The defendant in the trial Attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market has been declared unfit to stand trial. The prison doctor prison in Burg, where the 51-year-old suspect is currently located, noticed that the man’s health was deteriorating every day. Judge Dirk Sternberg at the regional court Magdeburg said the defendant was on hunger and thirst strike.
The regional court announced that Taleb A. was emaciated to 47.6 kilograms and could suffer acute kidney failure. According to a medical expert in the courtroom, the man needs ongoing medical monitoring.
At midday, the regional court announced that it wanted to continue the negotiations without the defendant. The defendant intentionally and culpably caused the inability to stand trial, said Sternberg. There are the legal requirements for continuing negotiations without Taleb A.
The defendant had already announced his hunger strike on the second day of the trial in November. He said at the time that he did not expect any physical harm. The man is a doctor and had worked in the Bernburg prison system, where he worked as a psychiatrist with mentally ill criminals.
Stop to get attention
On December 20, 2024, the defendant from Saudi Arabia drove a rented SUV into a crowd at the Magdeburg Christmas market. Six people died and more than 300 were injured. The defendant confessed to the crime.
In extensive statements On the first and second days of the trial, the defendant described his motivation and, in passing, the planning of the attack. In it, he portrayed himself as a critic of the Saudi Arabian regime and expressed great frustration with the German authorities.
