A man accused of carrying out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades appeared briefly in a Sydney court on Monday (16 February), facing terrorism and murder charges over the 14 December attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead.
Naveed Akram, 24, appeared via video link from Goulburn Correctional Centre, a maximum-security prison south-west of Sydney, during a five-minute procedural hearing.
Prosecutors allege Akram and his father, Sajid Akram, opened fire on revellers on 14 December, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more. Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene.
Naveed Akram faces 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of wounding with intent to murder, terrorism offences and allegations of planting explosives.
However, the hearing focused largely on technical matters, including the extension of suppression orders protecting the identities of some victims.
Akram spoke only once, replying “yeah” when asked if he understood proceedings. He is due to return to court on 9 March.
Outside court, defence lawyer Ben Archbold said his client was being held in “very onerous conditions” and that it was too early to indicate how he would plead.
Police documents allege the father and son planned the attack over several months, undertaking firearms training in rural New South Wales and conducting a reconnaissance visit to Bondi Beach shortly before the killings.
Authorities said the pair had recorded a video railing against “Zionists” while seated before a flag associated with the Islamic State group.
The attack triggered national debate over anti-Semitism, intelligence oversight and gun control, after it emerged Akram had previously been flagged by Australia’s intelligence agency in 2019 but was assessed as posing no imminent threat.
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An initial inquiry into last year’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach has called for counter-terrorism reforms, increased security at Jewish public events, and further gun control measures.
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