Law enforcement in Germany is facing criticisms over security and intelligence failure after a Saudi national rammed a car into a crowd at a busy Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five people and injuring dozens.
German interior minister Nancy Faeser and the heads of intelligence services are expected to answer questions at parliamentary committee hearings on 30 December.
German authorities social media said it received a tip in late summer 2023, which was “taken seriously”. Police said in a dispute over the recognition of examination results, the suspect threatened members of the state medical association with an act that would attract international attention.
Authorities named the nine-year-old boy who was among five people killed, as thousands of pounds were raised for his grieving family.
In a heartbreaking social media post, the mother of André Gleißner paid tribute to her son, saying: “Let my little teddy bear fly around the world again. André didn’t do anything to anybody. He was only with us on earth for nine years. Why you? Just why.”
Meanwhile, the Saudi doctor accused of driving into the market in Magdeburg has appeared in court.
In pictures: Scenes from the incident
Birmingham Christmas market reviews security processes
One of the UK’s biggest Christmas markets said it has reviewed its security processes in the wake of the attack on a German Christmas market which left five people dead and more than 200 injured.
Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market’s security processes were reviewed and discussed with a police security adviser after a BMW ploughed into customers at the busy festive market in Magdeburg on Friday evening.
It said no changes are required and all staff remain vigilant.
The PA news agency understands there is no specific intelligence indicating a threat to Christmas markets in the UK.
The threat level for the whole of the UK remains at substantial, meaning an attack is likely.
A joint statement from Frankfurt Christmas Market Ltd and Kurt Stroscher, Frankfurt City Council, said: “Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market has a robust security concept that is the result of multi-agency planning that includes police security and counter-terrorism specialists.
“In light of last night’s tragic events in Germany the processes were reviewed and discussed with the police security adviser. No changes are required and all staff remain vigilant.
“Incidents such as those now occurring in Magdeburg reaffirm the efforts of all those responsible for the Christmas market in Birmingham to constantly rethink and optimise the security concept and demonstrate the need to continue this with the aim of achieving the greatest possible safety for visitors.”
France extends Olympics surveillance measures to Christmas market
Friday’s deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has prompted renewed scrutiny in a number of European countries of security arrangements for the seasonal markets, which draw large crowds.
But the French interior ministry’s broad use of powers introduced under a 2017 anti-terror law to strictly limit the movements of individuals deemed a serious security threat was already drawing criticism from some lawyers and human rights activists before the attack.
At least 547 people were placed under an “individual measure of administrative control and surveillance” for the Paris Olympics, according to a parliamentary report published on Dec. 11, even though some, like Khaled, had never faced criminal charges.
Now, some lawyers and activists are concerned that the wider use of these measures, known by the French acronym MICAS, could become the norm for other major public events.
The interior ministry, which is in charge of police, and the local authority for the Bas-Rhin region, which includes Strasbourg, did not answer questions about those targeted because of the Christmas market.
UK Christmas market reviews security in wake of Magdeburg attack
One of the UK’s biggest Christmas markets said it has reviewed its security processes in the wake of the attack on a German Christmas market which left five people dead and more than 200 injured.
Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market’s security processes were reviewed and discussed with a police security adviser after a BMW ploughed into customers at the busy festive market in Magdeburg on Friday evening.
It said no changes are required and all staff remain vigilant.
Who is the German Christmas market attack suspect?
Police have arrested a 50-year-old man after a car ploughed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday evening, killing at least five people and injuring 200 others.
At least five people – including a nine-year-old boy and four women – were killed in the attack as the suspect is remanded in custody.
Footage showed the vehicle breaking through barriers before speeding 400 metres through the crammed “fairytale-like” Magdeburg market.
More here.
‘No stone will be left unturned’ in wake of Christmas market attack
As criticism continues to mount of Germany’s security failure to stop the attacker, the interior minister Nancy Faesar has said the heads of the country’s intelligence services would be questioned by two parliamentary committees.
She promised Bild newspaper that “no stone will be left unturned”, adding that authorities would “clarify all this background. They will also examine in detail what information was available in the past, and how it was followed up.”
Faeser said that the current task was to understand the suspect “who does not fit any existing mould”.
Everything we know about Magdeburg attack
An extensive police operation is underway following the attack at the market in the German city of Magdeburg that happened at around 7pm local time on Friday.
Athena Stavrou has this rundown of what we know so far:
In pics: People pay tribute at the site of the Magdeburg Christmas market attack
German vice-chancellor issues warning over disinformation
Germany’s vice-chancellor Robert Habeck has issued a warning against disinformation in the wake of the attack in Magdeburg.
The Green Party’s candidate for chancellor said in a video published on social media: “Don’t believe what propagandists on the internet want you to believe. Lies are faster than the truth. Take time for the truth. Take time for scepticism, for doubt, for asking questions. Don’t let hatred infect you.”
German authorities received tipoffs last year about the suspect
German authorities said they received tipoffs last year about the suspect in a car attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg.
Authorities have identified the suspect as a Saudi doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had received permanent residency. Police haven’t publicly named the suspect, in line with privacy rules, but some German news outlets have identified him as Taleb A.
Police said in a dispute over the recognition of examination results, the suspect threatened members of the state medical association with an act that would attract international attention, triggering an investigation and a search of his home.
No evidence was found of real preparations for an attack but a court found him guilty in 2013 of threatening an attack.
Source: independent.co.uk