Trial of Christmas market attack suspect begins – DW – 11/10/2025

Taleb A., whose name has been withheld for privacy reasons, was in court on Monday in the eastern city of Magdeburg over an attack on a Christmas market last December.

The car attack, which killed five women and a child, shocked Germany and prompted dozens of similar markets across the country to tighten security measures, including car barriers.

338 people were injured in the attack on a crowded Christmas market.

Taleb A., 51, originally from Saudi Arabia. Was in Germany since 2006 and was a doctor in the city of Bernburg.

He was taken into custody immediately after the attack and has remained in custody since then.

He has been charged with six counts of murder and 338 counts of attempt to murder, among other charges.

About 180 victims and relatives will be co-plaintiffs in the case, making it one of the largest cases in Germany’s post-war history.

Taleb was a vocal critic of Islam and what he saw as Germany’s lax immigration policies.

He also supported several conspiracy theories. Prosecutors say she expressed her anger online, and then was attacked out of “resentment and frustration.”

His goal was “to kill as many people as possible,” he said. He faces life in prison.

Good morning! From DW’s newsroom in Bonn.

The main story Germany is talking about today is the trial of a 51-year-old doctor accused of killing 6 people and injuring 338 in an attack last December that shocked Germany.

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