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. 

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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. 
 

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.