In a recent development, the man accused of killing 15 people during a shooting at a Chanukah celebration in Sydney’s Bondi Beach has been denied his request to keep his family’s identities confidential. This decision was reported by local media on Wednesday.
Naveed Akram, who is facing a total of 59 charges related to the violent attack he carried out alongside his father, argued that revealing his family’s identities could expose them to potential harm from vigilantes, citing incidents of abuse they have already endured.
Initially, an interim court order had been issued last month to suppress the details of Akram’s family. However, on Thursday, this order was overturned by a Sydney judge following appeals from several media organizations.
The case, which has captured significant attention both in Australia and globally, was described by Judge Hugh Donnelly as having “unprecedented public interest, outrage, anger, and grief.” The judge noted that much of the information about the family was already accessible online.
The case has attracted âunprecedentedâ attention in Australia and worldwide, Judge Hugh Donnelly ruled, noting that information about the family was already widely available online.
âThis case has unprecedented public interest, outrage, anger and grief,â the judge stated.
Donnelly said the request for a suppression order lasting 40 years did not meet the exceptional circumstances threshold and would anyways have limited impact, as it would only apply in Australia and not to social media platforms or foreign news outlets.
Akram, 24, appeared in a Sydney court for the first time via video link on Feb 16.
Akramâs father, Sajid Akram, was killed by police during the shooting at Bondi on Dec. 14.
The two men attacked the âChanukah by the Seaâ event in Archer Park, which hundreds of people attended and was organized by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Fifteen people were shot dead, and more than three-dozen others were wounded.
Akramâs lawyer, Ben Archbold, said it was premature to say what plea his client would enter.
