Sydney Siege gunman did not feature on watchlists

Security across Sydney has been increased after an apparent terrorist siege ended with the death of two hostages and the hostage-taker.

The gunman has been identified by Police as Man Haron Monis, a known Islamist extremist and violent criminal.

Reports are emerging that the gunman has made attempts to reach out to media through the hostages to voice his demands. One hostage was made to call local radio station 2GB, which refused to broadcast the requests.

Kuranda Seyit, the director of the Forum on Australian Islamic Relations, told BBC Five Live Breakfast that Monis appeared to be ‘a bit of a loner’ who was ‘isolated from the [Muslim] community’. Monis was also facing more than 40 sexual and indecent assault charges. These relate to time allegedly spent as a self-proclaimed ‘spiritual healer’ in western Sydney, according to the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH). Monis denied the charges against him, which he described as politically motivated. He compared the accusations of sexual assault to the case of Julian Assange, founder of the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters that Monis wasn’t on any police or intelligence watchlists. “That is the question that we were asking ourselves around the National Security Committee of Cabinet today: how can someone who has had such a long and chequered history not be on the appropriate watchlists and how can someone like that be entirely at large and in the community,” he said.