Context
On the 20th of December 2024, a car drove into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg, killing at least two people and injuring a minimum of 50 others. According to authorities, who since have arrested the individual, this was a deliberate attack, by a 50 years old man, originating from Saudi Arabia named Taleb Al Abdulmohsen.
Summary of Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen
Taleb Al-Abdul Mohsen is a 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist. Initially arriving in Germany in 2006 as a refugee claiming persecution for rejecting Islam, Mohsen had been an outspoken critic of Islam and an activist supporting Saudi women escaping oppression. He lived in Bernburg, about 40 km from Magdeburg, and worked in a local hospital.
In recent months, his mental health reportedly deteriorated as he expressed frustrations about what he perceived as Germany's tolerance of Islam. Mohsen identified with far-right anti-immigration ideologies, supporting the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. He frequently posted online, accusing Germany of aiding "radical Syrians" and threatening retaliation for personal grievances with the authorities.
Although he was not known as an Islamist extremist, he described himself as a "lone wolf" and declared plans for "justice at any cost." He also shared pro-Israel sentiments in several posts.
Taleb identifies clearly as an “ex-muslim” and considers himself in a fight against Islamism. Moreover, he created a forum dedicated to “ex-muslim” asylum seekers called wearesaudis.net (bottom screenshot) where he provides guidance for the asylum protocol for different countries, including Israel.
DrTalebJawad as an Admin for the forum wearesaudis.net
Profiling of Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen
Collected Evidence - Twitter Threats Timeline
01/12/2023
Taleb claims the following: “I assure you 100% that revenge wil come soon. Even if it costs me my life. I will make the German nation pay the price of the crimes committed by it’s government against Saudi refugees.” […] “Germany will have to pay the price. A huge price.”
06/05/2024 and 08/05/2024
In this tweet he critisized the organization @atheistrefugees. This organization was in parts founded by Rana Ahmed, who Taleb is against and believes she “poisons any anti-islamic activism”.
He responded to his own tweet saying: ”I seriously expect to die this year” […] “I will bring justice at any cost.”
01/05/2024
This is the most incriminating tweet, posted 7 months before the attack:
In the following post, he explains that he had “reported to the German police dozens of times with conclusive evidence” […] “I promise you that justice will come even if I die for it.. And most likely I will actually die for it this year”
13/08/2024
This tweet says: “I assure you that if Germany wants a war, we will fight it. If Germany wants to kill us, we will slaughter them, die, or go to prison with pride” [..] “Peace is of no use with them”
Collected Evidence – SMS report to German Authorities
In 2023, a Saudi woman report to the German authorities about Taleb, concerned about threats on Twitter. She claims that Taleb expressed the following: “do you blame me if I kill 20 German people?”
Collected Evidence – Telegram Profile & Evidence
On the instant messaging app Telegram, Taleb goes by the username @D****. He is the Admin of 2 Telegram Groups:
- @bo*********
- @al*********
Collected Evidence – Telegram Messages
Timeline of incriminating messages on @al*********. In the messages it shows that he is indeed the owner (admin) of the group.
18/11/2023
06/08/2024
14/12/2024
Telegram Activity
Conclusion of Investigation
The investigation findings indicate that Taleb Al Abdulmoshen's motivations were not rooted in support for radical Islam but rather in opposition to it. On multiple occasions, he expressed the belief that German authorities were actively targeting and oppressing "irreligious Saudis," which he framed as a form of institutional antagonism.
The aggregation of threatening statements observed across platforms such as Twitter and Telegram demonstrates that the attack was premeditated. These threats, coupled with a pattern of escalating hostility, suggest the incident was the culmination of Al Abdulmoshen's growing resentment toward authorities, whom he held accountable for his grievances, while failing to acknowledge his own role in escalating tensions.
