A Saudi doctor suspected of killing five people at a German Christmas market had allegedly threatened to carry out a terror attack two years before being granted asylum in the country.
Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, who is alleged to have driven an SUV into crowds at a festive market in Magdeburg on Friday evening, made threats of a “Boston Marathon-style” attack in 2013.
The threat came whilst he was seeking permission to practise as a psychiatrist in Germany.
When the German medical association requested additional paperwork, Abdulmohsen responded with a chilling warning, referencing the recent Boston bombing.
“Did you see what happened in Boston? Something similar will happen here too,” Abdulmohsen told the medical association over the phone.
The threat came just two days after Islamist terrorists had detonated two bombs during the Boston Marathon, killing three people and leaving hundreds injured.
The medical association immediately reported the incident to police.
Though an investigation found Abdulmohsen had no concrete plans for an attack, he was fined €900 for a public order offence.
The incident marked the beginning of a pattern of concerning behaviour from the Saudi doctor.
In 2014, authorities in Mecklenburg alerted Germany’s federal anti-terror unit after Abdulmohsen threatened to do something that would “receive international attention”.
The warning appeared to have been ignored, and he was never added to the federal police’s list of dangerous political extremists.
Instead, Abdulmohsen was granted asylum in 2016, claiming he would face persecution in Saudi Arabia.
Police attempted to interview him at least twice over public safety concerns, with the most recent attempt occurring last year.
When officers failed to find him at home in December, they did not pursue the matter further.
Abdulmohsen, described as a former Muslim, had positioned himself as a vocal critic of Islam.
He claimed to have helped hundreds of “non-believers” escape Saudi Arabia, where they would have faced persecution for apostasy.
Shortly before the market incident, he alleged German authorities were secretly persecuting former Muslims and attempting to return refugees to Saudi Arabia.
The case has echoes of previous security failures in Germany.
In 2016, an Islamist who killed twelve people at a Berlin Christmas market had been under surveillance but evaded authorities.
More recently, an Islamic State terrorist who attacked a street festival in August was meant to be deported but remained at large.
