A Saudi physician in Germany, crucial of Islam and supporting the far-right AfD, is underneath investigation. Authorities obtained tipoffs final yr. He stays in custody.
A Saudi nationwide was charged with homicide and tried homicide on Sunday over the Christmas market assault in Magdeburg, German media have reported.
Authorities have recognized the person as a physician who arrived in Germany in 2006 and was granted everlasting residency.
Police haven’t publicly named the suspect, per Germany’s privateness legal guidelines. However, home information shops have recognized him as Taleb A and reported that he was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.
German authorities stated they obtained tipoffs final yr in regards to the suspect.
Authorities say he doesn’t match the standard profile of perpetrators of extremist assaults. He described himself as an ex-Muslim who was extremely crucial of Islam and, in lots of posts on social media, expressed assist for the far-right anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) social gathering.
He stays in custody as authorities examine him.
The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, stated in an interview on the German broadcaster ZDF on Saturday that his workplace obtained a tipoff from Saudi Arabia in November 2023, which led authorities to launch “acceptable investigative measures”.
“The man additionally revealed an enormous variety of posts on the web. He additionally had contact with numerous authorities, made insults and even threats. However, he was not recognized to have dedicated acts of violence,” stated Münch.
He stated that the warnings, nevertheless, proved to be very unspecific.
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees additionally stated Sunday on X that it obtained a tipoff in regards to the suspect within the late summer time of final yr.
“This was taken severely, like each different (amongst) quite a few ideas,” the workplace stated. However, it was additionally famous that it’s not an investigative authority and that it referred the data to the accountable authorities. It gave no different particulars.
