A self-styled sheikh who staged a siege at an Australian cafe last year suffered “grandiose delusions” and was once kicked out of a motorcycle gang because he was deemed too weird, an inquest into the deaths of three people heard yesterday.
Police stormed the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in central Sydney in the early hours of Dec. 16 last year after Iranian-born gunman Man Haron Monis shot and killed 34-year-old cafe manager Tori Johnson with a sawed-off shotgun following a 17-hour standoff.
The inquest has already heard that one of the hostages taken by Monis, 38-year-old lawyer Katrina Dawson, was killed by a ricochet from at least one police bullet.
Monis, who was killed by police, harbored deep grievances against the Australian government and claimed to be carrying out an attack as a member of the Islamic State group.
However, far from belonging to a global movement, the inquest was told of his multiple failed attempts to cultivate a following, not just within Sydney’s mainstream Muslim community, but anywhere that would accept him.
“His constant goal in life appears to have been achieving significance,” said Sophie Callan, a lawyer assisting the inquiry.
The inquest is to continue to examine Monis’ biography, as well as looking into how he was on bail at the time of the siege despite facing charges relating to the murder of his ex-wife, who was found burned to death in a Sydney apartment.
Between 2002 and 2007, Monis reinvented himself as a new-age guru or clairvoyant, marketing his “spiritual healing” techniques to female clients through advertisements in ethnic newspapers. He was eventually charged with more than 50 counts of sexual and indecent assault as a result of his activities during that period, the inquest heard.
In 2012 or 2013, Monis attempted to join the notorious Rebels Motorcycle Club, but was rejected because the biker gang thought that he was too “weird,” Callan said.
“Ultimately, he was rejected by the Rebels and they took his motorbike,” she said.
Monis, who received Australian citizenship after claiming persecution, falsely claimed that his late father had been an ayatollah in Iran, said Jeremy Gormly, another lawyer assisting the coroner.
“His attempt to develop a personal religious following ... had failed. Indeed the Islamic community in Australia did not accept him,” Gormly said. “He had few friends and no standing with any group or institution. His attempts to join other groups, even the bikies who tolerated him for a short period, failed.”
Monis was found guilty in 2012 of sending threatening letters to the families of eight Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan as a protest against Australia’s involvement there, and was known to harass government employees.
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