MAN HARON MONIS (19 MAY 1964 TO 16 DECEMBER 2014)

  

A picture of Man Haron Monis, the gunman involved with the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis

Man Haron Monis (19 May 1964 – 16 December 2014) was an Iranian-born refugee Australian citizen who took hostages in a siege at the Lindt Chocolate Café at Martin Place, Sydney on 15 December 2014, lasting for 17 hours, until the early hours of the following morning. The siege resulted in the death of Monis and two hostages.

While Monis had a warrant out for his arrest in Iran, he sought political asylum in Australia in 1996, which was granted in 2001. Monis variously promoted himself as an Iranian intelligence official, a political activist, a spiritual healer and expert in black magic, an outlaw bikie and a Muslim cleric. He told a psychiatrist who diagnosed him with schizophrenia that he had to change his name for "security reasons," variously calling himself "Michael Hayson Mavros", "Sheikh Haron", and "Ayatollah Mohammed Manteghi Boroujerdi".

Monis ran a "spiritual healing" business, telling some women that they needed to submit to sexual molestation to receive treatment. In 2014, Monis was charged with accessory to murder of his ex-wife, as well as over 40 counts of sexual assault. At the time of his death he had recently converted from Shia Islam to Sunni Islam, and attended Islamist rallies promoting conspiracy theories about Australian security agencies. While on bail, and facing a likely lengthy imprisonment, he declared allegiance to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/07/06/13/38/no-legal-right-for-sniper-shot-at-monis#XKL0HVSEPRM6jVDt.99

8:21pm July 6, 2016

Sydney siege inquest: Elite police sniper ‘did the best he could’ during 17-hour siege

By 9NEWS

A police sniper has recounted the moment he saw Lindt café manager Tori Johnson on his knees before being executed, and how hours earlier believed he did not have the authority to shoot Man Haron Monis despite having him in his sights.

The senior constable, who is the first sniper to give evidence at the inquest into the December 2014 siege of the Lindt Cafe, became emotional as he recalled seeing a muzzle flash and Mr Johnson then falling forward.

The elite marksman, known as Sierra 3-3, told the court he saw Mr Johnson fall forward.

He said it was a matter of 30 seconds to a minute between the moment he observed Mr Johnson on his knees and the muzzle flash, believed to be the moment gunman Man Haron Monis executed the cafe manager at about 2.13am on December 16, 2014.

"I was trying to look for Monis at the time as there'd been a shot fired," he said, referring to the escape of six hostages 10 minutes earlier, which had prompted the gunman to fire off a round from his shotgun for the first time.

"My focus was drawn on what I thought was Tori.

"It appeared to me he'd taken a lower profile because I could only see him from the waist up which made me think he was on his knees.

"I saw what I thought was a muzzle flash then I saw Mr Johnson fall forward.

"I couldn't see him after that."

Police stormed the building after Mr Johnson was killed, bringing an end to the siege.

At various times during the more than 17 hours of the stand-off, snipers at the Westpac and Channel Seven buildings directly opposite the cafe observed Monis through windows but could never be "100 percent" about having a clear shot.

Sierra 3-3 also doubted whether he had legal authority, and recounted the severe risks involved.

"Having two mediums of glass to get through, the potential hazards that would cause if the shot was missed, the risk to those inside; all of those things greatly reduced our confidence," he said.

He also said he had doubts on the identity.

“I was quietly confident it was him, but not 100 percent confident.”

Asked about the legal justification for taking a shot, he said: "I'm no more justified in firing my firearm than a general duties officer on the street".

Police stormed the cafe after Mr Johnson's death initiated the police Emergency Action plan, the triggers for which were death or serious injury or imminent death or serious injury.

Asked by counsel assisting the Johnson family, Gabrielle Bashir SC, why Johnson being ordered to his knees by a man who had sworn allegiance to Islamic State did not represent an imminent threat, Sierra 3-3 said he could not see Monis at that time.

"At no time could I see anyone posing an imminent threat to (Mr Johnson)."

Monis was killed by police, while hostage Katrina Dawson died after being hit by fragments from police rounds.

The inquest continues.