A man accused of killing 15 people in a mass shooting at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach appeared in court Monday for the first time since his release from the hospital.
Bondi Beach Shooting Case
Naveed Akram appeared in Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court via a video link from the maximum security Goulburn Correctional Center, located 200 kilometers (120 miles) away.
He did not enter pleas to the charges against him, which include murder and committing a terrorist act. The court appearance focused on extending a gag order that suppresses the identities of victims and survivors of the attack who have not publicly identified themselves.
Defense lawyer Ben Archbold told reporters outside court that Akram was doing as well as could be expected and it was too early to indicate any intention of pleas.
Akram, 24, was wounded and his father, Sajid Akram, 50, was killed in a gunbattle with police after the attack on a Hanukkah celebration at the beach on Dec. 14.
Akram is next scheduled to appear in court April 9.
The police investigation is one of three official inquiries examining Australia’s worst alleged terrorist attack and the nation’s worst mass shooting in 29 years.
One inquiry involves the interactions between law enforcement and intelligence agencies before the attack, which was allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group.
A royal commission will investigate the nature, prevalence and drivers of antisemitism generally, as well as the circumstances of the Bondi shooting.
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