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Man Haron Monis Source: DailyTelegraph
IT was a horrific atrocity, and it has now come to light the Martin Place siege could possibly have been avoided if it wasn’t for a number of failings on the part of federal and state agencies.
The Prime Minister has admitted the 17-hour ordeal that claimed two innocent lives, shut down the city of Sydney and affected the nation “may well have been a preventable atrocityâ€.
The terrorist who took 17 innocent hostages and carried out the fatal siege, Man Haron Monis, was on bail allowed to walk free after being charged with being an accessory to murder.
MORE: How did Sydney siege gunman slip through the cracks?
It’s also been revealed that while he was known to intelligence agencies, he had “dropped off†a national terror watch list in the early 2000s. If he was on the list, Monis would not likely have been granted bail last December.
Man Haron Monas was on bail for an accessory to murder charge when he started the Martin Place siege. Source: News Limited
Man Haron Monis ‘Spiritual healer’ arrested for sexual and indecent assault — SCC Sex Crimes Squad Source: Supplied
The Daily Telegraph has compiled a list of ten fatal failures that if avoided could have prevent the terrorist attack that shook the nation on December 16.
When Monis arrived in Australia from Iran in 1996 he came with a history. In 2000 Iran attempted to extradite Monis to face fraud charges in his homeland.
He was granted citizenship in 2004 despite an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Iran, was granted Legal Aid after launching a taxpayer funded bid to have his trial over writing sickening letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers aborted, and was allowed to live on welfare.
Monis’ checkered past Source: HeraldSun
Concern has also been raised around the multiple identities Monis operated under and the lack of information shared about his history between state and federal agencies are also listed among the avoidable errors that may have led to the 50-year-old being allowed to enter the Lindt cafe on Monday morning and grip a nation with terror.
There has been growing public outcry over why Monis was on bail.
Magistrates and lawyers involved in granting bail to Sydney cafe siege gunman Man Haron Monis have received death threats, the NSW Bar Association says.
NSW Bar Association President Jane Needham SC says she understands the fury following such a “terribly upsetting episode†but threatening judges and demanding they be stood down is not appropriate.
“To make death threats as has been done against members of the profession for doing a job is really an unfortunate reaction.â€
Police conduct an anti-terror raid at Marsfield. Pic: Scott Monk Source: News Corp Australia
A garage is searched on Thursday afternoon. Pic: Stephen Cooper Source: News Corp Australia
The Prime Minister has ordered a sweeping government review of the siege and the events leading up to it, including why Monis was out on bail and how he obtained a shotgun despite the country’s tough gun laws.
The government has acknowledged Monis “slipped through the cracksâ€, and they’re determined to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
NSW and federal police yesterday raided five Sydney homes as part of an ongoing counterterrorism operation linked to an alleged plot to carry out a public execution.
Police say Thursday’s raids were not linked to the Martin Place siege.
However, warrants were executed at five properties in the city’s west and southwest in a continuation of a major operation into the funding of terrorism, which led to the arrest of two men on Monday, they said.
The pair, aged 25 and 22, are due to appear in court today, accused of funding Australians to travel to Syria and join forces with the Islamic State group.
Court sketch of terrorism accused Omarjan (Omar) Azari. Source: HeraldSun
Muhammad Ali Baryalei Source: Supplied
The younger of the two, Omarjan Azari, was already in custody at Goulburn’s supertax prison, having been arrested during sweeping pre-dawn terrorism raids in Sydney in September.
As a result of that, he also faces allegations he conspired with former Kings Cross bouncer turned IS member Mohammad Baryalei to execute a random member of the public.
The homes raided on Thursday were in Marsfield, Regents Park, Wiley Park, Condell Park and Georges Hall.
No arrests were made but it’s believed computers and weapons were seized.
One of the houses raided is reportedly the residence of family members of a man jailed for threatening to kill an ASIO officer, and was searched by NSW detectives and an Australian Federal Police forensics team for several hours.