Germany Expert witness: Magdeburg driver of death is still dangerous
According to an expert opinion, the driver killed at the Magdeburg Christmas market is capable of culpability and remains dangerous.
28.01.2026, 14:08
SDA
He will show that there are no reasons for the defendant's culpability or incapacity, explained psychiatric expert Bernd Langer at the beginning of his statements in the trial against Taleb al-Abdulmohsen at Magdeburg District Court in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt. According to Langer, the 51-year-old continues to pose a danger to the general public.
Six dead and more than 300 injured
According to the indictment by the public prosecutor's office in Naumburg, al-Abdulmohsen had driven a car weighing more than two tons and with 340 hp for around 350 meters over the Christmas market in Magdeburg on 20 December 2024. The accused was driving at speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour. Five women and a nine-year-old boy died. More than 300 people were injured.
After the crime, al-Abdulmohsen, who comes from Saudi Arabia, refused to talk to a psychiatrist. The expert witness was therefore present on a number of trial days and observed his behavior. According to his own statements, he also had access to the investigation files.
Defendant rages in the security booth
During the expert's statements, the accused became angry and swore loudly in the security booth. At this point, Langer spoke about the 51-year-old's commitment to refugees and about a "competitive struggle" between him and an organization that the accused had been heavily criticizing for years.
After unsuccessfully admonishing him to be quiet, presiding judge Dirk Sternberg switched off the 51-year-old's microphone so that the expert witness could continue his remarks until a lunch break. However, the defendant's shouting could be heard from the security booth even without the microphone. He repeatedly banged his hand on the table in front of him.
Until the attack at the Christmas market, Al-Abdulmohsen worked as a psychiatrist in a correctional facility for mentally ill offenders in Bernburg. The indictment accuses him of six counts of completed murder and 338 other counts of attempted murder. He has essentially admitted to the crime.
