Charged with terrorism and 15 murders, the alleged assailant of the anti-Semitic attack on Bondi Beach, Naveed Akram, appeared for the first time on Monday by video link from his prison, in an Australian court. His lawyer spoke of “very difficult (detention) conditions”.

Published on: 02/16/2026 - 04:44 Modified on: 02/16/2026 - 09:52

First public hearing since the anti-Semitic attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney last December. The alleged assailant appeared on Monday, February 16, via video link from his prison in an Australian court.

Naveed Akram has been charged with terrorism and 15 murders following Australia's deadliest attack in three decades.

On December 14, the 24-year-old and his father, Sajid Akram, 50, opened fire on a crowd gathered to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, killing 15 people.

Naveed Akram appeared for about five minutes via video link from prison, a court statement and local media said.

“Very difficult (detention) conditions”, according to his lawyer

The hearing mainly focused on technical issues such as the anonymization of certain victims, the media said.

According to the local press, the accused, dressed in a green sweater, simply said "Yeah", when the judge asked him if he had correctly understood the content of the discussions relating to the extension of publication bans (judicial measure prohibiting the media or the public from disclosing certain information in a case).

The chronology of evidence was also reviewed. Naveed Akram is scheduled to appear again on March 9.

Outside court, his lawyer Ben Archbold said his client was being held in "very harsh conditions", ABC reports. According to him, it is still too early to say whether the accused will plead guilty or not.

A planned attack

According to authorities, the attack was inspired by the ideology of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, but the father and son did not receive outside help and were not part of a terrorist organization.

Sajid Akram was killed by police during the attack.

Naveed Akram was the subject of an Australian intelligence investigation in 2019, when he was a teenager and associated with IS sympathizers in Sydney.

Read alsoAnti-Semitic attack in Australia: the Philippine trail, a former little-known jihadist stronghold

The victims of the December attack included an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, a couple who opposed one of the shooters, a French engineer and a 10-year-old girl.

According to police, the father and son “carefully planned” the attack for months. Investigators released footage showing them training with firearms in the Australian countryside.

Also read: Training, scouting, bombs… How the Bondi Beach attackers prepared their attack

The two men had also recorded a video in October against the "Zionists", sitting in front of a flag of the Islamic State group, according to the police.

In response to this killing which caused shock in the country and anger at the authorities' inability to protect Australian Jews, Parliament in January toughened its legislation on hate crimes and firearms.

With AFP

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