Germany is seeking answers to questions about possible security lapses after it was reported that Saudi Arabian authorities had repeatedly warned Berlin of the danger of a gunman who drove a car into a Christmas market on Friday night, killing at least five people.
The possible motive of the arrested suspect, a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric and sympathies for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, remains unknown. The man, identified as Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, left video messages on his X social network account on the day of the attack.
In confusing comments, he blamed German liberalism for the death of Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher, and accused the police of stealing his USB stick and destroying the criminal complaint he filed. The newspaper "Welt" stated that he was undergoing psychological treatment.
As the nation mourned and citizens left flowers and lit candles in Magdeburg, where the incident happened on Friday, questions were raised about whether more could have been done and whether the authorities could have acted on the warning.
A source close to the Saudi government told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Saudi authorities had earlier sought the extradition of the main suspect in Friday's attack, while a number of agencies acknowledged receiving warnings about him. According to reports over the weekend, the source said Saudi Arabia had warned Germany "many times" about Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, but did not explain how he was considered potentially dangerous.
"There was an extradition request," the source told AFP, without specifying the reason for the request, adding that Riyadh had warned he could be "dangerous."
German Interior Minister Nancy Feser has called for stricter internal security laws, including a new law to strengthen police forces, as well as the introduction of biometric surveillance. "It is clear that we must do everything we can to protect the people of Germany from such terrible acts of violence. In order to do this, our security forces need all the necessary powers and more personnel," Fezer told the magazine "Spiegel".
The deputy head of the security committee in the Bundestag has announced that he will convene a special session to investigate why earlier warnings about the threat posed by the attacker were not taken seriously. Taleba al-Abdulmohsen has been living in Germany since 2006, according to Reuters.
Holger Münch, president of the Federal Criminal Police (BKA), said during the weekend for the public broadcaster ZDF that Germany is currently considering security measures at Christmas markets. Munch said that as early as 2023, Germany received a warning from Saudi Arabia regarding the suspect, which German authorities investigated but considered unclear.
"The man also published a huge number of posts on the Internet. He also had various contacts with the authorities, insulted and even threatened. But he was not known for violent acts,” Munh said.
Taha al-Hajji, an exiled Saudi lawyer and legal director for the Berlin-based European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), said most Saudi opposition activists did not have a good relationship with the suspect. "He was always making trouble with everyone... He was really isolated," al-Hajji said.
The attack came two months before snap elections in February, in which the anti-immigrant AfD party is in second place in the polls and is particularly strong in eastern Germany, where Magdeburg is located.
"I would put it this way: every person deals with this situation in their own way, some are sad, some are angry," Andreas Bohs, who was passing by the scene of the attack in Magdeburg, where mourners left flowers, candles, told Reuters. , teddy bears and other stuffed toys. The local hospital reported that 72 injured people are still hospitalized, 15 of whom are in serious condition.
"Everyone has the right to express their opinion and this should not be used for political purposes. But I know that every political party uses it in some way," said Bohs.
AfD leader Alice Wedel, who spoke at a protest rally in Magdenburg last night, wrote on social media: "The state must protect citizens through restrictive migration policies and consistent deportations!"
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