Man Haron Monis was a Muslim cleric who was born in Iran and came to Australia as a refugee almost 20 years ago.
He was no stranger to Australian authorities.
Monis was on bail yesterday when he walked into the Lindt Cafe in Sydney’s Martin Place with a gun.
He first came to public notice in 2010 when he faced charges for sending offensive letters to the families of two Australian soldiers who died in Afghanistan and the family of a trade official, Craig Senger, who died in the 2009 Jakarta bombing.
Monis, who was 50 when he died at the end of a 16-hour siege at the Lindt cafe in central Sydney on Tuesday, was banned from sending similar letters to the relatives of British soldiers.
He claimed in the court the condition was a breach of his freedom of speech.
“This is against human rights because if my family are the victims of a terrorist attack, I will not be able to contact them,” he told reporters outside Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court in February 2010.
Monis’ former lawyer Manny Conditsis describes him as a “damaged goods individual” with an ideology that clouds his common sense.
He contested the idea that Monis was a “self-styled” cleric, arguing that he was a bona fide cleric in his homeland.
“This is a one-off random individual,” Conditsis told ABC television during the siege.
“It’s not a concerted terrorism event or act. It’s a damaged goods individual who’s done something outrageous.
“His ideology is just so strong and so powerful that it clouds his vision for common sense and objectiveness.”
In 2013 Monis was convicted for penning a series of offensive letters to the grieving families of several soldiers killed in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009.
In the letters, Monis likened soldiers to murderers and killers, and in one said the digger was going to hell.
Dubbed the “hate sheik”, he had intended to send letters and flower baskets to the relatives of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
He was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond and ordered to do 300 hours of community service.
But within months he was in the news again, this time accused of being an accessory to his ex-wife’s murder.
Noleen Hayson Pal, 30, a mother-of-two was stabbed to death and set alight in April 2013 in a Werrington unit block in western Sydney.
Monis’ then partner, Amirah Droudis, 34, was charged with Ms Pal’s murder.
He was granted bail at Penrith Local Court in December 2013 after a three-hour application hearing.
Earlier this year, the so-called ‘spiritual healer’ was charged with more than 40 offences relating to the indecent and sexual assault of several women in 2002.
He was granted bail and was set to reappear in court in February 2015.
