German Cities Cancel Christmas Markets over Islamist Terrorism Concerns
Multiple German Christmas markets have been cancelled this year amid concerns over Islamist terror attacks and the rising cost of providing security to attendees.
Merrymakers in the town of Overath in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia will have to look elsewhere for their mulled wine, bratwurst, and roasted nuts this year after organisers announced this week that its annual Christmas market will be cancelled.
In an effective admission that previous terror attacks had succeeded in their aim, the organisers said that they could not afford to enact the necessary security measures to prevent another attack, including hiring additional security officers and cordoning off the market to prevent car attacks.
Although they attempted to secure additional funding from the local city government, such efforts fell flat, the local Rheinische Post reported.
Additionally, the Christmas market in Kerpen has also been cancelled, according to the Kölner City Gazette.
“We were informed that we would have to cordon off Stiftsplatz from all sides. At the same time, we are not receiving any financial support from the city and have to manage everything ourselves,” explained organiser René Hövel, per Die Welt.
Christmas markets have not been the only celebrations to face cancellations, with the Kessenich Autumn Festival in Bonn stating that it had to shut down due to being “unable to implement a viable security concept that meets current requirements.”
Organiser said: “An autumn market without protective measures against potential dangers, such as uncontrolled vehicles, is not an option for us.”
The growing need for security measures at Christmas markets in Germany comes in the wake of multiple deadly Islamist terror attacks on innocent festival goers.
The first major attack was in 2016 at the Christmas market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin. Failed Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri intentionally drove a truck into the crowd of pedestrians at the market, leaving 12 people dead and dozens injured. Amri was killed days later in a police shootout in Milan.
Last year, a Saudi Arabian pro-asylum activist, who himself was granted asylum in Germany, drove a car at high speeds at merrymakers at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing six people and leaving 323 others injured.
This came just months after another asylum seeker, from Syria, went on a stabbing spree at a “diversity festival” in Solingen, killing three and injuring eight others.
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Saudi Migrant Goes on Trial For German Christmas Market Car-Ramming That Killed Six
BERLIN (AP) – A Saudi doctor went on trial on murder charges Monday over the car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg last year that left six people dead.
The 51-year-old suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, was brought by helicopter to a temporary courtroom in the eastern city specially set up for the trial, and sat behind a bulletproof glass screen.
Five women and a boy died, and many more people were wounded, in the Dec. 20 attack that lasted just over a minute. The defendant is charged with six counts of murder and 338 of attempted murder in the trial at the Magdeburg state court, for which sessions have been scheduled until March. He could face a life prison sentence if convicted.
Prosecutor Matthias Böttcher told the court that al-Abdulmohsen aimed to hit as many people as possible in order to gain “the attention he wanted,” German news agency dpa reported.
There are no formal pleas in the German legal system. But the defendant told the court: “I am the one who drove the car.”
He didn’t offer any apology.
Investigators have said that the attack was carried out with a rented BMW X3, which reached speeds of up to 48 kph (30 mph) during the rampage.
He had previously come to the authorities attention for threatening behavior.
The Magdeburg car-ramming was one of a series of attacks involving immigrants that pushed migration to the forefront of the campaign for Germany´s national election in February. The defendant arrived in Germany in 2006 and had received permanent residency.
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2025/11/10/saudi-migrant-goes-on-trial-for-german-christmas-market-car-ramming-that-killed-six/
Security services later faced uncomfortable questions about whether the attack could have been prevented, given Abdulmohsen's history of extreme rhetoric and violent threats.
He will face six counts of murder and 338 counts of attempted murder in a trial expected to last until at least March.
The enormous number of victims and witnesses means that the trial will be held in a specially built temporary hall as no existing courtroom in the state of Saxony-Anhalt could accommodate the trial.
Abdulmohsen, who will be seated in a bullet-proof booth, faces life in prison if convicted.
Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, a psychiatrist, is seen sitting behind a bullet-proof glass in court. He is accused of killing six people and injuring 300 when he drove into a crowd at a German Christmas market
Police stand guard as Abdulmohsen sits for his trail. The case sparked outrage in Germany and renewed calls for a review into the country's immigration policy
Abdulmohsen is accused of ramming a rented BMW into people on December 20 last year
He first arrived in Germany in 2006 and was awarded refugee status 10 years later.
He had been working as a psychiatrist since 2020 despite concerns over his competence.
Saudi authorities had tried to warn German intelligence about a social media post in August 2024 in which Abdulmohsen mused about attacking a German embassy or 'randomly killing Germans'.
There was a heavy police presence at the temporary courthouse in Magdeburg in eastern Germany as Abdulmohsen's trial began
This year, some cities have cancelled the traditional Christmas markets because of the cost of anti-terrorism measures.
The attack in Magdeburg was one of a string committed by foreign nationals that inflamed Germany's debate on immigration in the run-up to a general election in February.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15276031/Saudi-refugee-killed-six-injured-300-driving-German-Christmas-market-crowd-sits-bullet-proof-glass-trial-begins.html
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