Sydney Attack: Assailant Charged with Terrorism, Victims' Burial
Sydney Attack: Assailant Charged with Terrorism, Victims' Burial
On Wednesday, the police charged Naveed Akram, one of the two alleged perpetrators of the Sydney beach attack, with terrorism and 15 counts of murder, just three days after the deadliest massacre in Australia in decades, as the victims began to be buried.
"The police will argue in court that this man committed acts that caused death, serious injury, and endangered lives in order to promote a religious cause and instill fear within a community," stated the New South Wales police.
"Preliminary indications suggest that this is a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, a terrorist organization listed in Australia," they emphasized in a statement, using the acronym for the jihadist group Islamic State.
Naveed Akram was seriously injured by police during the shooting on Bondi beach and, according to local media, came out of a coma on Tuesday evening. His father, with whom he carried out the assault, Sajid Akram, was shot during the attack.
The first funerals following the attack took place under high security on Wednesday morning in Bondi, where the father and son killed 15 people gathered for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
A crowd of mourners welcomed the remains of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the first victim of the attack to be buried, at the Chabad synagogue in this Sydney suburb, amidst a significant police presence, as reported by AFP journalists.
"This loss is immense for all Jewish people, but for our community here, for Chabad of Bondi, it is indescribable," emphasized Rabbi Levi Wolff.
Known as "The Rabbi of Bondi", Eli Schlanger, 41, was a chaplain who had served in prisons and hospitals. He was a father of five. "You are my son, my friend, and my confidant," said his father-in-law, Yehoram Ulman, during the ceremony.
Among the victims were also a 10-year-old girl, two Holocaust survivors, and a French national, Dan Elkayam.
Another rabbi killed on Sunday, Yaakov Levitan, 39, a father of four, is also to be buried on Wednesday at the Chabad synagogue in Bondi.
This movement represents a branch of Hasidic Judaism and had organized the festivities on Sunday at Bondi beach.
- "Do Not Be Afraid" -
"Today will be a particularly difficult day," said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on local radio, stressing that he was "wholeheartedly with the community."
Another rabbi present at the funeral, Yossi Friedman, noted that the community was "extremely affected."
"We should be able to be ourselves and not be afraid," said Danny Gingef, 66, who attended the ceremony.
Mr. Albanese emphasized on Tuesday that the assailants were "motivated by the ideology" of the Islamic State jihadist group, two flags of which were found in their car.
Armed with several legally held rifles, the two men fired bullets at the beach for ten minutes.
Naveed Akram, 24, had been the subject of Australian intelligence checks in 2019, but did not appear to pose an immediate threat at that time.
According to Philippine authorities, the two men traveled to the country from November 1 to 28, respectively with an Indian and Australian passport. Their destination was the Davao region on Mindanao Island, the site of an Islamist insurgency.
Manila, however, denied Wednesday that it harbored jihadist training camps. President Ferdinand Marcos "firmly rejects... the misleading description of the Philippines as being the training center for the Islamic State," stated his spokesperson, emphasizing that "no evidence has been provided."
- "Heroes" -
Mr. Albanese paid tribute on Wednesday to the heroism of a couple in their sixties who were killed in the attack, after footage from a vehicle's dashboard camera showed them fighting one of the shooters.
"I pay tribute to Boris and Sofia Gurman. Boris attacked one of these terrorists as he exited the car. And that led to the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Gurman," he said, calling the couple "Australian heroes."
Mr. Albanese visited Ahmed Al Ahmed on Tuesday, who was also hailed as a hero for managing to wrestle the rifle from Sajid Akram's hands. His act, which was filmed, went viral on social media.
Australian leaders have agreed to tighten the laws that allowed Sajid Akram to possess six firearms.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Australia’s decision to recognize Palestine amid the war in Gaza had poured "fuel on the fire of anti-Semitism."