German court opens trial of Saudi doctor for Christmas market attack

A nine-year-old boy and five women were killed in the ramming attack in a busy market.

A court in southeastern Germany is set to open the trial of a Saudi Arabian doctor who is suspected of carrying out a ramming attack last year.

Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 51-year-old psychiatrist, will appear in court on Monday in the town of Magdeburg, accused of killing six people and wounding more than 300 when he drove a van into a busy Christmas market last December.

The defendant has been charged with six murders, the attempted murder of another 338 people, and committing a “treacherous attack”. The victims killed included a nine-year-old boy and five women aged 45 to 75.

Because of the large number of victims, a hall has been prepared as a special court that will be able to seat all participants, who are believed to include more than 140 co-plaintiffs and 400 witnesses.

The suspect, who has expressed antipathy towards Islam and sympathy with far-right politics, will be seated in a bullet-proof booth amid a heavy presence by German security forces.

Al-Abdulmohsen, who arrived to live in Germany in 2006, has been in custody since the day of the crime on December 20, 2024, faces life imprisonment for murder if found guilty.

According to prosecutors, al-Abdulmohsen was not under the influence of alcohol or other substances and “acted out of dissatisfaction and frustration over the course and outcome of a civil dispute and the failure of various criminal complaints”.

He has described himself as a “Saudi atheist” and an activist who is critical of Islam.

Abdulmohsen’s online activities also included criticism of Germany for accepting too many Muslim refugees and backing for conspiracy theories about the “Islamisation” of Europe. He has expressed support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Despite that, the AfD held a “memorial” rally at the scene of the attack, stating that the “terror” arriving in Magdeburg must be halted.

Co-leader Alice Weidel also referred to Abdulmohsen as an “Islamist” as she spoke at the rally. Such rhetoric has helped the far-right party gain prominence in Germany.

Following the attack, security services faced uncomfortable questions about whether it could have been prevented, given Abdulmohsen’s history of extreme rhetoric and violent threats.