Saudi doctor who killed six in car rampage at German Christmas market jailed for life
Five women and a nine-year-old boy died - and hundreds were injured - as refugee psychiatrist Taleb al-Abdulmohsen drove through the market in Megdeburg in a rented BMW.
A Saudi doctor who killed six people and injured hundreds by driving into crowds at a historic market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg days before Christmas in 2024 has been jailed for life.
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Five women and a nine-year-old boy died - and hundreds were injured - as refugee psychiatrist Taleb al-Abdulmohsen drove through the market in Megdeburg in a rented BMW.
He was described by officials as having a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric and far-right sympathies.
Investigators have said that the attack was carried out with a rented BMW X3, which reached speeds of up to 30 mph during the rampage. They said when they filed the indictment that the defendant wasn’t under the influence of alcohol, and apparently acted out of dissatisfaction with the outcome of a legal dispute and the failure of various criminal complaints. They also have said that he planned the attack without accomplices.
The killer watched his trial from a bulletproof glass box, built for his security in a specially-erected courtroom. He had been in Germany since 2006.
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During his trial he appeared remorseful at times and apologised to the family of the boy he killed.
However, he also used his time in court to rant about the "left-right wing" divide, migration and refugee organisations. A forensic expert labelled him a narcissist.
More than 200 people affected by the attack were represented as joint plaintiffs in the trial. Many of them attended the sentencing, and almost all seats in the public gallery were filled.
Given the scale of the trial, the state of Saxony-Anhalt, of which Magdeburg is the capital, had a temporary lightweight courthouse specially constructed.