Appeal against verdict in Magdeburg trial – Federal Court of Justice must review

In the attack on December 20, 2024, the perpetrator, according to the indictment, steered a rental car with 340 hp through a gap between concrete barriers into the densely crowded Christmas market. Five women and a nine-year-old boy died. Hundreds of other people were injured. The crime took place approximately one and a half years ago.

Verdict and reasoning

Presiding Judge Dirk Sternberg said in the reasoning of the verdict that the defendant had felt no compassion for other persons during the commission of the crime. He could virtually switch his capacity for empathy on and off. Sternberg also certified the defendant a „große Gefährlichkeit" (great danger to the public). A psychiatric expert had also diagnosed the defendant with a narcissistic personality disorder. However, there were no doubts about his criminal responsibility, so the court assumed a fully preserved capacity for self-control.

The defendant, who had immigrated from Saudi Arabia to Germany in 2006 as a physician, had worked before the crime as a psychiatrist in forensic psychiatric care, where he treated mentally ill offenders. There were indications of a psychological impairment. According to the court, the attacker acted out of personal motives; he also apparently adhered to conspiracy ideologies. Over the past years, he had repeatedly come to the attention of authorities due to aggressive behavior. He frequented Islam-hostile and right-wing circles.

What happens now

The trial had been underway since November 2025 and took place in a temporarily erected courthouse in the east of the city. The proceedings were conducted under heightened security measures. The news about the appeal was broadcast on July 1, 2026 on the Deutschlandfunk program.

The Federal Court of Justice must now review the case for legal errors. Should Germany's highest criminal court reject the appeal as unfounded, the life sentence along with the finding of particular severity of guilt would remain in place. In the event of a successful appeal, however, a new trial could take place or individual points would have to be corrected. A date for the Federal Court of Justice's decision has not yet been set.