag, which the police thought contained explosives, but this was not the case. He worked, Welt says, in a penal facility in Bernburgwhich deals with mental health of drug-addicted criminals. «From our information – explains the president of the region Reiner Haseloff -, it is a man who acted alone, who was arrested, so there is no further danger for the city, but the investigations continue».
He was not known to the services for being an Islamist, indeed in an interview with Faz in 2019 he described himself as «the most aggressive critic of Islam there has ever been in history». He's an atheist and asked protection in Germany precisely because he was persecuted in Saudi Arabia as an “infidel”. According to him, he had a mission: to help other Saudis escape and obtain asylum in Germany or Australia. He felt persecuted and carried forward conspiracy theories without rhyme or reason.
On X, on Friday he published several videos in which he said, in English: «I hold the German nation responsible for the killing of Socrates». And again, he talked about a USB stick stolen from his mailbox. «The government is criminal and does not protect me. The police are criminals. I hold the German nation and the German citizens responsible. They want to destroy our lives.” The cover of the social network shows a rifle. According to him, «Germany wants to Islamize Europe. We need the AfD to protect the police from themselves.”
It had been reported months ago by a former Twitter user, due to some posts that were later deleted, in which there was talk of a possible attack plan, but the complaint was not followed up on. «I assure you that 100% revenge will come soon. Even if it costs me my life», he wrote in the removed post. «Germany will have to pay the price. A huge price.” Last May, he said: «I seriously expect to die this year. Reason: I will do justice at all costs. Germany wants war.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser are expected in Magdeburg today. The attack in the region led by the CDU comes two months after the early elections, where the anti-migrant far-right is considered the favourite. And so, the short circuit of what appears to be a desperate gesture resulting from serious discomfort acquires a political meaning. But even stronger is the nightmare that returns: that of the attacks on the Christmas markets, eight years after the Berlin massacre at Breitscheidplatlatz, where 13 people lost their lives, including 31-year-old Valeria Solesin from Sulmona.
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