Detainee for Magdeburg attack attributed attack to mistreatment of refugees

A Saudi Arabian national detained for running over a crowd at a Christmas fair in Magdeburg said the reason for his actions was the poor treatment of refugees from his country by the German authorities. This was reported on December 21 by Der Spiegel magazine with reference to the prosecutor's office.

"He called the motive of the crime dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia," senior prosecutor Horst Homensa shared with the publication.

The prosecutor noted that law enforcement authorities will check whether the suspect's statement is true during further investigation.

What happened in Magdeburg: a car drove into the crowd at the Christmas fair

There are dead and wounded

On the evening of December 20, a car crashed into a crowd of people at a fair in Magdeburg. The prime minister of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, Rainer Haseloff, confirmed that five people were killed in the incident. More than 200 people were injured, the condition of many is assessed as extremely serious.

Soon it became known about the detention of the suspect - a native of Saudi Arabia born in 1974. The police specified that he most likely acted alone. Information about the presence of an explosive device in his car was not confirmed. However, the media specified that drugs were found in the man's blood.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed their condolences to the families of the victims. The Russian Embassy in Germany clarifies information about the presence of Russian citizens among the injured.

December 21, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, arriving at the scene of the tragedy, said the importance of investigating the terrorist attack and preserving the unity of the nation in a difficult period. He and Interior Minister Nancy Feather were booed during their visit to Magdeburg.

On the same day, the Alternative for Germany (AdG) party called for an emergency meeting of the Bundestag over the incident. At the same time, residents of Magdeburg in a conversation with Izvestia criticized the policy of Scholz and the government of the country. According to a German citizen, there are no polls in Germany and no possibility to hold referendums at the federal level to stop Scholz or the dictatorship in the country.