German market attack: Suspect named by local media, appears before judge

A driver who rammed a car into a crowded Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, killing at least five people and injuring more than 200 has been named by an activist group after appearing before a judge.

Authorities identified the suspect as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabia citizen who had been living in Germany for more than a decade and worked as a doctor.

He has since been named by a US activist group as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, who had a history of making anti-Islam statements and said he had helped people, particularly women, flee Saudi Arabia.

Chief of the Magdeburg Public Prosecutor's office, Horst Walter Nopens, said that his office needs more time to determine a motive - but that the suspect may have been unhappy with Germany's treatment of Saudi refugees.

Police in Magdeburg, the central city where the attack took place on Friday evening, said that the victims were four women ranging in age from 45 to 75, as well as a 9-year-old boy they had spoken of a day earlier.

Authorities said 200 people were injured, including 41 in serious condition. They were being treated in multiple hospitals in Magdeburg, which is about 130 kilometers (80 miles) west of Berlin, and beyond.

The suspect was brought before a judge on Saturday evening, who behind closed doors ordered that he be kept in custody pending a possible indictment.

Describing himself as a former Muslim, the suspect appears to have been an active user of the social media platform X, sharing dozens of tweets and retweets daily focusing on anti-Islam themes, criticizing the religion and congratulating Muslims who had left the faith.

He also accused German authorities of failing to do enough to combat what he referred to as the “Islamification of Europe.”

The horror triggered by yet another act of mass violence in Germany make it likely that migration will remain a key issue as German heads toward an early election on February 23.

The far-right Alternative for Germany party had already been polling strongly amid a societal backlash against the large numbers of refugees and migrants who have arrived in Germany over the past decade.

Right-wing figures from across Europe have criticised German authorities for having allowed high levels of migration in the past and for what they see as security failures now.

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