Sydney's Bondi Beach shooting suspect Naveed Akram made his first appearance on Monday to appear in an Australian court via video link for the first time since the country's worst mass shooting in three decades. After the Bondai attack, the government announced a series of national measures on weapons possession and hate speech, pledging to impose stricter laws and fines.

Published on: 02/16/2026 - 08:37

For the first time since a mass shooting attack targeting the Jewish community on Sydney's Bondi Beach, Naveed Akram appeared Monday in an Australian court via video link.

The authorities accuse Naveed Akram and his father, Sajid, of opening fire during a Jewish celebration in Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens, in the worst attack the country has witnessed in nearly three decades.

The father was shot dead by police, while Naveed was charged with terrorism and murder.

Naveed appeared for approximately five minutes via video link from prison, according to a statement issued by the court and local media.

The hearing focused mainly on technical issues such as concealing the identity of some victims, according to media reports.

'Very harsh conditions'

Akram reportedly only uttered one word, “yes,” when the judge asked him if he had heard a discussion about extending the identity ban orders. Akram will appear before the court on March 9.

Akram Ben Archbold's lawyer said outside the court that his client is being held in "extremely harsh conditions," according to ABC, noting that it is too early to determine whether Akram will plead guilty or not.

The mass shooting sparked a national debate over anti-Semitism, anger over the failure to protect Australian Jews from harm, and promises to tighten gun laws.

The victims included an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, a couple who tried to stop one of the attackers, and a 10-year-old girl.

For a period of time in 2019, Naveed was under the surveillance of Australian intelligence, but it stopped monitoring him after it considered that he did not pose an imminent danger.

"Plan the attack with extreme precision."

Police documents showed that the defendants “trained in firearms” in rural New South Wales before the attack. It published pictures showing the two defendants shooting rifles and moving in a manner that the police described as “tactical.” It also indicated that the defendants “planned the attack with extreme precision” over a period of months.

The police also reported that last October, the two men recorded a video clip denouncing the "Zionists" before carrying out their attack.

They appeared in a video recording found on one of them’s phone, sitting in front of the “Islamic State” organization flag, reciting verses from the Qur’an and then talking about “their motives behind the Bundai attack.”

In addition, following the Bondai attack, the government announced a series of national measures regarding the possession of weapons and hate speech, pledging to impose stricter laws and fines.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also revealed a broad plan to buy back weapons from their owners "with the aim of getting rid of handguns on the streets." This is the largest such plan since 1996, when the Australian authorities decided to contain the spread of firearms following a mass killing that killed 35 people in Port Arthur.

France 24/AFP

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