Magdeburg car ramming suspect: Saudi doctor riddled with contradictions
Taleb Abdulmohsen, an Arab ex-Muslim refugee who had been living in Germany for almost 20 years after leaving Saudi Arabia, where he was being legally prosecuted for various crimes.
Crime scene and photo of suspect obtained by agencies.
An attack on a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg hit Germany on Friday. The attack, perpetrated with a vehicle that rammed into attendees of a Christmas celebration, killed at least five people and left dozens injured. This Saturday, German media have unveiled the identity of the only suspect, arrested after the attack by police.
According to reports, it is Taleb Abdulmohsen, a Saudi refugee who had been living in Germany for nearly 20 years after leaving Saudi Arabia.
According to reports that have uncovered his identity, he is a psychiatric doctor who abandoned Islam and became a fervent activist against Islamization. On his X account, which was very active, such messages can be seen.
Abdulmohsen left Saudi Arabia when he was being prosecuted for some unconfirmed crimes, according to some other reports. According to Euronews, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia filed charges in the past against Taleb Abdulmohsen for alleged terrorism and for facilitating the trafficking of women from Gulf countries to Europe. On social networks there are images that have published his Saudi identity card.
Contradictory messages on social media
In his social media posts, the suspect also maintained a staunch activism in favor of Saudi women seeking asylum. In this regard, the German Public Prosecutor's Office has argued at a press conference that the German state's policies on migration and asylum could be one of the main triggers that led Abdulmohsen to attack this Friday.
The investigation is ongoing but, "from what it seems, the background of the crime (...) could have been dissatisfaction with the way Saudi refugees are treated in Germany," said the prosecutor, Horst Walter Nopens, when questioned about the motivations for the attack.
An X profile still contains a web address allegedly belonging to Abdulmohsen. In it, he writes a series of tutorials and help for asylum seekers. As a header, the suspect repeatedly recommended in Arabic not to apply for asylum in Germany, but to apply for asylum in Canada, the UK, France, Switzerland, South Korea, Luxembourg and the USA, among other destinations.
Obsession with the right and the Islamization of Europe
In a 2019 interview with FAZ, Taleb Abdulmohsen described himself as "the most aggressive critic of Islam in history." He also accused German authorities of failing to adequately address what he called the "Islamism of Europe."
Many of the messages Abdulmohsen has shared on social media totally clash with his alleged intention to help more migrants seek asylum in Western countries, as stated on his website.
In yet another hint of contradiction, Abdulmohsen has publicly expressed support for the conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. On other occasions, he has also written some messages in favor of the conservative, and tough-on-immigration, Dutch politician Geert Wilders.
Speaking to Euronews, German terrorism expert Peter Neumann commented on the suspect's unusual profile. "After 25 years in this 'business', one thinks that nothing can surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim living in East Germany, loving the AfD and wanting to punish Germany for its tolerance of Islamists... that wasn't on my radar," Neumann said.
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