In Court: Bondi Attack Suspect Naveed Akram has addressed the court for the first time, as his legal representative signaled that quick resolutions to the multitude of serious charges are unlikely.
Appearing via video from Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, the 24-year-old faces 59 charges, encompassing murder and terrorism-related crimes.
Akram is alleged to have orchestrated Australia’s most lethal terror incident on December 14, during which 15 individuals lost their lives and 40 were injured amidst Hanukkah festivities at Bondi Beach.
During the chaos, his father, Sajid Akram, aged 50, was fatally shot by law enforcement.
In Monday’s proceedings, the defendant spoke following a magistrate’s decision to maintain suppression orders safeguarding the identities of victims and survivors who have not opted for public recognition.
“Did you just hear what I just said?” inquired deputy chief magistrate Sharon Freund, addressing the accused.
“Yeah,” Akram replied.
Legal Aid solicitor Ben Archbold later asked for time to speak with his client.
“Mr Akram, your solicitor is going to give you a call after,” the magistrate said.
“Yep,” the accused gunman replied.
Akram was dressed in a green prison-issued jumper, with his hands in his lap as he listened to the otherwise uneventful case mention.
His hair was freshly shaven, while he continued to sport the full-faced short beard he had during the 14 December mass shooting.
Following a call with his client, Archbold told reporters outside court Akram was doing as well as could be expected in Goulburn super-maximum-security prison.
“Everyone knows that [Goulburn’s] supermax has very onerous conditions, and that’s where people who (allegedly) commit these crimes are,” he said.
It was too early to indicate any intention of pleas, Archbold said.
Client-lawyer discussions on Monday and earlier at the prison hadn’t addressed the attack or any remorse, while prosecutors were yet to serve the brief of evidence.
Archbold, expecting to see the brief by the next court mention on 8 April, noted the court process could run into 2027.
“When we have the brief, I’ll have more to say,” he told reporters.
“He’s just a client — and is a client that needs to be represented.
“We don’t let our personal views get in the way of our professional obligations.”
The Bondi Beach attack
The Akrams are accused of carrying out Australia’s worst mass shooting since 1996 by targeting the Jewish festival of lights at Bondi Beach.
After parking near a footbridge on Campbell Parade, the men allegedly tossed three pipe bombs filled with steel ball bearings and a tennis ball bomb into the Hanukkah celebration at Archer Park before opening fire.
But none of the pipe bombs detonated, despite preliminary police analysis finding they were viable.
A box-like bomb was found in the boot of their car while two hand-painted ISIS flags were also in the vehicle.
Police allege 55 people were shot during the attack, including 15 fatally, including 10-year-old Matilda, Holocaust survivors and a retired police officer.
A court suppression order allows victim-survivors to choose if and when they go public with their story and join other survivors, such as Arsen Ostrovsky and hero tobacconist Ahmed Al Ahmed, who briefly disarmed Akram’s father.
The attack triggered an outpouring of grief and a suite of legal changes addressing gun ownership and extremism as well as throwing a spotlight on rising antisemitism in Australia.
Israeli President Issac Herzog also held a controversial four-day Australian visit in early February to meet and grieve with the local Jewish community.
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