A man accused of carrying out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in three decades on Bondi Beach last year has appeared in court for the first time.
Naveed Akram, 24, is facing 59 charges in connection with the attack on a Jewish event in Sydney’s Archer Park that killed at least 15 people and injured dozens on Sunday, December 14.
Mr Akram appeared via video link at Downing Center Local Court on Monday and spoke briefly, mostly in one-word answers.
The magistrate expanded suppression orders issued late last year to protect the identities of victims and survivors after they chose not to be publicly identified.
Mr Akram and his father Sajid Akram are accused of attacking Jewish people celebrating Hanukkah in an anti-Semitic attack that sent shockwaves around the world. It was Australia’s worst mass shooting since 1996, and the worst terror attack on Australians since the 2002 Bali bombings.
Sajid Akram was shot dead by police on the spot.
Mr Akram, who was wearing a green sweater and sitting with his hands on his lap, spoke only after Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund asked if he had listened to a discussion about an extension of the suppression orders.
“Did you just hear what I just said?” asked Mrs. Freund. Mr Akram replied: “Yes.”
His legal aid lawyer, Ben Archbold, later asked the magistrate for time to speak with his client.
“Mr. Akram, your lawyer will call you next,” the magistrate said. “Yes,” the suspect replied.
Mr Archbold said it was too early to confirm what plea his client would enter and that he had not yet received the supporting documents.
Speaking to reporters outside court, he said his client is “as good as expected” while in Goulburn supermax prison in New South Wales.
“Everyone knows it’s supermax… very tough conditions,” Archbold said.
When asked if Mr Akram had given an interview to the police, he said: “All we have done is start the process. We are waiting for the order to be given. I cannot say anything more.”
Mr Archbold also said he went to the High Risk Management Correctional Center (HRMCC) to visit Mr Akram.
When asked about his visit and Mr. Akram’s terms, he said, “He is just a client and he is a client who needs to be represented, and we do not let our personal opinions get in the way of our professional obligations.”
Police allege the Bondi Beach attackers parked their vehicle near a pedestrian bridge overlooking Archer Park in Bondi at around 6.50pm on December 14.
It is claimed that a “tennis ball bomb” and three pipe bombs were thrown into the crowd before the pair opened fire.
None of the bombs exploded but were deemed viable during preliminary police analysis.
In December, court documents made public allegations by police that Sajid and Naveed Akram had visited the area in the days before the attack for “reconnaissance and planning”.
Police have further accused the pair of conducting firearms training in rural Australia.
Akram will appear in court again in April.
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