Almost a year after the attack Christmas market rampage: trial begins against Magdeburg driver of death
The attack lasts just over a minute. Six people die, over 300 are injured. Almost a year later, the perpetrator is on trial - in one of the biggest trials in post-war history.
10.11.2025, 05:52
10.11.2025, 06:12
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The trial following the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market on December 20, 2024 starts today (November 10, 2025) in Magdeburg.
- Six people were killed and several hundred injured in the rampage.
- Now the perpetrator is on trial.
- The indictment accuses the driver of death of murdering six people and attempted murder in 338 cases.
- Around 180 victims and surviving dependants are appearing as joint plaintiffs, represented by around 40 lawyers.
- An interim court building has been specially erected so that all those affected can attend.
Almost eleven months after the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market, the 51-year-old perpetrator of the attack goes on trial. The indictment accuses Taleb al-Abdulmohsen of murdering six people and attempted murder in 338 cases. Around 180 victims and surviving relatives are appearing as joint plaintiffs, represented by around 40 lawyers. It is one of the largest trials in German post-war history. An interim court building has been erected especially so that all those affected can take part.
The perpetrator was arrested immediately after the crime. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone/dpa
The driver of death raced through the Christmas market at speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone/dpa
An interim court building has been erected for the trial. (archive image)
Image: Keystone/dpa
The courtroom in the interim courthouse built for the trial. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone/dpa
The perpetrator was arrested immediately after the crime. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone/dpa
The driver of death raced through the Christmas market at speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone/dpa
An interim court building has been erected for the trial. (archive image)
Image: Keystone/dpa
The courtroom in the interim courthouse built for the trial. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone/dpa
The crime - one minute and four seconds
On December 20, 2024, the then 50-year-old Taleb al-Abdulmohsen drives through Magdeburg's Christmas market in a 340 hp rental car. According to the Naumburg public prosecutor's office, his journey took one minute and four seconds. He drove between market stalls at up to 48 kilometers per hour, with an average speed of 27 kilometers per hour.
The perpetrator was able to enter the Christmas market between a pedestrian traffic light and a concrete block barrier. The incorrectly positioned concrete blocks and the unsecured gaps later play an important role in the investigation by a parliamentary committee of inquiry. Immediately after the crime, al-Abdulmohsen is arrested and taken into custody. Expert reports later show that he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The victims
Six people were killed in the attack: five women aged between 45 and 75 and a nine-year-old boy. In addition, more than 300 people were injured or traumatized. They are not only from Saxony-Anhalt. According to the Federal Commissioner for Victims, those affected by the attack include people from almost every federal state. Some also come from abroad, such as Spain, the USA and Great Britain.
The victims and surviving relatives have the right to participate in the trial as joint plaintiffs. For example, they can ask questions and, in the end, also file a criminal complaint. The co-plaintiffs can attend the trial days, but they do not have to.
The accused
Taleb al-Abdulmohsen comes from Saudi Arabia. Prior to the death drive, he worked as a doctor in the psychiatric hospital in Bernburg (Salzlandkreis). His area of responsibility included the psychiatric care of offenders on three wards. At the beginning of February, it became known that a colleague had been concerned about al-Abdulmohsen's condition a few months before the attack and had also passed this information on to his superiors.
Several security authorities also repeatedly dealt with the accused - but he had ultimately fallen through the cracks as an opponent of Islamists.
al-Abdulmohsen had come to Germany in 2006 to complete his specialist medical training. After completing his training, he applied for asylum in February 2016 and was granted asylum as a politically persecuted person in July of the same year.
The trial
The Magdeburg Regional Court has initially scheduled almost 50 trial days until March 12, 2026. The chamber led by presiding judge Dirk Sternberg will hear cases two to three days a week, with a break around the turn of the year. Further dates are possible.
In the meantime, it was still in question whether the regional court would actually have jurisdiction. It initially referred the case to the Federal Public Prosecutor General in Karlsruhe for prosecution, as it was convinced that it was a state protection case. At the beginning of October, however, the Federal Public Prosecutor General declined to take over the case. The authority assumes that the accused acted "out of personal frustration".
The court building
A special interim court building in lightweight construction has been erected for the trial - to give all those affected the opportunity to follow the proceedings in person. The dimensions are huge: the courtroom is 65 meters long and 30 meters wide. It offers space for around 450 joint plaintiffs and joint plaintiffs' representatives and has 200 seats for spectators and media representatives. The state of Saxony-Anhalt is renting the building for the duration of the trial and expects the costs to be in the mid-single-digit million range.
