A court in Magdeburg, Germany, is set to begin the trial of Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 51-year-old Saudi psychiatrist accused of killing six people and injuring over 300 by ramming a van into a Christmas market in December 2024.

He faces charges including six counts of murder, 338 counts of attempted murder, and committing a “treacherous attack.”

Al-Abdulmohsen, who has lived in Germany since 2006, expressed anti-Islam views and sympathy for far-right politics, criticizing Muslim refugees and supporting conspiracy theories about Europe’s “Islamisation.”

He has been held in custody since the attack and could receive life imprisonment if convicted, Al-Jazeera has reported.

The trial will be held in a specially prepared hall with heavy security, amid questions over whether his previous violent threats and extremist rhetoric could have signaled the attack.