Alleged Bondi shooter Naveed Akram appears in court
Naveed Akram, accused of the Bondi Beach shooting, appeared in public for the first time after allegedly carrying out the worst terrorist attack in Australian history that resulted in the deaths of 15 people.
Akram, 24, and his father Sajid, 50, allegedly opened fire with a rifle and shotgun at a Jewish celebration held at the iconic beach on December 14, 2025.
The police returned fire, killing Sajid and critically injuring Akram. Investigators say the two were motivated by the Islamic State and deliberately targeted the Jewish community.
By then, 15 innocent people had died, including a 10-year-old girl.
Akram spent weeks at Long Bay prison hospital before being taken to Goulburn Supermax prison, reserved for the highest risk prisoners.
Akram called Downing Center Local Court for several minutes on Monday morning using a video link from a dreary, gray room in Goulburn.
His lawyer had told the court that Akram did not need to attend the hearing, but this news did not reach prison staff before the link was activated.
The court hearing was brief; Decisions not to publish the details of the victims were extended, and the timeline for evidence to change hands was discussed.
Akram sat mostly quietly, appeared alert and wore a dark green prison sweatshirt. When asked if Associate Chief Justice Sharon Freund had heard those conversations, her only response was “yes.”
The contact was quickly terminated and the matter will be reconsidered for another administrative hearing in March.
Documents received by the court reporter He claims that shortly after Akram’s arrest, he and his father rented a hideout (a small Airbnb) in Campsie in October to plan their attack.
That month, they shot a video of themselves in front of a painting of an Islamic State flag with four long-armed guns and ammunition rounds hanging on the wood-paneled wall behind them.
In this video Naveed looks like this: Read a passage from the Quran Arabic. Both men then allegedly spoke in English about their motivations for the Bondi attack and condemned the actions of the Zionists.
“[They] The allegations, contained in a police fact sheet released by the NSW Local Court in December, appear to outline the motives for the Bondi terror attack.
According to the fact sheet, they had collected six weapons, including two single-barrel shotguns and a Beretta rifle (Sajid had a NSW license for firearms). Police claimed they made three pipe bombs, a tennis ball bomb and a large IED bomb.
More to come
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