Sydney siege inquest

Martin Place, the location of the siege, pictured in 2013

The Sydney siege inquest was an inquest into the deaths that occurred during the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis, which was instigated by Man Haron Monis. The inquest started on 29 January 2015, had more than 100 witnesses and was run in blocks into 2016.[1]

In Australia, an inquest is mandatory whenever a person dies during a police operation. The inquest was presided over by the New South Wales State Coroner, Michael Barnes, and its task was "to determine how the [three] deaths occurred, the factors that contributed to them and whether they could have been prevented".[2][3][4]

Two unusual features of the inquest were its detailed opening which provided an account of events in order to dispel speculation[5] and its focus on social media, believed to be merited by police because of its significant role.[6]

The hearings were divided into blocks of a couple of weeks. The first, started on 25 May 2015, queried people who had known Monis in order to get background information. The second started on 17 August 2015 and considered Monis's bail application. Further blocks that investigate how the police dealt with the siege itself were withheld from the public "in the interests of the families".[7]

On 20 May, the Crown Prosecutor wrote a letter arguing that the question of Monis' bail was beyond the scope of the inquest. This was ruled on by Coroner Barnes on 5 June.[8] Five documents relating to Monis' bail were kept secret on the grounds of professional legal privilege.[9]

The findings of the inquest were released on 24 May 2017.

  1. ^ "Sydney siege inquest told Man Haron Monis claimed to be Iranian spy". The Guardian.
  2. ^ Barnes, Michael (NSW State Coroner) (16 December 2014). "Press Release" (PDF). Coroner's Court of New South Wales. Government of New South Wales. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  3. ^ Olding, Rachel (14 January 2015). "Date revealed for inquest into Martin Place siege deaths". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  4. ^ Ryan, Brad (28 January 2015). "Sydney siege inquest: Deaths of Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson investigated as inquest opens". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  5. ^ Bibby, Paul and Louise Hall (29 January 2015). "Martin Place siege inquest pulls back the veil on what happened". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  6. ^ Powell, Rose (29 January 2015). "Lindt Cafe siege inquest looks at unprecedented role of social media". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Sydney siege inquest: court not told Monis was on bail at time of alleged assaults – as it happened". The Guardian.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference bail scope ruling was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Kidd, Jessica (20 August 2015). "Sydney siege inquest: NSW Coroner grants DPP the right to keep Man Haron Monis's bail documents secret". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 21 August 2015.