Questions about the fatal Christmas market attack in Germany clarify

Von WOM

The authorities in Germany are exposed to growing allegations that they could have done more to prevent a fatal attack on a Christmas market. A judge ordered after a nightly trial on Saturday that the accused will be taken into custody.

Details for the suspect and the incident

Taleb al Abdulmohsen is accused of racing a car into a busy Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg, with five people killed and more than 200 were injured. The motive for the attack is unclear, but the suspect is a 50-year-old Saudi citizen who has lived in Germany for over a decade and has campaigned for Saudis to flee from his home country. He was a vehement critic of Islam on social media, and the public prosecutor indicated that he may have become bitter about the treatment of Saudi refugees in Germany.

threatening messages on social media

In the last news, an increasingly threatening tone became clear. A message is: "If Germany wants to kill us, we will slaughter them, die or go to prison with pride."

"The investigative judge has ordered the custody for five times murder, several attempted murders and several cases of dangerous bodily harm," according to a opinion of the police early Sunday morning.

information about the victims

The police also announced additional information about the victims of the attack on Friday. One of the dead includes a nine -year -old boy and four women aged 45, 52, 67 and 75.

public reaction and safety precautions

The attack has triggered confusion and anger in public and in politicians. Questions about possible security deficits will be loud, just two months before the Bundestag elections, in which the topic of immigration will probably become a central point of dispute. Germany had strengthened the safety precautions at Christmas markets after a fatal attack in Berlin in 2016.

The chief of police from Magdeburg, Tom-Oliver Langhans, said on Saturday that the attacker was able to gain access to the market about emergency exits that are usually reserved for emergency vehicles. During the same press conference, the city official Ronni Krug assured that the security concept for the Magdeburg Christmas market would be "constantly revised and adapted".

warnings from Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabic authorities had already warned their German colleagues about the suspect, two of the sources familiar with the communication processes report. CNN asked the German Foreign Ministry to comment on these warnings, but was referred to the Ministry of the Interior, which in turn referred to the public prosecutor's office in Magdeburg.

Holger Münch, the President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, confirmed in an interview with ZDF: "We received a hint from Saudi Arabia in November 2023."

political reactions and public protests

politicians from various political camps used the fatal attack to criticize the government coalition. Sahra Wagenknecht, the chairwoman of the left -wing party "Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance", asked Interior Minister Nancy Faeser to explain "why so many information and warnings were previously ignored." Bernd Baumann, the parliamentary director of the right -wing extremist Alternative for Germany (AfD), called for a special meeting of the parliament to discuss security issues.

In the sign of the tensions triggered by the attack, hundreds of right -wing extremist demonstrators in Magdeburg pulled on the street, some dressed in storm hoods, and held up a sign with the inscription "Remigration" - a term that calls for a mass assignment of immigrants. The police reported on the demonstration of over 2,000 participants. The AfD plans a rally followed on Monday by a funeral march for the victims.

This incident left a deep impression in German society and rekindled the debate about security and immigration.