The Lindt Café siege was a terrorist attack that occurred on 15–16 December 2014 when a lone gunman,
Man Haron Monis
Man Haron Monis (; born Mohammed Hassan Manteghi Borujerdi; 19 May 1964 – 16 December 2014) was an Iranian-born refugee and Australian citizen who took hostages in a siege at the Lindt Chocolate Café at Martin Place, Sydney on 15 Dece ...
, held ten customers and eight employees of a
Lindt Chocolate Café hostage in the
APA Building in
Martin Place
Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney. ,
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
The Sydney siege led to a 16-hour standoff, after which a gunshot was heard from inside and police officers from the
Tactical Operations Unit
The State Protection Group (SPG) is part of the Counter Terrorism & Special Tactics Command of the New South Wales Police Force and was established in 1991 to deal with extraordinary policing responses. The SPG directly supports police in high- ...
(TOU) stormed the café. Hostage Tori Johnson was killed by Monis and hostage Katrina Dawson was killed by a police bullet ricochet in the subsequent raid. Monis was also killed. Three other hostages and a police officer were injured by police gunfire during the raid.
Police have been criticised over their handling of the siege for not taking proactive action earlier, for the deaths of hostages at the end of the siege, and for the lack of negotiation during the siege. Hostage Marcia Mikhael called radio station
2GB during the siege and said, "They have not negotiated, they've done nothing. They have left us here to die."
Early on, hostages were seen holding a
Jihadist flag
The jihadist flag is a flag commonly used by various Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist movements as a symbol of jihadism, jihad. It usually consists of the Black Standard with a white text of the ''Shahada'' (Islamic declaration of faith) emb ...
against the window of the café, featuring the ''
shahādah'' creed.
Initially, many media organisations mistook it for the flag used by the
Islamic State
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
(IS); Monis later demanded that an IS flag be brought to him.
Monis also unsuccessfully demanded to speak to the
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...
,
Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
, live on radio. Monis was described by Abbott as having indicated a "political motivation,"
but the eventual assessment was that the gunman was "a very unusual case—a rare mix of extremism, mental health problems and plain criminality."
In the aftermath of the siege, Muslim groups issued a joint statement in which they condemned the incident,
and memorial services were held in the city at the nearby
St Mary's Cathedral and
St James' Church.
Condolence books were set up in other Lindt cafés and the community turned Martin Place into a "field of flowers."
The Martin Place Lindt café was severely damaged during the police raid, closed afterwards, then renovated for reopening in March 2015.
Events
Prior to event
An anonymous call was made to Australia's anti-terrorism hotline 48 hours before the siege, raising concerns about the content of Monis's website. On his website, Monis had pledged allegiance to "the caliph of the Muslims", believed to be referring to Islamic State leader
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (28 July 1971 – 27 October 2019), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant leader who was the founder and first leader of the Islamic State (IS), who proclaimed hims ...
, and denounced moderate Islam. It has been reported that the
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is the Intelligence agency, domestic intelligence and national security agency of the Australian Government, responsible for protection from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign inte ...
followed up on the call by reviewing the website and Monis's posts on social media but found nothing to indicate that he was likely to commit an act of violence.
Hostage-taking and negotiations

Monis entered the
Lindt Chocolate Café at 53 Martin Place, Sydney, at 8:33am Sydney local time on 15 December 2014 (
AEDT
Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30) and Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00).
Time is regulated by the individual state ...
,
UTC
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
+11). The café was located directly across from the
Seven News
Seven News (stylised 7NEWS) is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia.
National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in South Eveleigh, Sydney, while its flags ...
television studios, and near the
Reserve Bank of Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank.
Th ...
, the headquarters of the
Commonwealth Bank
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...
,
Westpac
Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney.
Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...
bank, and
Martin Place underground train station.
The hostage situation began at 9:44am, when Monis forced Tori Johnson, the manager of the café, to phone
000
Triple zero, Zero Zero Zero, 0-0-0 or variants may refer to:
* 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number
* 000, the size of several small List of screw drives, screw drives
* 0-0-0, a Droid (Star Wars)#0-0-0, dro ...
.
Monis was bearded, wearing a black cap and wearing a black headband with the inscription, in Arabic: "We are ready to sacrifice for you, O Mohammad." He was carrying a blue sports bag, and armed with a sawed-off pump-action shotgun.
The shotgun was old but could fire four shots in five seconds.
Monis used hostages as
human shields. He had chained and locked the automatic sliding glass doors of the café.
Monis claimed there were four "devices" located around Sydney. Then New South Wales Police Commissioner
Andrew Scipione said that none of the alleged devices were found during searches.
Monis also demanded that a hostage ask all media to broadcast that "this is an attack on Australia by the Islamic State". In addition, he demanded that an Islamic State flag be delivered to him, although the request was never fulfilled.
Hostages were ordered to hold up a
Black Standard
The Black Banner or Black Standard (), also known as the Banner of the eagle () or simply as The Banner () is one of the Islamic flags flown by the Islamic prophet Muhammad according to Muslim tradition. It was historically used by Abu Musli ...
flag, with the ''
shahādah'' in white Arabic letters (an Islamic
creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets.
Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...
declaring: "There is no God but
Allah
Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...
, and
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
is the messenger of God"), against the window of the café.
Some news reports initially mistook it for the flag used by the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
(ISIL).
Monis demanded to speak to the Australian Prime Minister live on radio, but this demand was rejected. This was relayed by hostage Marcia Mikhael, who said that she "lost it" when told that the Prime Minister was too busy, saying, "I don't care what
bbottis doing right now...I'm sure there's nothing more important happening in Australia...than the lives of the people in this café..."
Mamdouh Habib
Mamdouh Habib (born 3 June 1955) is an Egyptian and Australian citizen with dual nationality, best known for having been held for more than three years by the United States as an enemy combatant, by both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and ...
said he knew Monis well and offered to help the NSWPF negotiate with him. He believed that Monis was "sick and disturbed" over his failure to gain access to his children, and said Monis could trust him to get his message out.
Lawyer Manny Conditsis had represented Monis and had also offered help because he said that Monis respected what he had to say to him. Barrister Michael Klooster who had met Monis in the cafe before the siege called the police at 2:17pm. Other Muslim leaders also offered to help, including the Grand Mufti of Australia,
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed () is an Egyptian-born and educated Sunni Islamic scholar and Grand Mufti of Australia from September 2011 to March 2018. He became Grand Mufti again after Afifi's death.
Personal life
Abu Mohamed was born in Binufar, Gha ...
.
All such offers were rejected by the police because they had no control over what the untrained negotiators might say or do.
[ However, Mikhael said that after the request to speak to the Prime Minister was refused: "It was then that I knew that there was not going to be any negotiation and we were just left there. ...They were waiting for him to kill someone or shoot something so they ]ould Ould is an English surname as well as an element of many Arabic names. In Arabic contexts it is a transliteration of the word wikt:ولد, ولد, meaning "son".
Notable people with this surname include:
English surname
* Edward Ould (1852–190 ...
come in. ...There was nothing proactive about that operation, nothing."[
Belinda Neil, who was a negotiator for the NSW Police, stated that in negotiations, " want to try and talk to the hostage-taker. ... want to find out why he's there, why is he doing this, and we don't just go into this situation hoping to resolve it in half an hour."] This approach would be consistent with the Behavioral Change Stairway Model.[Gregory M. Vecchi 'et al.', , 2003] However, Mikhael stated that no such negotiation took place.[ Habib said that he called both the NSWPF and the Attorney General twice during the raid, but they did not return his calls.][ Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione confirmed during the siege that "we're not dealing directly with him ... we do not have direct contact with the offender."][
Several hostages made contact with media outlets and relayed Monis' demands to them. At the request of the ]New South Wales Police Force
The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...
, they were not published during the siege. The social media profiles of the hostages were also used to relay demands.[
At 1:43am, Tori Johnson texted his family "He's onisincreasingly agitated, walks around when he hears a noise outside with a hostage in front of him. Wants to release one person in good faith, tell police."][ This was reported to the police ten minutes later.
During the early stages of the siege, the Australian Government and the NSW authorities did not label the event as a terrorist attack; However, as the siege continued, NSW Police authorised the engagement of the state's counter-terrorism task force, treating the incident as an act of terrorism.]
Escape of first five hostages
At around 3:37pm, two hostages, John O'Brien and barrister Stefan Balafoutis, escaped from the front entrance of the building, followed by a third hostage, café employee Paolo Vassallo, who ran out from a fire exit at the side of the building. At around 4:58pm, two female hostages, both employees, Jieun Bae and Elly Chen, escaped by running from another entrance of the building and were met by Tactical Operations Unit
The State Protection Group (SPG) is part of the Counter Terrorism & Special Tactics Command of the New South Wales Police Force and was established in 1991 to deal with extraordinary policing responses. The SPG directly supports police in high- ...
officers.
Monis was unaware that Jieun Bae and Elly Chen had escaped. Jarrod Morton-Hoffman made noise to cover their exit and persuaded Monis that media reports of five hostages escaping were wrong. After the escape, Monis threatened to kill hostages.
The police State Technical Investigation Branch planted a covert listening device
A covert listening device, more commonly known as a bug or a wire, is usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. The use of bugs, called bugging, or wiretapping is a common technique in surveillance, espionage and ...
in the café during the night. At one point, the device picked up Monis saying that he wanted to kill any escaping hostages.
Breach and hostage rescue
At 2:03am on 16 December, a "very loud bang" was heard as Monis shot towards six hostages fleeing from the building. At 2:11am Monis fired a shot towards the kitchen, and was heard on the police listening device reloading his shotgun. The hostage Fiona Ma then escaped through the front door, and two Tactical Operations Unit
The State Protection Group (SPG) is part of the Counter Terrorism & Special Tactics Command of the New South Wales Police Force and was established in 1991 to deal with extraordinary policing responses. The SPG directly supports police in high- ...
teams were ordered to move very slowly towards the two entrances.
At 2:14am, four minutes after the Tactical operations teams were ordered in, Monis shot Tori Johnson in the back of the head, killing him. The execution was witnessed by TOU sniper Sierra 3-1, who reported a hostage down. TOU Operators armed with M4A1
The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 rifle, M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively used by ...
carbines threw eleven stun grenade
A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a Non-lethal weapon, non-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, a stun grenade produces Flash blindness, ...
s as they stormed the café.
Monis was shot in the head. TOU Officer A – later identified as Ben Besant, whose identity was the subject of a suppression order only lifted in 2024 – stated that "I watched the (Carbine) laser ... from the centre of his chest go to his head and his head exploded and he fell". Besant fired a total of 17 rounds, and Officer B fired 5 additional rounds. Some fragments of those rounds killed hostage Katrina Dawson. Three other hostages and TOU Officer B were injured by crossfire.
Police declared the siege over soon after, later confirming that Monis was killed in the hostage rescue. Two hostages had died, and another three were injured by police bullets. TOU Officer B, whose face was grazed by a police bullet, was discharged from hospital later in the day.
At the inquest, Counsel assisting the coroner, Jeremy Gormley SC, said, "No shot fired by Mr. Monis, other than the one that struck and killed Mr. Johnson, struck anyone."[ Mitchell McAlister, who was a TAG East assaulter with the 2nd Commando Tactical Assault Group questioned the police use of M4A1 carbines with 5.56mm NATO rounds. Carbine rounds could have "dangerous effects in a dense and enclosed environment."] It was initially unclear why 22 shots were fired by police, of which 13 hit Monis. The rounds were continuously fired in the belief that the hostage taker could reach for a bomb trigger.
Flag raids
At around 2:00pm on 15 December, police contacted Rebecca Kay, a member of the Muslim community, and asked her to help source an ISIS flag for Monis. Kay contacted many people in the Muslim community but ultimately the police sourced their own flag. However, the flag was never given to Monis.
The following day, NSW and Federal Police raided three homes of people who had been contacted in the attempt to source the flag. Kay assumes that her conversations had been monitored. Kay said she would help police in another crisis, but "with this incident they have not built trust at all. You don't understand...the fear that he AFP and ASIOcreate, and how they stalk...members of our community..."[ Lawyer Zali Burrows questioned the purpose of the police contacting Kay in the first place, stating, "Why didn't they just print flag"][
]
Police strategy
The NSW Police Force followed a "contain and negotiate" strategy to avoid any direct action unless a hostage was killed or injured.[ They decided that this strategy could deliver a "peaceful negotiated outcome" because Monis had not harmed any hostages, despite having threatened to do so. Monis had not reacted violently to the escape of five hostages on two separate occasions, or due to none of his demands being met.][ Further, Monis claimed to have a bomb, and "if the bomb was triggered, all of those inside the cafe and those attempting a rescue were not likely to survive".][ At 8:20pm and again at 11:35pm, the head of the Tactical Operations Unit attempted to persuade the other commanders to take a "Deliberate Action" plan and storm the cafe. This plan was overruled by Task Force Pioneer commanders and Assistant Commissioner Mark Jenkins due to the danger to the hostages and police officers.]
TOU snipers could not fire due to "the narrow windows, the moving around of Monis, the risk to hostages if there was a missed shot, (and) the position of the snipers behind glass".
At 11:00am, Operational Commander Mick Fuller approved negotiations for the release of half of the 18 hostages in return for Monis being allowed to talk on ABC radio. However, the Negotiation Commander decided not to do so because it conflicted with a standing policy to not negotiate with terrorists.
The first negotiator was not told that the Grand Mufti of Australia and a barrister who represented Monis had offered to help negotiate with Monis. He only found out about Monis's demand for the ABC to broadcast that Australia was under attack after a Facebook post from one of the hostages was read out on radio 2GB. Monis had also demanded that the Christmas lights be turned off. The first negotiator thought that doing this would have provided an opportunity to bargain with Monis, but did not hear back from commanders as to whether it was possible so "discarded" the option.[
He was then relieved by a second negotiator, but did not tell him about the demand that the Christmas lights be turned off. Hostage Selina Win Pe told the second negotiator Monis wanted to know why it hadn't happened.] It was later revealed an Ausgrid
Ausgrid is an electricity distribution company which owns, maintains and operates the electrical networks supplying 1.8 million customers servicing more than 4 million people in Sydney, the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wale ...
team had assembled to switch off the lights, but was sent home.
A third negotiator later said that he did not have the Christmas lights turned off because he had to have reassurance that the hostage taker would not carry out his threat to kill Win Pe. He said there was some "step-by-step" process to have the hostages released (after nineteen hours). Jenkins says he would have liked the Christmas lights turned off quickly, and was unaware that this had been found to be possible. Jenkins was also not told about the Johnson text near the end of the siege that Monis wanted to release a hostage.[
The Negotiation Unit leader did not think Monis would hurt anyone because Monis had told people inside the cafe that everyone would go home once Prime Minister Tony Abbott called. The team leader later conceded that Abbott was never going to call. An unnamed civilian Forensic Psychologist was the consultant for NSW Police. The psychiatrist gave forensic advice that Monis was probably undertaking a grandiose act to be recognised as a figure of great infamy rather than wishing to hurt anyone. He doubted that Monis actually represented ISIS because he did not have the correct flag, nor that his actions were politically motivated.] The psychiatrist warned that "a wounded narcissist is a dangerous specimen" as none of Monis's demands were met.
Timeline of events
Here is the timeline of events during the siege in Lindt Cafe. All times given are in Australian Eastern Daylight Time
Daylight saving time (DST) is currently observed in the Australian states of New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria, as well as the Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay Territory and Norfolk Island. Other Australian juri ...
, ( UTC+11:00).
Hostages
Authorities did not release an estimate of the number of hostages inside the café during the siege. After the siege, a total of 18 hostages was confirmed—eight staff and ten customers of the café including lawyers and Westpac employees with offices close by. Initial estimates varied, with some significantly overestimating the number.
Tori Johnson, the 34-year-old manager of the café, died after being shot in the head by Monis.
Katrina Dawson, a 38-year-old barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
, was killed by crossfire when she was hit by seven police bullet fragments. Dawson was lying behind a chair that was hit by 10 bullets.
Three hostages and TOU Officer B were wounded by police crossfire during the raid. The three hostages were Marcia Mikhael, who was shot in the leg; Robyn Hope, a 75-year-old woman who was shot in the shoulder; and Louisa Hope, her 52-year-old daughter, who was shot in the foot.
All three were in a stable condition after treatment. Paolo Vassallo, one of the five hostages who initially escaped the scene, was hospitalised for a pre-existing condition.
The other hostages were identified as John O'Brien, Stefan Balafoutis, Elly Chen, Jieun Bae, Harriette Denny, Viswakanth Ankireddy, Joel Herat, Fiona Ma, Jarrod Hoffman, Puspendu Ghosh, Selina Win Pe, and Julie Taylor.
Memorial services for Johnson and Dawson were held on 23 December: Johnson's in the morning at St Stephen's Uniting Church, Sydney, and Dawson's in the afternoon in the Great Hall of the University of Sydney. Interviews with some of the hostages were later recorded for television and broadcast, amid some controversy.
Evacuations and closures
After the siege began, a staged exclusion zone was established with thousands of people evacuated from nearby buildings, including the floors above the café. The Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
was evacuated after a suspicious package was found; however, reports were unconfirmed by police. The US Consulate General in Sydney, located in Martin Place, was also evacuated. Some Sydney schools were put in "white level lockout" due to the hostage situation, which meant that no school group was permitted to leave the school grounds.
Police advised people in the area bounded by Hunter
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...
, George
George may refer to:
Names
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
People
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE
* George, stage name of Gior ...
, Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth''
* Princess Elizabeth ...
, and Macquarie streets, bordering Martin Place, to remain indoors and away from windows. Commonwealth Bank
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...
, Westpac
Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney.
Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...
, and ANZ closed their CBD branches for the day. The State Library was also closed. Numerous other buildings, including David Jones stores, executive offices for the New South Wales Parliament
The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wale ...
, criminal courts for the Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, the Downing Centre
The Downing Centre is a major heritage-listed former department store and now courthouse complex in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It features state government courts, including the Local Court, the District Court, and a law library known ...
, and "several city legal chambers" were evacuated, as were the facilities of the Seven Network
Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
, situated directly across from the café, forcing '' The Morning Show'' to suspend transmission. Police established an emergency centre in nearby Hyde Park in response to the unfolding situation with emergency services sent to the staging post to respond to any immediate threats. Evacuees were relocated to the area as a safety precaution.
Trains did not stop at Martin Place railway station
Martin Place railway station is a heritage-listed underground suburban rail and rapid transit station located on the Eastern Suburbs line, serving the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. Named after Martin Place, it ...
during the incident. Transport for NSW
Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is a Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government transport services and roads List of New South Wales government agencies, agency established on 1 November 2011. The agency is a different entity to the NSW ...
advised people to stay away from the CBD. Road closures prevented southbound access to the Cahill Expressway
Cahill Expressway is an urban freeway in Sydney and was the first freeway constructed in Australia, with the first section, from the Bradfield Highway to Conservatorium Place being opened to traffic in March 1958. It links the southern end of ...
, York Street
York Street, also known as the Jakemans Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Boston, England, and was the former home of Boston United. Originally called Shodfriars Lane, football was first played on the site since the la ...
, and Harbour Street, and northbound access to the Cahill Expressway, and all traffic was diverted to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. On the morning of 16 December, road diversions remained in place and Martin Place train station remained closed. In the evening of 16 December, Elizabeth Street, Macquarie Street and Hunter Street were opened to traffic.
Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...
fares for travel in Sydney surged during the event under the company's dynamic pricing
Dynamic pricing, also referred to as surge pricing, demand pricing, or time-based pricing, and variable pricing, is a revenue management pricing strategy in which businesses set flexible prices for products or services based on current market de ...
system, which led to criticism. Uber subsequently refunded excessive fares and provided free rides out of the CBD.
Perpetrator
Iranian-born Monis was identified as the hostage-taker and named early on the morning of 16 December.
In September 2009, Monis was convicted for criminal use of the postal service to "menace, harass or cause offence", for a campaign protesting the presence of Australian troops in Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, by writing letters to the families of soldiers killed there, in which he called the soldiers murderers. On 12 December 2014 (three days before the siege), Monis lost his appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
against his conviction and was sentenced to 300 hours of community service. Monis had been charged with accessory to murder
Accessory may refer to:
* Accessory (legal term), a person who assists a criminal
In anatomy
* Accessory bone
* Accessory breast
* Accessory kidney
* Accessory muscle
* Accessory nucleus, in anatomy, a cranial nerve nucleus
* Accessory nerve
* ...
relating to the death of his former wife who was found stabbed eighteen times, and set alight, on 21 April 2013 at a unit block in Werrington. However, on 12 December 2013, Magistrate William Pierce said "It is a weak case" and granted Monis bail. In November 2016, Amirah Droudis was found guilty, in a judge-only trial, of the murder of Monis's ex-wife and sentenced to 44 years' jail.
Monis also had numerous charges of sexual assault
Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
, aggravated indecent assault, and common assault
Common assault is an offence in English law. It is committed by a person who causes another person to apprehend the immediate use of unlawful violence by the defendant. In England and Wales, the penalty and mode of trial for this offence is pro ...
. On 14 April 2014, Monis was charged with three sexual assault offences against a woman and remanded in custody. He was granted bail on 26 May, six days after the Bail Act in New South Wales was rewritten based on recommendations by the New South Wales Law Reform Commission
The New South Wales Law Reform Commission is a commission to investigate, review and advise on the reform of the law in New South Wales, a state of Australia. The present commission came into existence on 25 September 1967 although it had been a ...
. On 10 October, he was charged with another 40 sexual assault offences against six more women, and his bail was continued.
Jeremy Gormly SC, counsel assisting the inquest, summarised Monis as "a complex, disturbed individual desperate for recognition and status but completely lacking the skills or achievements to bring that dream to life". Gormly summarised that "Monis could be plausible, courteous and controlled, but he was also almost entirely consumed in his own self-importance. ... By 2014, he owned no property, was in debt, and had developed no employment skills. His attempts to develop a personal, religious following ... had failed. ... He was facing future serious criminal charges... he had made no public impact of note on the Australian political scene". Monis may have felt that he had "little left to live for".
No weapons were found when police raided his home in 2013.[ From 1997 to 2000, Monis held a security guard licence, which would have let him carry a pistol between March and June 1997. The weapon that Monis used, a sawn-off French-made Manufrance La Salle pump-action shotgun, was more than 50 years old.] Police believe the weapon was imported in the 1950s, when no registration was required. Monis had 23 shotgun cartridges of different brands on him, between 15 and 20 years old.[
]
Reactions
Leaders
The Prime Minister convened the National Security Committee of Cabinet to give briefings on the situation and said "Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner." He later said, "The whole point of politically motivated violence is to scare people out of being themselves. Australia is a peaceful, open, and generous society. Nothing should ever change that and that's why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual", and "Australians should be reassured by the way our law enforcement and security agencies responded to this brush with terrorism."
The Premier of New South Wales
The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...
, Mike Baird
Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Mini ...
, addressed the media during the stand-off, and stated "we are being tested today... in Sydney. The police are being tested, the public is being tested, but whatever the test we will face it head on and we will remain a strong democratic, civil society. I have full confidence in the Police Commissioner and the incredible work of the NSW police force.[
The ]Lord Mayor of Sydney
The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has b ...
, Clover Moore
Clover Margaret Moore (née Collins, born 22 October 1945) is an Australian politician. She has been the Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney since 2004 and is currently the longest serving Lord Mayor of Sydney since the creation of the City of Sy ...
, on the morning of 16 December 2014, urged Australians to see this as a "one-off event", stating, "We're an inclusive multicultural community and we need to deal with this together". Governor-General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove
General (Australia), General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is an Australian retired senior Australian Army, Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019.
A graduate of the Royal ...
, released a statement sympathising with the families, commending the work of the police involved, and urging Australians to "unite in our resolve to protect what we value most—our way of life, our care and respect for each other".[
]
Community
Thousands of people visited the site in the first few days after the incident to pay tribute to the victims. Among them were members of the families of Dawson and Johnson. Johnson's father was accompanied by rabbis Levi Wolff and Zalmen Kastel, Hindu priest Pandit Ramachandra, the Reverend Bill Crews and Sheikh Wesam Charkawi. Dawson's young daughter left her own note.
Flags on all NSW government buildings, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...
, flew at half-mast
Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a sal ...
to honour the hostages who lost their lives at the café.
A magistrate who had granted Monis bail and the lawyers who had represented him in his court appearances received death threats in the days after the attack. This reaction was described by the Bar Association as "understandable but wrong-headed", as magistrates have to deal with cases as they come before them on the basis of the law at the time.
#illridewithyou campaign
During and immediately following the incident, some in the community expressed concern about an increased potential for violence or intimidation directed at Muslims in Australia. For example, the head of the Australian Muslim Women's Association told the media there was an increase in anti-Muslim messages being posted on social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
. Due to this concern among some local social media users, many started using the hashtag
A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...
''#illridewithyou'' 'll ride with you This sought to offer solidarity and emotional support to Muslims travelling alone on public transport by people tweeting their bus/train route and suggesting that they would be willing to "ride with" anyone who might feel threatened. More than 150,000 people indicated their support of the concept by using the hashtag. The campaign was initially inspired by a Facebook status update about offering to walk with a woman who had removed her head covering. The campaign received international attention, including from United States President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, although federal National Party member of Parliament George Christensen
George Robert Christensen (born 30 June 1978) is an Australian politician, currently serving as a member of the Mackay Regional Council. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, serving as the member for the divisio ...
criticised the campaign for creating "false victims" out of Muslims and thereby taking attention away from the hostages.
"Field of flowers"
On the morning of 16 December 2014, after police declared the crisis to be over, a makeshift memorial began to take shape in Martin Place. From the first bunch of lilies, tributes developed into a field of flowers that "you can smell before you can see" and which was extensively reported and photographed. The Prime Minister and NSW Premier were among many in the community to lay flowers at the memorial in a demarcated space. Flowers were also taken to suburban Lindt shops.
Volunteers from the Rural Fire Service, the State Emergency Service
The State Emergency Service (SES) is the name used by a number of separate civil defence organisations in Australia that provide assistance during and after major incidents. Specifically, the services deal with floods, storms and tsunamis, b ...
and the Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
began clearing the flowers on 22 December 2014 after consultation with the families, because rain was expected. It was announced that the condolence books would be bound in several volumes and one complete copy provided to each family. The messages on the many cards were to be digitised. During the week after the siege, it was estimated that 110,000 bouquets were laid at Martin Place.
File:Police flowers.JPG, From the NSW Police Force
File:Selbourne Chambers.JPG, Outside Selborne Chambers
File:Lindt café.JPG, Floral tributes at the Lindt café in Westfield Miranda
File:(1)Lindt Cafe siege two days later 009a.jpg, Lindt's response to the shooting
Religious organisations
During the siege, Sanier Dandan, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association
The Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) is an Australian non-profit welfare Sunni Muslim organisation based in Lakemba, New South Wales, Lakemba, a south-western suburb of Sydney. It is also variously cited as the Lebanese "Moslem", "Moslems" or ...
, informed ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
that Australian Muslim leaders were meeting online for discussions as to how the Muslim community could help with the situation. He added, "Regardless, we have a hostage situation. Whether he is someone who belongs to the Australian Muslim community or not, we are still waiting for information to be provided by police and based on that if there's something the Muslim community can do or assist, we are there."
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed () is an Egyptian-born and educated Sunni Islamic scholar and Grand Mufti of Australia from September 2011 to March 2018. He became Grand Mufti again after Afifi's death.
Personal life
Abu Mohamed was born in Binufar, Gha ...
, the Grand Mufti
A Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is a title for the leading Faqīh, Islamic jurist of a country, typically Sunni, who may oversee other muftis. Not all countries with large Sunni Muslim populations have Gra ...
of Australia, condemned the incident in a statement released on 15 December. The same afternoon, around fifty Muslim groups issued a joint statement in which they condemned the incident. The Australian Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...
Muslim Association condemned the incident, the national president saying that "such actions are criminal and totally contrary to the teachings of Islam." Egypt's Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam also condemned the attack.
In Martin Place, the 2014 traditional Hanukkah menorah
A Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah, is a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Eight of the nine branches hold lights (candles or oil lamps) that symbolize the eight nights of the holiday; on each night, ...
presented a message of support: "May the lights of the festival of Hanukkah bring comfort and warmth to our nation".
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher
Anthony Colin Fisher (born 10 March 1960) is an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church and a friar of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Since 12 November 2014, he has been the ninth Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. He served as the third ...
, invoked the special prayers in the Roman Missal
The Roman Missal () is the book which contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Roman Rite, the most common liturgy and Mass of the Catholic Church. There have been several editions.
History
Before the Council of Trent (1570)
...
from the "Mass in times of civil disturbance" and a memorial service was held at St Mary's Cathedral, on the morning of 19 December.
St James' Church, which had been within the exclusion zone,[ held a "Service of Remembrance and Reflection" on the afternoon of 19 December. The service was attended by about 400 people, most of them members of the legal profession.
]
International
During the siege, a spokesman for the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
, John Baird, said, "We urge all Canadians in Sydney to use extra precaution and limit their movements as authorities handle this situation."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham, strongly condemned the taking of hostages as "inhuman" and also stated that the Australian authorities had been repeatedly warned about Monis.
United States President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
called the Prime Minister to express his condolences on behalf of the United States. According to the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
, Obama praised the "Australian public's embrace of #illridewithyou and the Muslim leaders who have disavowed the actions of the hostage taker", and "Australia's rejection of any violence taken in the name of religion and the fear this violence seeks to stoke." The President also conveyed the United States' willingness to provide assistance in the aftermath of the situation.[ United States Secretary of State, ]John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
, said the United States stood ready to provide Australia with any assistance required in "determining the facts of the case, assisting the victims and holding accountable anyone and everyone responsible for this act of terror". Citing this event, the United States issued a global travel alert to its citizens, to be alert for possible terrorist attacks within public venues.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key
Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016.
Following his father's death when ...
, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
, UK Prime Minister David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
, and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...
also expressed their concern about the incident. In addition, the Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i embassy in Australia stated that it stood with Australia in the face of terror.
Charitable foundations
Following the two deaths during the hostage situation, the Katrina Dawson Foundation was established, with the aim of supporting educational opportunities for women. The then Governor-General
Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
Quentin Bryce
Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th Governor-General of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the List of elected and appointed female heads of state, first wom ...
was a founding member. At his parents' request, a memorial fund for Johnson was used to raise money for mental health organisation Beyond Blue
Beyond Blue is an Australian mental health and wellbeing support organisation. They provide support programs to address issues related to depression, suicide, anxiety disorders and other related mental illnesses.
The organisation works in par ...
. The first donation, of $51,000, came from Lindt Australia.
Terrorist organizations
Two weeks after the siege, '' Dabiq'', a magazine published by the ISIL editorialised on Monis's actions and attempted to claim him as one of their own, in a response that an expert described as "absolutely predictable". The magazine lauded Monis's actions and their effect on the city. The al Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg
, caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
, founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden
, leaders = {{Plainlist,
* Osama bin Lad ...
-produced magazine ''Inspire
Inspiration, inspire, INSPIRE, or inspired commonly refers to:
* Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production
* Biblical inspiration, a Christian doctrine on the origin of the Bible
* Inhalation, breathing in
Inspiration and rel ...
'' also praised Monis's actions.
Investigations
A number of organisations announced formal investigations.
Police investigations include a "critical incident" investigation undertaken by NSW police; headed by Detective Inspector Angelo Memmolo and an enquiry conducted by the Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government responsible for investigating Crime in Australia, crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth ...
.
Federal and state governments announced a joint review to be led by Michael Thawley from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Blair Comley of the New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Following the siege, officers from the New South Wales Police Force and the Australian Federal Police went to the Belmore home of Monis's partner Amirah Droudis, and removed property. Her bail was revoked after a hearing on 22 December 2014. Investigations by Australian security agencies and monitoring of suspects following the siege revealed increased "terror chatter".
Federal–State joint review
The findings of the Federal–State joint review were released on 22 February 2015. The report covered Monis's earlier interactions with the government, his access to firearms, and the government response to Monis including problems correlating his various aliases. The report's terms of reference did not cover the controversial police actions during the siege itself, such as the nature of the negotiations or the final assault.[
The review found that the judgements made by government agencies were reasonable. It suggested only modest changes to laws and procedures, taking the view that "introducing substantial further controls involves a larger choice about the sort of society we wish to live in and is properly the province of the public and our elected representatives".][ The review found that the ]Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is the Intelligence agency, domestic intelligence and national security agency of the Australian Government, responsible for protection from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign inte ...
(ASIO) had conducted a thorough review of Monis in 2008/9 and found that he was not involved in politically motivated violence, nor had significant contact with groups of security concern. After receiving 18 calls from the public, ASIO reviewed Monis's Facebook page, which was considered not to indicate a threat. None of the calls related to any pending attack. The review found that there was no credible information that would indicate an attack.[ Monis had been granted bail while charged with several violent offences. However, bail laws had since been tightened in this regard. Monis obtained his firearm illegally and was never granted a license.][
The review suggested, in addition to the reforms to the bail laws and "new programmes to counter ]violent extremism
Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with Ideology, ideological or deliberate intent, such as Religious violence, religious or political violence. Violent extremist views often conflate with Religious violen ...
", that a review of immigration policies and visa applications should be undertaken. The review suggested that the gun that Monis used had lawfully entered the country, possibly as early as the 1950s, and had fallen into the "grey market" after not being included in the gun buyback schemes of 1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
and 2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
.
Inquest
An inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a cor ...
began as scheduled on 29 January 2015, presided over by the State Coroner, Michael Barnes. A Coronial Inquest is mandatory whenever people die in a police operation. The stated aim was "to determine how the hreedeaths occurred, the factors that contributed to them and whether they could have been prevented".
The hearings were divided into blocks of a couple of weeks. The first, which started on 25 May 2015, queried people who knew Monis to get background information. The second started on 17 August 2015 to consider Monis' bail application. Further blocks that investigate how the police dealt with the siege itself were withheld from the public "in the interests of the families".
The findings of the inquest were released on 24 May 2017.
Aftermath
Designation of the event as terrorism
Insurance declaration
Treasurer Joe Hockey
Joseph Benedict Hockey (born 2 August 1965) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament for Division of North Sydney, North Sydney from 1996 Australian federal election, 1996 until 2015. He was the Treasurer ...
declared the siege to be a "terrorist incident" under the ''Terrorism Insurance Act 2003''. The Act means that insurance exclusions for terrorist incidents do not apply if such a declaration is made.[
]
Debate on status as a terrorist event
Scholars and social commentators have debated whether Monis was a terrorist and whether his actions could be classified as an act of terrorism. There is doubt as to whether or not Monis fit the definition of a lone wolf terrorist.
Queensland University of Technology
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...
criminologist Mark Lauchs said it was important to not describe the siege as a "terrorist attack". Lauchs said Monis was simply a deranged person running a hostage situation. "This incident was not about religion and neither was it a terrorist attack, but given that perception by the paraphernalia Monis used." The Australian prime minister said, " an Haron Monishad a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability...As the siege unfolded yesterday, he sought to cloak his actions with the symbolism of the ISIL
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...
death cult."
Prof Greg Barton (from Deakin University) and Dr Clarke Jones (ANU) told the inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a cor ...
that Monis was a loner and had mental health problems, and was desperate to attach himself to something. Clarke suggested that if the Rebels
A rebel is a participant in a rebellion.
Rebel or rebels may also refer to:
People
* Rebel (given name)
* Rebel (surname)
* Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution
* American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...
had accepted his membership then the siege might not have happened. Roger Shanahan from the Lowy Institute
The Lowy Institute is an independent think tank founded in April 2003 by Frank Lowy to conduct original, policy-relevant research regarding international political, strategic and economic issues from an Australian perspective.
It is based in ...
said that if Monis had followed ISIS direction he would have just killed everyone.
The chief of ASIO Duncan Lewis confirmed that he believed Monis to be a terrorist. However, former counter-terrorism adviser to the White House, Richard A. Clarke, said, "I don't think this was a lone wolf terrorist, I don't think this was a terrorist at all, I think this was someone who was committing suicide by police as a lot of people with mental problems do, and now, if they say they're a terrorist, if they say they're somehow associated with ISIS or Al Qaeda, it becomes a major event that shuts down the city and gets international attention. This was a person with a mental problem who tried to gain attention and succeeded, tried to shut down the city and succeeded, merely by putting up a flag that was something like the flag of ISIS."[
The difference between terrorism and terrorising acts was noted in one analysis as "enormously important"it added that in Monis's case, terrorism "was clearly an element, but he was coming to the end of his rope with a variety of legal processes; there was clearly some mental instability."][ One view was that his lack of ties to any movement did not preclude his being a terrorist as it is "an inclusive club".] Another commentator said, "There can be also no doubt that his attack was a terrorist act, as defined under Australia's Criminal Code Act 1995" and that, "he was a terrorist, clearly influenced by IS".
One terrorism expert, Professor Greg Barton, described Monis's actions as those of a " lone wolf terrorist ... driven by a desire for attention and to be in the spotlight", and his use of the flag was described as "the only way" to instil fear on a global scale. Professor Michael Wesley, Director of the School of International, Political and Strategic Studies at the Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
said the attack "was very different from first-generation or second-generation terrorist attacksbut it was terrorism, and terrorism of a brutal and more unpredictable sort." Another view was that describing the gunman as a terrorist was misplaced and would only serve the interests of ISIL. The supervisor of terrorism and security analysis for Stratfor
Strategic Forecasting Inc., commonly known as Stratfor, is an American strategic intelligence publishing company founded in 1996. Stratfor's business model is to provide individual and enterprise subscriptions to Stratfor Worldview, its online p ...
said that this hostage-incident exhibits many of the elements associated with grassroots terrorism. A criminologist said that the event "was not about religion and neither was it a terrorist attack but given that perception by the paraphernalia Monis used."[
Conversely, Yassir Morsi, a researcher at the Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding in Australia, suggested that "before he flew the black flag, Monis was just a desperate man with a violent past" and that "he was just another gunman. ... the symbol (flag) rewrote Monis's violent past and gave grammar to his attack."][
Monis had entered the cafe without an ISIS flag.] ASIO's previous investigations had found no links between Monis and any terrorist group.[ When a News reporter met him before the crisis she thought Monis was "lost and confused" and "harmless". Habib said Monis was "sick and disturbed" and desperately seeking attention over his grievances with government officials that had nothing to do with terrorism.][
In 2016, Monis was cited as one of a number of recent violent attackers who were mentally disturbed and operated under the justification of Islamist ideas or slogans. Other examples include the as-of-yet unidentified perpetrator of the Munich knife attack and Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the perpetrator of the ]2014 shootings at Parliament Hill, Ottawa
The 2014 shootings at Parliament Hill occurred on 22 October 2014, at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Corporal Nathan Cirillo, a Canadian soldier and reservist on ceremonial sentry duty, was fatally shot at the National War Memorial, followed by a ...
. According to psychologists and psychiatrists who study radicalisation, jihad propaganda and calls to kill infidels can push mentally-ill individuals to act, even in the absence of direct or personal contact with radical Islamists.
In February 2017, United States President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
cited the Sydney siege as an example of what he claimed was deliberate underreporting of terrorist attacks by the media, notwithstanding that the event received "blanket coverage" in local and international news.
The coroner's finding
Following the Sydney siege inquest, in May 2017, the NSW Coroner Michael Barnes determined that "The siege was a terrorist incident."
Police weapons and tactics
During the siege, an Australian Army Tactical Assault Group East team at Holsworthy Barracks evaluated the floorplan of the cafe and gave advice to police. Mitchell McAlister, a former member of TAG East, questioned the police use of M4A1 carbines with 5.56 mm rounds over using Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 (, ) is a submachine gun developed in the 1960s by German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It uses a similar modular design to the Heckler & Koch G3, and has over 100 variants and clones, including selective fire, Se ...
submachine gun
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...
s.
Katrina Dawson died from a fragment of a police bullet, and other hostages appear to have been hit by bullets that ricocheted off the concrete building. It was unclear why 22 shots were fired by police, of which 13 hit Monis.[ Police have been criticised for both the high powered weapons used and the number of shots fired.][
]
Negotiation
During the siege, no significant effort was made to negotiate with Monis, as would normally be expected in a hostage situation in order to build a relationship with a gunman and persuade them to surrender.[ Instead, Monis received no encouragement or assistance from trained police negotiators.][
Help was offered by the Muslim community including the Grand Mufti and ]Mamdouh Habib
Mamdouh Habib (born 3 June 1955) is an Egyptian and Australian citizen with dual nationality, best known for having been held for more than three years by the United States as an enemy combatant, by both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and ...
who had known Monis personally. Habib offered to help negotiate or provide background information to the police. These offers were not taken up.[
It has been suggested that the police treatment of the siege as a terrorist attack may have led to errors such as making no attempt to negotiate with the gunman as would have been normal practice in other hostage situations.][ One commentator, Guy Rundle, questioned whether the police may have used a "crude rule" that "we don't negotiate with terrorists" that affected their procedures.][ It might also explain the choice of weapon in a small enclosure against a lone gunman.][ These factors may have directly led to the deaths of Johnson and Dawson.][
]
ISIL flag
During the siege, police asked Muslims in Sydney to source an ISIL
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...
flag for Monis, before obtaining their own.[ The police later raided several houses of people contacted by Rebecca Kay, who was attempting to find an ISIL flag.][ Kay assumed that the phone calls had been monitored, and that the request had been solely to find out who she would contact, lowering trust in the NSW Police Force among Muslims.][
]
Lack of detection
The security services have been criticised for not recognising that Monis was a threat, and for taking him off their watch list in 2008. This may have been because they overlooked key evidence, or it may have been because there was simply no evidence to collect.[ The federal-state joint review found that the relevant agencies' analysis had been reasonable.][
]
Law and politics
After the siege, the revelation that the new Bail Act had allowed Monis to be granted bail sparked calls to further tighten the law; however, a review had already been conducted in the wake of earlier controversial bail releases, with the new law set "to take effect next year" (that is, on 28 January 2015). Former director of public prosecutions in New South Wales, Nicholas Cowdery
Nicholas Richard Cowdery (born 19 March 1946), is a barrister who served as the Director of Public Prosecutions (New South Wales), Director of Public Prosecutions for the Australian state of New South Wales from 1994 to 2011. Cowdery also serv ...
, said he was not sure that the amended law would have changed anything in Monis's case, saying that "There will always be, unfortunately, some exceptional events which laws and controls put in place before the event could not have prevented".[ Homicide detectives sent a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) urging them to challenge the bail decision for Monis, but a commissioned officer did not pass it on to the DPP. Michael Esposito, writing for the Law Society of South Australia, noted that the shocking nature of the Sydney siege had the power to prompt reviews of bail laws across Australia.
Some commentators expressed concerns about immigration and citizenship processes. Monis's "confused agenda" meant that ]Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
did not realise that he and Boroujerdim, who had sought help in 1997, were the same man until they went back through their records. In the absence of hard evidence, suggestions that Monis represented a growing trend of systemic failure, rather than being an aberration, were noted as dangerous to public confidence; to the separation of powers; to the idea of innocence till proven guilty and also to social cohesion by inviting suspicion of people from the Middle East.
In the week after the siege, it was revealed that John Robertson, NSW Opposition leader, had sent a letter which passed on a request made by Monis, a constituent in his Blacktown electorate, to the Department of Family and Community Services in 2011. The letter was, according to Robertson, routine procedure on behalf of a constituent and written in support of Monis's request for a supervised visit with his children on Father's Day despite an apprehended violence order
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable remed ...
against him. The Department declined Monis's request. As pressure mounted on Robertson to resign as Leader of the Labor Party, and three months away from the 2015 state election, he stood aside on 23 December 2014.
Violence
Commentators considered Monis's history of domestic violence, with a family violence expert arguing that it should have been considered when bail was given. A columnist noted that while his behaviour highlighted an "epidemic" of violence towards women, the media focus remained on terrorism.
Historians of religion and politics also critically reviewed the role of violence committed in the name of religion.
Media
Debate followed about the difficulty of managing a police operation in the presence of continuous global media coverage as well as the likely damage caused by the spread of rumour. Particular criticism was levelled at Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
and News Corp
The second and current incarnation of News Corporation, doing business as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was formed on ...
for spreading false information as well as for insensitivity and "gross ethical violations". Commissioner Scipione and chair of the Australian Press Council
The Australian Press Council (APC) was established in 1976 with the goal of promoting high standards of media practice, community access to information of public interest, and freedom of expression through the media. The Council is the leading in ...
, Professor Julian Disney released statements about the media coverage after the event. Beyond misinformation, concerns were raised regarding the presentation of crises as entertainment.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
's Four Corners
Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...
aired a two-part broadcast, interviewing former hostages, and the families of deceased Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson.
Journalist Deborah Snow wrote an account of the siege, published in 2018, covering the personal and organisational issues.
Memorials and legacy
A month after the siege, police, ambulance workers, firefighters and others were officially thanked at NSW Government House. Memorial plaques were placed inside the reopened Lindt café. A permanent memorial to the victims of the siege incorporated the flowers from Martin Place, which were to be mulched and incorporated into its garden element. The memorial was opened in December 2017.
The premiere of Jonathon Welch's choral piece ''Street Requiem'' in February 2015 was dedicated to the siege victims and to those who died in the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting in Paris.
Composer Lyle Chan, who resides less than a kilometre from the Lindt Café, wrote two works influenced by the events. ''Sea of Flowers'' was premiered by conductor Alondra de la Parra and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the ...
in May 2015. Chan's ''Love Is Always Born (December)'', with original words by Michael Leunig and 'Silent Night' in Arabic, was commissioned and premiered by the Song Company at concerts around the first anniversary of the events.
Dawson's family created the Katrina Dawson Foundation and scholarships to The Women's College, University of Sydney
The Women's College is a residential college within the University of Sydney, in the suburb of Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was opened in 1892.
The Women's College is one of two all-female residential colleges at The Uni ...
to provide financial assistance to young women for their university education. The first recipients started university in 2016. This scholarship is fitting given that Katrina Dawson achieved a perfect Tertiary Entrance Rank
The Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) was a tertiary entrance score used in several Australian states, the ACT and the Northern Territory as a tool for selection to universities in Australia. As of 2010, it has been replaced by the Australian Tertiar ...
of 100 in the yea
1994
Senator Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball Coach (basketball), head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North C ...
, a homosexual Liberal Party member, changed his views on same-sex marriage in Australia
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Australia since 9 December 2017. Legislation permitting same-sex marriage, the '' Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017'', became law on 8 December 2017 and came into effect the nex ...
due to Tori Johnson and his partner of 14 years. Smith later introduced a bill aimed at legalising same-sex marriage to the Senate, which became law.
A ceremony unveiling the memorial was held on 16 December 2017.
The Lindt Café closed in October 2021 due to lack of patronage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and ongoing construction work for the Sydney Metro
Sydney Metro is a fully automated rapid transit rail system in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It currently consists of the Metro North West & Bankstown Line, running between Tallawong and Sydenham and consisting of 21 stations on of t ...
. A Dan Murphy's
Dan Murphy's is an Australian liquor store owned by Endeavour Group, with 272 current stores across Australia. The business was founded in 1952 by winemaker Daniel Francis Murphy. Dan Murphy's competes principally with Coles Group brands First ...
wine cellar opened at the site of the café in July 2023.
As part of the 2024 March Bravery Honours, 32 members of the New South Wales Police Force
The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...
and New South Wales Ambulance service were awarded the Group Bravery Citation.
See also
* List of mass shootings in Australia
* 2015 Parramatta shooting
* Crime in Australia
Crime in Australia is managed by various law enforcement bodies (federal and state-based police forces and local councils), the federal and state-based criminal justice systems and state-based correctional services.
The Department of Hom ...
* Islam in Australia
Islam is the second-largest Religion in Australia, religion in Australia. According to the 2021 Census in Australia, the combined number of people who Self-concept, self-identified as Australian Muslims, from all forms of Islam, constituted 8 ...
References
Further reading
*
*'Officer A' (author's full name subject to a New South Wales Coronial Suppression Order) (October 2022) Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! The Lindt Café Siege. The End Authority Limited, ISBN 9780473655990. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindt Cafe siege
2014 crimes in Australia
2010s in Sydney
Articles containing video clips
Crime in Sydney
Murder in Sydney
December 2014 crimes in Oceania
Hostage taking in Australia
Terrorist incidents in Oceania in 2014
Terrorist incidents in Australia
Martin Place
Terrorist incidents in Australia in the 2010s
Hostage rescue operations
2010s sieges
Attacks on coffeehouses and cafés
Attacks on buildings and structures in 2014
Attacks on commercial buildings in Australia
Sieges involving Australia
Shootouts