Germany: German locals pay tribute to victims of Christmas market attack as AfD rally in Magdeburg

The party held a "memorial" rally for the victims of the car-ramming attack that fueled the debate over immigration and security policy.Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has held a "memorial" rally for the victims of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market that has ignited debates over immigration and security policy. In this 

  The rally was held outside a cathedral in the eastern city of Magdeburg on Monday amid suspicions that it was planned, the scene of last week's attack that killed five people and injured more than 200.

Terror has arrived in our city," said Jan Wenzel Schmidt, leader of the AfD in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, condemning what he labeled a "monstrous political failure" that led to the attack, for which a Saudi Arabian national was arrested.

  "We must close the borders," he told hundreds of supporters of the anti-immigration party. "We can't take any more crazy people from around the world."

  Alice Wiedel, co-leader of the party, described the attack as "an Islamist act full of hatred for human solidarity ... Germans for us, Christians for us".

  She demanded "change so we can finally live in safety again", as people in the crowd chanted: "Deport, deport, deport!"

The suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, faces multiple charges, including murder and attempted murder. He has lived in Germany since 2006 and has previously made anti-immigration and anti-Islam posts on social media.

   Although the motives have not yet been made public, Abdulmohsen has expressed strong anti-Islamic views, expressing anger at German authorities over immigration policies. He has supported far-right conspiracy theories about the "Islamization" of Europe.

   Despite the suspect's spoken views, which align with the AfD's anti-immigrant stance and Islamophobic rhetoric, Wedel called him an "Islamist" at the rally – an attempt to reinforce the party's anti-immigrant views.

   Friday's attack has fueled a political debate over migration policies ahead of early elections in February, in which the AfD hopes to increase its position in parliament.

   According to German newspaper Die Welt, Interior Minister Nancy Fesser said "no stone will be left unturned" to reveal what information was available about the 50-year-old suspect, who had previously been treated for mental illness.

   Meanwhile, an anti-extremism initiative called “Don't Give Hate a Chance” also gathered in Magdeburg. "We are all shocked and outraged that people want to exploit this brutal act for their own political ends," the initiative said in a statement.