A Swedish journalist has revealed extensive communications with the suspect in the Magdeburg Christmas market attack in Germany, painting a complex picture of a Saudi psychiatrist who portrayed himself as a women's rights advocate while raising concerns with his handling of sensitive refugee information.
In an exposé published Saturday in Expressen, journalist Kassem Hamadé detailed years of correspondence with Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, beginning in 2016 when the suspect identified himself as a Saudi political refugee in Germany.
Their almost daily communications revealed disturbing contradictions, including bizarre medical self-treatments that al-Abdulmohsen used to justify his isolation. In one particularly troubling exchange, he explained his inability to meet in person, claiming he regularly injected his facial muscles with medical substances that caused two weeks of swelling. When pressed for details, he admitted to first trying Botox before switching to ethanol injections, noting he was "probably the only doctor who injects ethanol into his face."
The suspect, now accused of a deadly vehicular attack that killed five and injured hundreds, had positioned himself as an advocate for Saudi women seeking asylum while simultaneously drawing criticism for exposing their personal information publicly. Saudi authorities claim they had previously warned German officials about the suspect, adding another layer to an already complex case that has shocked both countries.
Perhaps most troubling in Hamadé's account were the suspect's extensive connections within the refugee community and his insistence on making asylum cases public, ostensibly to prevent Saudi interference. While presenting himself as a protector of vulnerable asylum seekers, al-Abdulmohsen's practice of exposing sensitive information raised red flags among advocacy groups and fellow refugees, creating a pattern of behavior that Hamadé now views through a darker lens in light of recent events.
