Tragedy in Magdeburg prompts call for security overhaul
The number of injured from Friday's attack in Magdeburg has risen to 235 people, confirmed a prosecutor's office spokesperson, as reported by the dpa agency. There is a debate in Germany about security, and some politicians are calling for increased powers for security services to protect citizens better.
Germany is in shock after the attack on the Christmas market, which occurred on Friday evening in Magdeburg. Unfortunately, the number of injured has risen to 235 people, confirmed by a prosecutor's office spokesperson, as reported by the dpa agency. Earlier reports mentioned 200 injured, but more victims are still going to hospital.
The perpetrator of the attack was 50-year-old psychiatrist Taleb Abdul Jawad from Saudi Arabia. The man drove into the crowd at high speed, causing the death of five people, including a 9-year-old boy and four women aged 45 to 75.
The chief prosecutor of Magdeburg, Horst Walter Nopens, indicated that the motive behind Jawad's actions could have been dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia in Germany. German media report that the perpetrator was known as a critic of Islam and a supporter of the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD). Currently, Taleb Abdul Jawad is in custody.
Politicians want to increase the powers of the services
The tragedy in Magdeburg shook all of Germany. Some politicians call for increased powers for security agencies to protect citizens better.
The tragic attack in Magdeburg, despite tightened security measures at Christmas markets, "raises questions about authorities’ knowledge of warnings from home and abroad. These questions must be answered," noted Andrea Lindholz, deputy chair of the CDU/CSU faction.
Lindholz also emphasised that the terrorist attack requires a thorough explanation. Furthermore, she pointed out the need to grant security agencies appropriate powers to assess threats and criticised the dependence of German services on foreign intelligence information.
Dirk Wiese took a similar stance from SPD, who called for "adapting the powers of German agencies to the current threat realities." In his opinion, changes are necessary to allow for more effective responses to new challenges in internal security.
Konstantin Kuhle from FDP suggested reorganising German security agencies. He indicated that the current system is characterised by excessive overlap at different levels, leading to chaos in implementing security-related tasks. Kuhle stressed that these agencies' powers are often unclear and require urgent structural changes.
German terrorism expert Peter R. Neumann, in an interview with "Der Spiegel," emphasised that this tragedy could have been prevented. In his view, the market was poorly secured, although - due to tragic experiences from the past - it was known that such events could become targets of terrorist attacks.
