A man accused of killing 15 people in a mass shooting at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach appeared in court Monday for the first time since being released from the hospital, according to court proceedings reported by the Associated Press.
Naveed Akram, 24, appeared at Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court via a video link from the maximum security Goulburn Correctional Center, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) away. The appearance came as the case returned to court without him entering pleas to the charges, including murder and committing a terrorist act.
The brief Monday hearing also addressed a gag order connected to the attack. Prosecutors and the court extended suppression of the identities of victims and survivors who have not chosen to identify themselves publicly, AP reported.
Outside court, defense lawyer Ben Archbold told reporters that Akram was doing “as well as could be expected” and that it was “too early to indicate any intention of pleas.” He said the video-linked appearance was part of the first step in the case’s post-hospital phase.
Akram was wounded in the Dec. 14 attack, and his father, Sajid Akram, was killed in a gunbattle with police after the shooting, AP said. Akram is next scheduled to appear in court April 9.
The Associated Press report said the police investigation is one of three official inquiries examining the attack, described as Australia’s worst alleged terrorist attack and the nation’s worst mass shooting in 29 years. One inquiry focuses on law-enforcement and intelligence-agency interactions before the attack, which authorities said was allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group.
The third inquiry is a royal commission, the highest form of public inquiry, which will investigate the nature, prevalence and drivers of antisemitism as well as the circumstances surrounding the Bondi shooting, AP reported.