Saudi doctor charged with murder in Germany’s Christmas market attack

Authorities have identified him as a Saudi doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had received permanent residency. Police haven’t publicly named the suspect, in line with privacy rules, but some German news outlets have identified him as Taleb A. and reported that he was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.

German authorities said they received tipoffs last year about the suspect.

Authorities say he does not fit the usual profile of perpetrators of extremist attacks. He described himself as an ex-Muslim who was highly critical of Islam and in many posts on social media expressed support for the far-right anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

He remains in custody as authorities investigate him.

The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, said in an interview on the German broadcaster ZDF on Saturday that his office received a tipoff from Saudi Arabia in November 2023, which led authorities to launch “appropriate investigative measures.”

“The man also published a huge number of posts on the internet. He also had contact with various authorities, made insults and even threats. However, he was not known to have committed acts of violence,” said Münch, whose office is the German equivalent of the FBI.

He said that the warnings, however, proved to be very unspecific.

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees also said Sunday on X that it received a tipoff about the suspect in the late summer of last year.

“This was taken seriously, like every other of the numerous tips,” the office said. But it also noted that it is not an investigative authority and that it referred the information to the responsible authorities. It gave no other details.