Naveed Akram faces life in prison after killing 15 people at a Jewish festival in Sydney.
One of the two alleged perpetrators of the December attack on Sydney’s Bondi beach appeared this Monday for the first time in an Australian court, facing 59 charges, including 15 of murder and one of terrorism.
On December 14th, two gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish festival in Sydneyin an attack that, for Australian authorities, was inspired by the extremist group Islamic State (IS).
Father Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police in the attack, which took place during Hanukkah celebrations on Bondi beach. Son Naveed Akram, 24, was injured and detained.
Naveed Akram appeared for approximately five minutes via video conference before the Downing Center Court in Sydney, according to court information.
The hearing took place while the young man remained in custody at Goulburn Maximum Security Prisonlocated southwest of the city.
The hearing focused mainly on technical issues, such as the anonymity of the names of some victims, according to the Australian media.
According to press reports, the defendant, wearing a green shirt, simply responded “yes” when the judge asked if he understood discussions about the extent of publication bans (a legal measure that prohibits the media or public from disclosing certain information in a case).
Outside court, Naveed’s lawyer, Ben Archbold, told Australian broadcaster ABC that it was “too early” to predict what his client’s guilty plea would beas he had not yet received all the evidence for the accusation.
Naveed Akram faces life in prison
If convicted, Naveed faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for each of the 15 counts of murder and the terrorism charge.
Naveed is scheduled to appear in court again on March 9.
Ben Archbold, stated that the accused was being kept in “very severe conditions”.
Naveed’s first public appearance comes a week after Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Australia, at the invitation of Albanese, to express his support for the Jewish community following the attack.
Herzog’s visit was marked by huge protests and a strong police presence.
On January 20, the Australian Parliament passed laws against hate speech and also on gun control.
Gun laws create new restrictions on ownership and a government-funded buyback program to compensate people who are forced to surrender firearms.
Hate speech laws also allow groups that do not meet the Australian definition of a terrorist organization, such as the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, to be banned. Hizb ut-Tahrir is already banned in some countries.
The neo-Nazi group Rede Nacional Socialista has announced plans to dissolve rather than have its members targeted by the new law.
