Who is the suspect in the Magdeburg market attack, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen? what we know

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters it was “clear” the suspect holds “Islamophobic” views.

On social media, he is an outspoken critic of Islam and has promoted conspiracy theories about an alleged plot by German authorities to Islamize Europe.

He also expressed sympathy on social media for Germany’s far-right political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), retweeting posts from the party’s leader and a far-right activist.

Magdeburg Police Chief Tom-Oliver Langhans said police had previously conducted an assessment to determine whether the suspect could have posed a potential threat, “but that discussion was a year ago.”

Faeser told German newspaper Bild that investigators would examine “in detail” what information authorities had about al-Abdulmohsen in the past and how he had been investigated.

The German Migration and Refugee Office announced in a social media post that it had filed a complaint about the suspect, which it had “taken seriously,” but as the office is not an investigative body, it had referred the complainant to other authorities. .

A tip received by authorities is believed to have come from Saudi Arabian authorities.

A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC that it sent four official notifications known as “Verbal Notes” to German authorities, warning them about what they said were al-Abdulmohsen’s “very extreme views.”

However, a counterterrorism expert told the BBC that the Saudis may have been mounting a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudis seek asylum in Germany.

The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, told public broadcaster ZDF that his office had received a notification from Saudi Arabia in November 2023. He said local police had taken investigative measures. appropriate, but that the issue was not specific.

He added that the suspect “had various contacts with the authorities, insulted them and even threatened them, but was not known for violent acts.”