Life sentence for Magdeburg attacker – particularly severe culpability established
A Saudi Arabian psychiatrist has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg. The court established particularly severe culpability.
Life sentence for Magdeburg attacker – particularly severe culpability established
The 50-year-old perpetrator of the Christmas market attack was sentenced to life imprisonment before the Magdeburg Regional Court. The court also established that there was particularly severe culpability. This means that early release after 15 years is ruled out.
The psychiatrist, who is from Saudi Arabia, was found guilty of deliberately driving into a crowd on 20 December 2024 in the city centre of Magdeburg. Six people were killed in the attack, and more than 200 others were injured. The man drove a rented BMW X3 across the Christmas market for 64 seconds, accelerating to up to 48 kilometres per hour.
The court established that the defendant had planned the attack in response to a civil court judgment from Cologne in August 2023. At that time, he had been ordered to pay 1,300 euros in damages to an organisation. The judges assessed this as a "narcissistic injury" that drove the defendant to carry out his plans.
In an email, the Islam critic had previously threatened that Germany would pay an "enormous price" for its treatment of Saudi Arabian opposition figures. He considered various attack targets, including a street café and a prosecutor's office, but ultimately decided on the Christmas market.
The sentencing announcement was interrupted by a technical malfunction: the microphone in the secure glass booth of the defendant did not work. Only after several minutes could the presiding judge continue with his several-hour long statement of reasons.
Preventive detention could not be ordered because the convicted man is not a repeat offender. However, the sentencing enforcement chamber has reserved the right to impose it later, as the judge emphasised the "enormous scale of the act" and the "exceptionally high dangerousness" of the man.
In addition to the life sentence, the convicted man was permanently stripped of his driving licence. The judgment is not yet final.
Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung