A fatal car attack at a German Christmas market casts a “dark shadow” over this year's celebrations, the president said on Tuesday, calling on people not to be turned away by extremists.
Four days after a brutal attack in the eastern German city of Magdeburg that left five people dead and more than 200 injured, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier sought to deliver a message of healing in his traditional Christmas address.
“A dark shadow hangs over Christmas this year,” the head of state said, pointing to “pain, fear and embarrassment over the events that took place in Magdeburg a few days before Christmas.”
He called for national unity as debates over security and immigration flare up again. “Hate and violence must not have the final say. Let's not separate ourselves. Let's stand together.”
His words came a day after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party held what it called a vigil for victims in Magdeburg, where one speaker called for Germany to “close its borders”. I have to,” he demanded.
Nearby, an anti-extremist effort was held with the motto “Don't give hate a chance.”
Steinmeier acknowledged that there was “huge political dissatisfaction” in Germany, but insisted that “our democracy remains strong.”
Saudi doctor Taleb al-Abdelmohsen, 50, was arrested Friday at the scene of the attack, where a rented SUV sped through a crowd. Abdul Mohsen, a consultant psychiatrist, is in police custody on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.
Questions are growing in Germany about whether Friday's attack in Magdeburg, which killed five people, could have been prevented. Reports have emerged of poor security, questionable immigration procedures, and attempts by police to confront Mr. Abdulmohsen, whose threats are said to have gone unfulfilled.
Days after the largest attack on Germany in years, the motive remains unclear.
Sources close to the Saudi government told Agence France-Presse that Saudi authorities had previously requested the extradition of Abdulmohsen, who arrived in Germany in 2006 and was a permanent resident. The official did not give a reason for the request, but added that Riyadh had warned him that he “could be a dangerous person.”
Holger Münsch, head of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Agency, BKA, told German television that Germany received a warning from Saudi Arabia last year, but an investigation found the content was too vague to take action.
Police attempted to approach Abdulmohsen to discuss a so-called “threat analysis,” but the opportunity appears to have been missed as they were unable to find Abdulmohsen at his home.
Abdulmohsen has made numerous online posts expressing strong anti-Muslim views, anger at German authorities and support for far-right conspiracy theories about the “Islamization” of Europe.
The attack has already ignited a heated debate over immigration and security in Germany, where the far-right party AfD is leading in opinion polls two months before national elections.
Germany's Christmas markets have been under special security since a jihadist attacker rammed a truck into a Berlin Christmas market in 2016, killing 13 people.
The Magdeburg incident was also protected by barricades, but the attackers used a five-meter gap to gain entry.
In Magdeburg, where a sea of flowers and candles were left at the scene of the attack, the city of 240,000 people is trying to come to terms with what happened.
Mr Steinmeier said the attack killed a nine-year-old boy and four women aged between 45 and 75, and expressed condolences to the families of those who were injured and died in “the most horrific way”.
“You are not alone in your suffering,” he said. “People across our country mourn you and grieve with you.”
