On December 20, tragedy struck Magdeburg's Christmas market when a black SUV ploughed through holiday shoppers. Four women and a nine-year-old boy died, while 200 others were injured, including seven Indians.

The suspect, Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist, has been arrested. He had been granted asylum in Germany in 2016 and was critical of the “Islamism of Europe.”

He is also a staunch supporter of the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. And Nancy Faeser, Germany’s interior minister, said after the attack that he was “obviously Islamophobic”. So, what do we know of this man, and was this attack political?

And, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faces backlash over alleged security lapses, as Saudi Arabia had flagged Al-Abdulmohsen’s radical views as early as 2007 and had requested extradition. Germany refused, fearing for his safety.

So, why did Germany ignore Saudi warnings?

In this episode of Geeta's World, our host, Anna Priyadarshini, and the foreign affairs editor at India Today, TV Today Network, Geeta Mohan, discuss!

Produced by Anna Priyadarshini

Sound Mix by Nitin Rawat

Chapters:

(7:47) — The curious case of the accused

(13:24) — Only AFD can save Germany?

(19:06) — Berlin freezing asylum applications from Syrians

(21:50) — Why did Germany ignore Saudi's alerts?

(29:57) —  Rise of Islamist terror in Europe

(39:21) — Proliferation of the far-right in Europe