Wife of Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis has bail revoked | Australia news | The GuardianWife of Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis has bail revoked | Australia news | The Guardian










Close






Skip to main content

 









sign in








subscribe









search




jobs






more


from the guardian:


jobs


change edition:



switch to the UK edition


switch to the AU edition







US edition




switch to the UK edition




switch to the Australia edition













The Guardian


Winner of the Pulitzer prize











home


›
world


›
australia




UK


europe


americas


asia


middle east


africa










home




US




world
selected




opinion




sports




soccer




tech




arts




lifestyle




fashion




business




money




travel




environment







browse all sections
close







 











Sydney siege



Wife of Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis has bail revoked









Amirah Droudis is facing murder charges but was granted bail last December

















Amirah Droudis, the wife of Lindt cafe gunman Man Haron Monis, arrives at the Downing Centre local court in Sydney on Monday. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP




Michael Safi






@safimichael





Monday 22 December 2014 00.42 EST







Share on Facebook







Share on Twitter







Share via Email







Share on LinkedIn







Share on Google+







Share on WhatsApp
















The partner of Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis has been taken into custody after a magistrate found she posed an “unacceptable risk” to the community and ordered her bail on a murder charge be revoked.
The New South Wales local court chief magistrate, Graeme Henson, said he was “unconvinced” that the magistrate who granted Amirah Droudis bail in December 2013 was aware she was awaiting sentencing at time over her involvement in a scheme by Monis to send letters to the families of deceased Australian soldiers.
The brief of evidence against Droudis had also swelled to 18,000 pages and become “stronger” since her last bail hearing, Henson said.
He added that fresh video evidence before the court was not directly relevant to the bail review, but appeared to show the 35-year-old “endorses acts of violence” and held views that were “antithetical to the community”.
“I find there is an unacceptable risk that cannot be properly mitigated by a further extension of bail,” he told Sydney’s Downing Centre local court.
Droudis, from Belmore, is charged with the murder of 33-year-old Noleen Hayson Pal, who was stabbed and set alight in the stairwell of an apartment complex in western Sydney in April 2013.
Monis, who was killed by police last week after a 16-hour siege in a Martin Place cafe, had been charged as an accessory to the murder of Pal, who was his former wife and the mother of two of his children.
Both he and Droudis were granted bail 12 months ago, a magistrate describing the case against the pair as “inherently weak”. 
However, Henson said on Monday the judge in that hearing was at a “significant disadvantage”, because police evidence against the pair had been incomplete, and remained so.
He stressed that the allegations against Droudis were unproven and that the case against her was “in large part circumstantial”. He also repeated earlier warnings to the media about “inflaming public views through the prism of ignorance” and denying Droudis a fair trial.
Earlier, the deputy director of public prosecutions, John Pickering SC, argued that the new video evidence – details of which cannot be reported for legal reasons – appeared to bolster the Crown’s case that Droudis acted “consistently in the wishes and behest of Mr Monis”.
Police will allege that Droudis plotted with Monis to murder Pal and make it look like a botched robbery. The defence said the video evidence was “frivolous”.
Droudis sat in the front row of the court wearing the same woollen white cap in which she was pictured last week as police raided her home. She was steely and impassive as the decision was announced. Officers surrounded her after the judge left and Droudis handed her belongings to her step-brother.
The state premier, Mike Baird, said he welcomed the decision. “The NSW Government expects community safety to be front and centre of all bail decisions and that is why the Attorney General expressed concern and requested a review of the case,” he said.
The ruling was made under the reformed bail regime that came into effect in May 2013, which removed the presumption against bail for a range of serious offences. A new regime, requiring the accused to “show cause” as to why they should be granted bail, comes into effect on January 28.
Droudis was taken to the Silverwater Remand Centre, and is scheduled to appear before the Penrith local court in February.



Topics



Sydney siege




Sydney




Crime - Australia








Share on Facebook







Share on Twitter







Share via Email







Share on LinkedIn







Share on Google+







Share on WhatsApp



















 






related content












popular












 








The Guardian






back to top














home




US




world
selected




opinion




sports




soccer




tech




arts




lifestyle




fashion




business




money




travel




environment







all sections
close







home




US




world
selected




UK




europe




americas




asia




middle east




africa




australia
selected






opinion




sports




soccer




MLS




NFL




MLB




NBA




NHL






soccer




live scores




tables




competitions




results




fixtures




clubs






tech




games






arts




movies




tv & radio




music




books




art & design




stage




classical






lifestyle




food




health




love & sex




family




women




home & garden






fashion




business




markets




companies






money




travel




USA




europe




UK






environment




development




cities






science




media




crosswords




video











World




›
Australia




›
Sydney siege








jobs

subscribe
all topics
all contributors

info and resources

contact us

feedback

complaints & corrections
terms & conditions
privacy policy
cookie policy
securedrop


© 2015 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.






















 
