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Saudi doctor sentenced to life in prison after he k!lled many when he ploughed into crowd at German Christmas market

Saudi doctor sentenced to life in prison after he k!lled many when he ploughed into crowd at German Christmas market

A Saudi doctor has been sentenced for ​k!lling six people and injuring hundreds when he rammed ‌a rented BMW into crowds at a historic market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg days ​before Christmas in 2024. 

He was sentenced to life in prison on Friday, June 26, 2026. 

The defendant, identified as Taleb A. in accordance with German privacy laws, was a psychiatrist originally from Saudi ​Arabia described by officials as having a ​history of anti-Islamic rhetoric and far-right sympathies. 

Prosecutors had charged ‌him ⁠with murd£ring six people and the attempted murd£r of hundreds more in an attack they say lasted one minute and four seconds and ​was planned ​over several ⁠weeks. 

Five women between the ages of 45-75 and a nine-year-old ​boy were k!lled. 
 

Saudi doctor sentenced to life in prison after he k!lled many when he ploughed into crowd at German Christmas market

The defendant appears to ​have ⁠acted out of dissatisfaction and frustration regarding the outcome of a civil law dispute and ⁠his ​lack of success in various ​criminal complaints, prosecutors have said. 

The attack shocked ​the country and stirred up tensions over ⁠the charged issue of immigration, months before ​a general election that was held in February ​2025.