00:00A Saudi refugee is headed to trial in Germany for allegedly plowing a car through a crowd at a busy Christmas market in Madjburg in 2024, leaving six people dead.
00:12The 51-year-old suspect, Taleb al-Abdolmosin, appeared in court on Monday, seated behind bulletproof glass,
00:18faced with six murder charges, as well as attempted murder on roughly 300 market attendees, and for perpetuating a treacherous attack.
00:26According to AFP, a source close to the Saudi government said the country had warned Germany many times about al-Abdolmosin,
00:33a self-described former Muslim who has criticized the Islamization of Europe.
00:38According to The Guardian, Saudi Arabia considered him a fugitive and had requested his extradition between 2007 and 2008.
00:46But German authorities refused at the time over concerns over al-Abdolmosin's safety upon his return.
00:51Disturbing surveillance video from the market in eastern Germany from December 20, 2024,
00:57showed the moment a car sped through the Christmas alley, leaving behind a trail of devastation,
01:02as injured victims laid on the ground, with others panicking and running off.
01:06Matthias Bocher, the chief public prosecutor in the case, said the carefully planned attack also led to 338 injuries,
01:1431 of which were life-changing, according to The Guardian.
01:17Five women and a boy were killed in the terror attack.
01:20More dramatic footage from the devastating event also captured the moment German police arrested al-Abdolmosin,
01:26shouting commands at the suspect, who was crouched behind his wrecked BMW.
01:30According to German news agency DPA, prosecutors allege that al-Abdolmosin committed the minutes-long attack
01:37out of supposed personal frustration and to attract the attention he wanted.
01:41Al-Abdolmosin, a critic of Islam, has had a history of expressing radical views of varying kinds.
01:47The alleged attacker spewed anti-German and anti-Muslim rhetoric on social media for years,
01:53and urged fellow asylum seekers to avoid living in the country.
01:57He was also publicly critical of German authorities,
01:59saying they had failed to do enough to combat the Islamism of Europe,
02:03while also voicing support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany, AFD, party.
02:10In disturbing posts on his now-suspended ex-account,
02:13Al-Abdolmosin wrote about German authorities waging an Islamic war against irreligious Saudis.
02:19In one concerning post, the alleged killer laid out his theory of persecution,
02:23airing a disturbing threat to German authorities.
02:25First, I assure you that if Germany wants a war, we will fight it.
02:30If Germany wants to kill us, we will slaughter them, die, or go to prison with pride.
02:36Because we have exhausted all peace means, and all we have received from the police,
02:40state security, the prosecution, the judiciary, and the federal ministry of the interior,
02:46is more crimes against us.
02:48Peace is of no use with them, he wrote.
02:50According to a report from The Guardian, Al-Abdolmosin fled to Germany as a Saudi Arabian refugee in 2006,
02:57and gained official refugee status in 2016.
03:00The alleged attacker previously worked as a psychiatrist after receiving his permanent status.
03:06Al-Abdolmosin gained some notoriety in 2019,
03:09when he was profiled by BBC News for creating the website WeAreSaudis.net.
03:14Hi, my name is Taler. I'm from Saudi Arabia. I'm an activist.
03:18I created a website to help people seeking asylum, especially from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Treaty.
03:28The German court system doesn't contain pleas, but according to the Associated Press,
03:32Al-Abdolmosin told the court,
03:34I am the one who drove the car.
03:36He said he planned to respond to the charges for hours, perhaps even for days.
03:40If convicted, Al-Abdolmosin could face life in prison.
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