Bondi Beach terrorist, charged with 15 counts of murder, faces court for first time

Accused Bondi Beach killer Naveed Akram appeared in an Australian court via video link on Monday, in his first public hearing since the nation’s worst mass shooting in nearly three decades.

Akram is accused of carrying out a terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration in December, along with his father, Sajid, who was shot and killed by police during the shooting.

Akram has been charged with terrorism, 15 counts of murder, dozens of counts of causing wounds to a person with the intent to kill, and planting explosives.

He appeared in a Sydney court for about five minutes via video link from prison, according to a statement from the court and local media.

The timeline of evidence was also discussed, the court said.

Akram wore a green jersey during the hearing, which dealt mostly with technical matters such as suppressing the identification of some victims, local media said.

He reportedly spoke only one word — “yeah” — when asked by the judge whether he had heard a discussion about the extension of suppression orders.

Akram will next appear in court on March 9.

Outside court, Akram’s lawyer Ben Archbold said his client was doing “as well as he can be” given the “very onerous conditions” in prison.

Archbold said it was too early to say how Akram would plead and that he had not discussed details of the terror attack with him.

“I haven’t spoken to him about the attack in that regard,” he told reporters.

“All that we’re doing at the moment is starting the process … we’re waiting for the brief to be served, there’s nothing more I can say.”

Archbold added that he had visited Akram in prison.

“He’s just a client, and he’s a client that needs to be represented. And we don’t let our personal view get in the way of our professional obligations. The matter has been adjourned. I have nothing more to say.”

The mass shooting sparked national soul-searching about antisemitism, anger over the failure to shield Jewish Australians from harm, and promises to stiffen gun laws.

Among the victims of December’s attack were an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, a couple who confronted one of the gunmen, and a 10-year-old girl, Matilda, who was described at her funeral as a “ray of sunshine.”

‘Tactical’ training

Police and intelligence agencies are also facing difficult questions about whether they could have acted earlier.

Naveed Akram was flagged by Australia’s intelligence agency in 2019, but he slipped off the radar after it decided that he posed no imminent threat.

Police documents released following the terror attack said the two had carried out “firearms training” in what was believed to be the New South Wales countryside prior to the shooting.

They said the suspects “meticulously planned” the massacre for months, releasing pictures showing them firing shotguns and moving in what they described as a “tactical manner.”

The pair also recorded a video in October railing against “Zionists” while sitting in front of a flag of the Islamic State jihadist group and detailing their motivations for the attack, police said.

And they made a nighttime reconnaissance trip to Bondi Beach just days before the killings, documents showed.

And a few weeks before the Bondi Beach attack, the pair returned to Sydney from a four-week trip to the southern Philippines.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.