Attack on the Christmas market: “Monstrous act” – investigation into the terrorist act is only just beginning

After the deadly attack in Magdeburg with five deaths, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) promised further information and better protection for the population. After a special meeting of the Federal Interior Committee, MPs from across parties were dismayed by the details of Taleb A.’s death journey to the Christmas market in Saxony-Anhalt’s state capital. The focus of further meetings in the coming weeks will be on the question of why the authorities did not stop the attacker even though he had threatened violence dozens of times.

After the meeting, Faeser emphasized that many questions could only be answered locally in Saxony-Anhalt. But the heads of the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution also provided the MPs with information. “All backgrounds must be thoroughly investigated,” said Faeser. “Every stone is turned over here.”

However, the investigations have not yet revealed a clear picture. The perpetrator doesn’t fit into any common mold. He shows psychological abnormalities, said Faeser. One thing is clear: “This perpetrator acted incredibly cruelly and brutally.” He drove his car purposefully towards people.

Two months before the federal election, Faeser also announced consequences. It is clear that “we have to strengthen our security authorities.” She said this against the background of a dispute between the Union and the SPD, which her internal experts had already discussed before.

In Magdeburg, a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia killed five people and injured around 230 with his car at the Christmas market. Even before his death drive, he was in the sights of security authorities. He is in custody.

What should happen politically

The CSU MP Andrea Lindholz called for the authorities to have more storage rights for IP addresses. Konstantin von Notz from the Green Party replied that given the fact that the Magdeburg perpetrator was known, it was not clear to him what the purpose of data retention would be in the case.

At the same time, the CSU politician announced that the Union would probably have a say in the security package of the broken traffic light coalition, which has not yet passed through parliament. The SPD should clear the way by appealing to the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat. SPD interior expert Sebastian Hartmann countered that without the Union’s blockade stance, the mediation committee would not have been necessary.

But the focus of the first day of the parliamentary review of the events in Magdeburg was the crime, the perpetrators and the specific actions of the authorities themselves. “The crime in Magdeburg is monstrous,” said Hartmann. The federal and state governments would now have to put everything to the test.

As AfD MP Gottfried Curio reported from the meeting, the authorities had dozens of leads to investigate the later perpetrator, known as a troublemaker, in more detail. Other committee members also confirmed in principle that there were around 80 clues of this kind. Faeser was accused by committee members of not having provided a complete list of the later perpetrator’s points of contact with the authorities, contrary to his promise.

The man had already threatened facilities in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 2013 and 2015, as the Ministry of Justice there announced after reviewing previous investigations. Accordingly, in a telephone conversation with the medical association in 2013, he was dissatisfied with what he saw as the lengthy processing of his application for admission to the specialist examination and threatened something similar to the attack on the Boston Marathon the day before. Five people were killed and 260 injured there. During a subsequent search of the apartment, the police did not find any dangerous items.

In 2015, the man wrote in a letter to the Attorney General: “From a purely postmodern philosophical perspective, you are dirty bacteria that should soon be destroyed in order to protect the German people from your danger. (…) I am ready for this my whole life pay.” The ministry reported that a result could no longer be determined because files had been deleted.

The Greens and FDP demand consequences

The Greens and FDP demand that someone takes political responsibility for alleged failures of the authorities. “I think that at the end of such an event, political responsibility must be taken,” said von Notz. Unlike the disaster at the Duisburg Love Parade or the attack on the Christmas market at the Berlin Memorial Church, this time someone has to take responsibility. FDP committee member Konstantin Kuhle agreed.

“What made the crime possible?”

Representatives of other parties also insisted on clarification. In his own words, Hartmann expects an answer to the question: “What made the crime possible?” The man had been known to the authorities for years because of “the wildest threats” – but had not been stopped. He even received tips from abroad, says von Notz.

Lindholz demanded information about why the fatal trip could have occurred even though the perpetrator had come to the attention of various authorities and other bodies. FDP committee member Kuhle said: “We want to find out why, despite a large number of anomalies, there has not been a better defense against threats.”

Secret service controllers also meet

In the morning, the Parliamentary Control Committee had already met behind closed doors for around three hours. The President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, among others, answered questions from the Bundestag’s intelligence inspectors gathered here.