Saudi Arabia warned Germany three times about the Saudi doctor who allegedly killed five and injured more than 200 when he plowed through a busy Christmas market — and repeatedly promised he would die justice in the “Islamic war waged by Germany” months before carrying out Friday’s terror attack.
The first warning came in 2007, just one year after psychologist Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, 50, fled to the European country, sources told CNN.
The alleged terrorist had a history of expressing radical views of varying kinds.
Saudi Arabia considers him a fugitive and had requested his extradition between 2007 and 2008 — but German authorities refused over concerns for al-Abdulmohsen’s safety upon his return.
In spite of this, al-Abdulmohsen spewed anti-German and anti-Muslim rhetoric on social media for years and urged fellow asylum seekers to avoid living in Germany.
“The corrupt organization @atheistrefugees is part of the leftist agenda to hijack and poison any anti-islamic activism,” al-Abdulmohsen posted on X in May, referring to a group that says it aims to help “atheist and secular refugees.”
“Since January 2019, we have reported to the German police dozens of times with conclusive evidence. But the whole organization is a product of the corrupt German authorities.. so I consider it an Islamic war waged by Germany against the irreligious Saudis,” he wrote.
“I promise you that justice will come even if I die for it.. and most likely I will actually die for it this year,” he added ominously.
Atheist Refugee Relief said the alleged attacker al-Abdulmohsen made “numerous accusations and claims” against it and former board members, adding in a statement that members of the group filed a criminal complaint against him in 2019 following “the most foul slander and verbal attacks.”
In another concerning post, the alleged killer laid out his theory of German persecution of Saudi Arabians and Muslims, which he said would end in a bloodbath.
“First: I assure you that if Germany wants a war, we will fight it. If Germany wants to kill us, we will slaughter them, die, or go to prison with pride. Because we have exhausted all peaceful means and all we have received from the police, state security, the prosecution, the judiciary, and the (Federal) Ministry of the Interior is more crimes against us. Peace is of no use with them,” he wrote.
In another, he wrote: “Is there a path to justice in Germany without bombing a German embassy or slaughtering German citizens indiscriminately? I have been looking for this peaceful way since January 2019 and I have not found it. If anyone knows it, please guide me.”
Al-Abdulmohsen described himself as a former Muslim who fled to Germany as a Saudi Arabian refugee in 2006 and gained official refugee status in 2016.
He was also publicly critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe,” while also voicing support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Al-Abdulmohsen gained some notoriety in 2019 when he was profiled by BBC News for creating the website wearesaudis.net to help other Gulf region asylum seekers flee their native countries, where ex-Muslims can face prosecution and even death for renouncing their faith.
“I’m an activist. I created a website helping people seeking asylum, especially Saudi Arabia,” al-Abdulmohsen said in the interview.
In one post, Al-Abdulmohsen eerily wrote: “My advice: do not seek asylum in Germany.”
That website is the same forum where he urged fellow anti-Muslims to avoid Germany — over a theory he peddled that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum-seekers.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said Saturday, “at this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic — we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait.”
It is not yet clear why al-Abdulmohsen carried out the Friday evening attack, which left five dead, including a 9-year-old, and more than 200 others injured.
“It was like being in a bad movie. I walked through the devastated market, there were people lying left and right,” one firefighter who responded to the disaster said.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to visit the site on Saturday.
The attack comes one day after the anniversary of the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack that killed 12 people and injured 56 in the deadliest terror attack in German history.
With Post wires
