New Delhi: At least seven Indian nationals were injured in Friday’s Christmas market attack in Germany in which five people were killed and dozens were injured, ThePrint has learnt. India has condemned it as a “senseless attack”.
The Indian mission is “in touch” with all those injured in the attack, according to government sources, and, of the seven Indians injured, three have been discharged as of Saturday evening.
“We condemn the horrific and senseless attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. Several precious lives have been lost and many have been injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims,” said the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement Saturday.
On Friday evening, an SUV car rammed into a bustling Christmas market in the German town of Magdeburg, located in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. According to authorities, at least five people, including a nine-year-old boy, were killed and more than 200 people were injured.
The attack is likely to sharpen the debate around immigration in Germany, scheduled to hold its federal elections on 23 February 2025.
The suspect identified by German media as Taleb A. is a 50-year-old psychiatrist who has lived in Germany since 2006. Authorities have not formally named the suspect yet.
Originally from Saudi Arabia, the suspect was arrested at the scene of the attack, according to media reports. He had permanent residency in Germany and is said to have worked as a doctor in Bernburg, a small town outside of Magdeburg.
According to his social media profiles, which have been verified by Reuters, the suspect is said to support the Far-Right party Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD) and to be anti-Islam, while also being critical of Berlin’s handling of Saudi Arabian refugees.
In 2019, Taleb A. gave a series of interviews to multiple media outlets, including the BBC, where he talked about helping Saudi Arabian civilians flee the country.
In the BBC video, he is seen explaining his work helping ex-Muslims flee the Gulf to European countries. Apostasy is punishable by death or a prison sentence in multiple countries in West Asia.
To another media outlet, Taleb declared that there is “no good Islam”.
According to reports by German media outlets, Riyadh had warned Berlin that Taleb was a security risk at least three times in the last few years.
While his motives are still unclear, according to Magdeburg prosecutor Horst Nopens, one of the reasons could potentially be the dissatisfaction with how the German government treated individuals fleeing from Saudi Arabia, according to German media outlet Der Spiegel.
“After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists—that really wasn’t on my radar,” commented Peter R. Neumann, a professor of security studies at King’s College London on the social media platform X.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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