Angry questions in Germany after Christmas market car-ramming attack

The German government faced growing questions on Dec 22 about whether more could have been done to prevent the Christmas market car-ramming attack that killed five people and injured more than 200.

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BERLIN -

The Saudi suspect, 50-year-old psychiatrist and anti-Islam activist Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, had made online death threats against German citizens and had a history of quarrelling with the state authorities.

He was on Dec 22 ordered by a magistrate into pre-trial custody after prosecutors pressed charges of murder on five counts, multiple counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, according to a police statement.

News magazine Der Spiegel, citing security sources, said the Saudi secret service had warned Germany's spy agency BND a year ago about a tweet in which Abdulmohsen threatened that Germany would pay a "price" for its treatment of Saudi refugees.

And in August, Abdulmohsen wrote on social media: "Is there a path to justice in Germany without blowing up a German embassy or randomly slaughtering German citizens?... If anyone knows it, please let me know."

Die Welt daily reported, also citing security sources, that German state and federal police had carried out a "risk assessment" on Abdulmohsen in 2023 but concluded that he posed "no specific danger".