Berlin (EFE).- The perpetrator of the December 2024 attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany (east), which left six dead and over 330 injured, has been facing justice in a trial, since Monday, that began with cryptic messages from the accused.
It is the most significant trial to be held at the Magdeburg Regional Court and in the state of Saxony-Anhalt since the postwar era. A total of 177 people are acting as private prosecutors.
The trial is taking place in a 4,700-square-meter (15,420 square-miles) temporary building erected specifically for this purpose, with a courtroom that can accommodate about 700 people and the highest security requirements.
At the Magdeburg Regional Court, where the accused, 51-year-old Saudi doctor Taleb al Abdulmohsen, was transferred by helicopter, he displayed various messages on a laptop, including «#MagdeburgGate» and «Sep. 2026,» but did not explain its meaning.
Al Abdulmohsen displayed these messages from inside the glass enclosure where he must remain for the duration of the trial, scheduled to last until Mar. 2026.
The court dismissed one of the lawyers’ requests to lift this measure, calling it «disproportionate.»
More than an hour after the trial began, chief prosecutor Matthias Böttcher started reading the indictment, which is over 200 pages long. The accused listened impassively, even when the number of victims was mentioned, according to the public television channel ARD.
Böttcher recalled that Al Abdulmohsen had lived in Saxony-Anhalt since 2006, working as a doctor.
On Dec. 20, 2024, between 7:02 and 7:04 pm local time, Al Abdulmohsen deliberately drove a 340-horsepower BMW X3 into the crowd at the Magdeburg Christmas market.
Incoherent ramblings
When the defendant took the floor, he linked criticisms of Islam and Angela Merkel’s migration policy to memories of his youth in Saudi Arabia and accusations that the German authorities had persecuted him and other dissident compatriots. The presiding judge admonished him several times for this line of reasoning.
According to the newspaper «Bild,» he showed signs of emotion when speaking of the victims of the attack. He apologized to their relatives and even cried when referring to the nine-year-old child who was killed in the attack.
According to the aforementioned media outlet, he did not offer a clear explanation of his motivation.
Life imprisonment if found guilty
According to the indictment, the man, who was arrested immediately after the mass hit-and-run, acted out of revenge, feeling unfairly treated after losing a case in the Cologne Higher Regional Court against members of a secular refugee aid organization.
Among the six fatalities are a nine-year-old child and five women between 45 and 75 years old, one of whom died days later in the hospital.
Abdulmohsen faces life imprisonment followed by internment for security reasons after serving his sentence for murdering six people, attempting to murder 338 people, and causing serious bodily injury to 309 people.
The trial is planned to last 47 days until mid-March, although more sessions may be held, with up to three days of trial per week, and 410 witnesses and five experts are expected to appear.cEFE
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