Hungary should not allow itself to become a country where such incidents are a norm, the prime minister tells press conference
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has blamed illegal migration and EU policies for Friday’s deadly attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, where a Saudi-born man drove his car into a crowd, killing five people and injuring over 200.
Speaking at an end-of-year press conference on Saturday, Orban expressed solidarity with the victims’ families and “the German people in general.”
“Many people across Western Europe try to deny the connection between mass migration and acts of terrorism,” he stated. “The sad truth is that before the migration crisis, such heinous attacks did not happen in Europe. Now they do.”
Orban argued that there is “no doubt” about the connection between illegal migration and acts of terrorism. He stressed that Hungary must learn from such events to prevent similar incidents from becoming the norm.
Since the 2015 migrant crisis, Orban’s government has implemented strict measures to curb migration, including border fences along Hungary’s southern borders with Serbia and Croatia and the rejection of EU-mandated refugee quotas. These policies have led to legal challenges, including a €200-million fine from the European Court of Justice this year for non-compliance with EU asylum rules.
German authorities have detained a 50-year-old Saudi-born psychiatrist, identified by some outlets as Taleb A., in connection with the attack. The suspect, who has lived in Germany for nearly 20 years, is reportedly known for his radical anti-Islamic views. Investigators are exploring various motives, including terrorism, though no conclusions have been made.
Reports suggest Saudi Arabia warned German authorities about Taleb A. multiple times and requested his extradition on charges of terrorism and human trafficking. Germany allegedly did not respond to these requests.
The Magdeburg attack is the latest in a series of incidents targeting Christmas markets in Europe over the past decade. In 2016, an attack in Berlin using a truck killed 12 people, and other similar attacks in the following years have raised ongoing concerns about public event security during the holiday season.