The proceedings against the Saudi-born alleged mass murderer, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, accused of carrying out the deadly Magdeburg Christmas market attack, have been extended by several months after victims refused to shorten the trial, meaning Germany’s justice system will incur at least €1.2 million in additional costs.
The 51-year-old psychiatrist is accused of driving a car through the crowded Christmas market on Dec. 20, 2024. The attack killed five women and a nine-year-old boy, and injured more than 300 people, some of them critically.
Court hearings had originally been scheduled only until mid-March, raising the possibility that a verdict could have been delivered within weeks. Much of the evidence had already been presented, including testimony from witnesses and experts and a psychiatric risk assessment of the defendant.
However, the proceedings were extended after the majority of the roughly 180 co-plaintiffs rejected a proposal from the court to streamline the case. Presiding judge Dirk Sternberg had asked the victims’ lawyers whether they would agree to limit parts of the trial to speed up the process.
While around 60 victims accepted the proposal, most insisted that their cases be heard individually.
For many victims, the trial represents more than a criminal proceeding against the perpetrator. They are seeking official recognition of the psychological harm they suffered during the attack. If victims want these invisible injuries formally acknowledged in court, they must testify separately during the proceedings.
As a result, the court has now scheduled additional hearing dates until June 23 and appointed two further psychiatric experts to assess the psychological consequences suffered by those affected.
The extension is expected to significantly increase costs. The trial is being held in a specially rented, extra-large courtroom complex at Jerichower Platz in Saxony-Anhalt, which costs around €390,000 per month. Extending the proceedings will add at least €1.2 million to the overall cost, according to reporting by Bild.
On Tuesday, the trial continued with the court assessing the long-term psychological effects experienced by witnesses and survivors of the attack.
Many eyewitnesses who were not physically injured have reported suffering severe trauma. Some described panic attacks, flashbacks, sleep disorders, and an inability to return to normal life.
A 26-year-old engineer told the court she saw the attacker drive past her at close range. “I could see him in the car. He had both hands firmly on the steering wheel,” she said.
Although she escaped physical injury, she said the attack fundamentally altered her life. “I can no longer drive a car myself. I suffer from sleep disorders and stress-related tremors in my hand. I cannot even hold scissors and cut with them anymore.”
Another witness, a 58-year-old postal worker who attended the market with her granddaughter, said certain everyday sounds now trigger panic. “I suddenly panic at certain car noises. If I hear a helicopter, I am retraumatized,” she told the court.
Her 11-year-old granddaughter, who also witnessed the attack, now wakes frequently at night and draws pictures of war scenes, she said.
Experts are now examining whether such psychological trauma can also be legally classified as bodily harm if it produces physical symptoms.
According to the indictment from the Naumburg public prosecutor’s office, as cited by the German Press Agency, al-Abdulmohsen drove a car weighing more than two tons and capable of 340 horsepower roughly 350 meters through the crowded Christmas market at speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour.
Prosecutors have charged him with six counts of murder and 338 counts of attempted murder.
The court will continue hearing testimony from witnesses and victims in the coming weeks.
