Bio

He was born in Saudi Arabia and was about 50 years old according to reports. He moved to Germany in March 2006. He was recognized as a refugee in July 2016 and later received a settlement permit to live in Germany. He lived in Bernburg.

Reports describe him as a doctor from Saudi Arabia. He worked as a psychologist and psychiatrist in a clinic that included a correctional facility in Bernburg.

He set up a website called wearesaudis.net. He used the site and other online channels to help Saudis who wanted to leave the country. He appeared on BBC News in 2019 and spoke in interviews about helping apostates from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf seek asylum.

His online posts included criticism of Islam and support for people who left the religion. He also shared pro-Israel content and material from right-leaning figures. Media reports said he showed sympathy for far-right ideas and had contacts with some organizations in Germany and the UK.

German authorities granted him political asylum in 2016 despite a request from Saudi Arabia for his extradition. Saudi officials warned German security agencies about him several times between November 2023 and September 2024. German security services received reports about him in 2023. He had been reported to police by people on multiple occasions, and a 2013 court record shows a sentence related to threatening behavior.

Murder Story

On 20 December 2024, an SUV was driven into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. Six people were killed and 309 others were injured. The driver, allegedly 50-year-old anti-Islam activist Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, was arrested at the scene. German authorities described the suspect as Islamophobic. Investigators continued to search for a motive, which remained unknown. The Federal Prosecutor General classified the attack as a rampage and not as an act of terrorism.

Magdeburg is the capital of Saxony-Anhalt and holds an annual Christmas market near the city hall and a large shopping center. Christmas markets in Germany had been targeted before, including the 2016 attack in Berlin that killed 12 people. Two weeks before the Magdeburg attack, an Iraqi man was arrested on suspicion of planning an attack on a different Christmas market.

Police said the vehicle had been rented shortly before the attack. People who were uninjured helped give first aid to the wounded until emergency services arrived. A luggage item found in the passenger seat led police to check for explosives, but none were found. Five people died at the time of the attack, including four women aged between 45 and 75 and nine-year-old André Gleissner. A 52-year-old woman later died from her injuries in January 2025, becoming the sixth fatality. Authorities later revised the number of injured to 299, and at the suspect’s trial 309 injuries were counted.

Authorities named the suspect as “Taleb A.” under German privacy rules. Media reports identified him as Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who lived in Bernburg and worked as a psychologist and psychiatrist in a correctional facility. He had immigrated to Germany in March 2006, was recognized as a refugee in July 2016, and held a settlement permit. Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about him three times between November 2023 and September 2024, saying he was dangerous, but Germany treated the warnings as targeting a dissident.

Abdulmohsen had posted anti-Islam material online and described himself as a former Muslim. He ran a website and used social media to help Saudi apostates seek asylum. He shared right-wing content and expressed support for the AfD party. In May 2024 he wrote that he expected to die that year and said he would “ensure justice at any cost.” Minutes before the attack, he posted videos in which he criticized the police and German citizens. German officials said there had been several reports to police about his threats and that he had been sentenced in 2013 for threatening offenses.

After the arrest, the suspect was brought before a judge and kept in custody on multiple counts. On 10 November 2025, his trial began at the Langericht Magdeburg. He was charged with six counts of murder and 338 counts of attempted murder, including people who were not physically injured during the attack. He admitted to driving the car. His first court statement lasted about 90 minutes and was described by observers as incoherent, moving between religious, political, and personal themes. He showed no remorse and offered no apology to victims, though he briefly cried while addressing the parents of the nine-year-old killed in the attack.

The attack led to increased security at many Christmas markets in Germany and at events abroad. Hundreds of people created a makeshift memorial near St. John’s Church in Magdeburg. Political leaders and foreign governments expressed condolences. German officials announced a parliamentary inquiry into the security arrangements and the handling of warnings about the suspect.

After the attack, misinformation spread online about the perpetrator and the events. Some far-right groups organized anti-migration protests at the site. German authorities said they were still investigating the suspect’s motives, including whether his actions were influenced by grievances about Germany’s treatment of Saudi refugees. Security officials also reviewed the market’s security concept and the gaps that allowed the attacker to enter the market area.