A 50-year-old Saudi Arabian man who drove a rented SUV into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg last December apologized to survivors by sending personal letters to several of them, sparking shock and concern over privacy and the communication’s content. The attack in Saxony-Anhalt killed six individuals, including a six-year-old child, and injured 323 more.
Taleb A., the perpetrator, handwrote letters addressed to victims by name and mailed them from a Leipzig jail cell on June 8, before being transferred to Berlin. The letters contained confusing statements and warnings about “dangerous Muslim immigrants” similar to those he had posted online before the attack. Taleb concluded the letters by asking victims to forgive him and requested personal contact, signing off with “friendly regards.”
Recipients of the letters spoke to local and regional news outlets, expressing re-traumatization by the fact that the perpetrator could access their personal information. The letters were written and posted from a jail cell in Leipzig. Authorities are uncertain how Taleb A. obtained the names and addresses and suspect they may have been copied from documents held by his defense lawyers.
Survivors were asked about their interest in receiving these letters. A trauma counselor working with survivors emphasized that none were interested in an apology and highlighted that the perpetrator had taken control of their lives again.
When reporters with public broadcaster MDR contacted the Saxony-Anhalt State Prosecutor’s Office, they were informed that there was no legal means to prevent a perpetrator from contacting victims, who opened the letters at their discretion. A special courtroom is being built to accommodate the roughly 300 injured in the attack, who will likely join the case against him as co-complainants. The State Attorney General’s Office in Naumburg stated that while there may not be legal means to stop such contact, finding ways to prevent direct interaction between the perpetrator and victims is possible.
Recipients who spoke with the media expressed disgust at the invasion of privacy. The trauma counselor working with survivors underscored the claim that none of the survivors she was in contact with were interested in an apology.
DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and urges us to refrain from revealing the full names of alleged criminals.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/german-christmas-market-attacker-shocks-victims-with-letters/a-73475581?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
