Geiselnahme von Sydney

A hostage crisis began on 15 December 2014 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. A lone gunman, later identified by police as Man Haron Monis, entered a Lindt chocolate cafe located at Martin Place and remains inside holding employees and customers hostage. After several hours, five of the hostages escaped, while an unknown number remained inside the building.

Hostages were seen holding up a black Islamic flag with the Arabic shahādah. The gunman is "claiming political motivation".

As a result of the siege, road closures were implemented in the Sydney central business district, the area around the siege site was closed to the public and some nearby government buildings locked down. At 2:14 a.m. on 16 December, police tactical operators stormed the cafe. Police declared the siege over a short time later.

Perpetrator

The hostage taker has been identified as Iranian-born Man Haron Monis. He is a self-proclaimed sheikh, although he is not recognised as such in the Islamic community.

He has a history of legal problems. He protested the presence of Australian troops in Afghanistan, by writing letters to the families of soldiers killed there, in which he called the soldiers murderers and urged the soldiers' families to petition the government to remove its troops from Afghanistan; one of the letters compared a deceased soldier to a pig and called his body "contaminated". Haron was arrested on charges of "using a postal or similar service to menace, harass or cause offence". In 2013 he was charged with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife, allegedly stabbed and set alight in a stairwell on 21 April 2013. His partner, Amirah Droudis, was formally charged with Pal's murder. On 14 March 2014, Haron was arrested and charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a young woman in 2002.

He posted to his website earlier in December 2014 this message: "I used to be a Rafidi, but not any more. Now I am a Muslim, Alhamdu Lillah". "Rafidi" is a derogatory term used by Salafis to describe the Shia branch of Islam.

Event

Siege and negotiations

The Lindt Chocolate Café where the crisis is taking place, pictured in 2013

The crisis began at the Lindt Chocolate Café in 53 Martin Place, Sydney, at 9:44 a.m. AEDT on 15 December (22:44 UTC, 14 December). Hostages were seen holding up a jihadist black flag with the Arabic shahādah "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of God". The flag was initially mistaken as a flag for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in news reports. One of the hostages was reportedly being used as a human shield by the gunman, who was later described as bearded, wearing a white shirt and a black bandana, and armed with a shotgun. Prior to the siege, the automatic sliding doors of the cafe were disabled.

According to Sydney 2GB radio announcer Ray Hadley, the gunman demanded to speak to the Prime Minister live on radio, although these reports are unconfirmed. There were also further reports that the gunman stated that there were four "devices" located around Sydney. However, New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione stated that none of the alleged "devices" were found during investigations. Two female hostages made contact with media outlets and relayed the gunman's demands to them, but the New South Wales Police Force requested that the demands not be published.

NSW Police treated the event as a terrorist attack. Police were negotiating with the gunman throughout the day.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn confirmed that around 3:37 p.m., two hostages emerged from the front entrance of the building, followed by a third hostage, an employee, who ran out from a fire exit at the side of the building. Media outlets advised that the hostages were not released, but had escaped, though details were not immediately available. It was later confirmed by police that all three hostages escaped. At around 4:58 p.m., two female hostages, both employees, ran from another entrance of the building, having also escaped, and were met by officers with the Tactical Operations Unit.

At 2:08 a.m. on 16 December, a group of five hostages ran out of the building, followed by another hostage.

Raid

Minutes later, heavily armed police stormed the cafe amidst loud bangs and flashes of light, following which further hostages were rescued from the building.

Hostages

Police blocking Martin Place near Lindt cafe

It was initially estimated that there were 13 people inside. Subsequent to the debriefing of the escaped hostages, authorities advised that no more than 10 hostages remained inside the cafe.

One of the escaped hostages was hospitalised for a pre-existing condition and was in a satisfactory condition.

Martin Place video

Effects

Map indicating the location of the hostage situation

Transportation

Trains were not stopping at Martin Place railway station due to the hostage situation. Transport New South Wales advised people to stay away from the CBD. Road closures also occurred. There is no southbound access to the Cahill Expressway, York Street, or Harbour Street. There is no northbound access to the Cahill Expressway, and all traffic is being diverted to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. Northbound traffic on the Western Distributor is being diverted over Sydney Harbour Bridge. Various road closures are in place.

Uber Sydney's automatic pricing led to people leaving the city being charged a minimum of $100 during the siege. After public outcry, Uber announced on its Twitter profile that trips from Sydney's central business district "will be free for riders"; however, surge pricing into the CBD was retained to attract drivers.

Evacuations and closures

Road closures

Immediately after the siege began, people found above the cafe were evacuated by ladder. The Sydney Opera House was evacuated after a suspicious package was found, however reports were unconfirmed by police. The U.S. Consulate General in Sydney, located in Martin Place, was also evacuated.

Police advised people in the area bounded by Hunter, George, Elizabeth, and Macquarie Streets, bordering Martin Place, to remain indoors and away from windows. Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group have closed their CBD branches for today. The State Library of New South Wales has also closed its doors. Numerous other buildings, including David Jones Limited stores, executive offices for the New South Wales Parliament, criminal courts for the New South Wales Supreme Court, the Downing Centre, and "several city legal chambers" have been evacuated. The facilities of the Seven Network, which is situated directly across from the cafe, are under lockdown.

Some Sydney schools were put in "white level lockout" due to the hostage crisis, which means that no school group may leave the school grounds.

Domestic reactions

Government

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott convened the National Security Committee of Cabinet to give briefings on the situation. Abbott made a public statement reassuring Australians, stating, "Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner." He later said, "The whole point of politically-motivated violence is to scare people out of being themselves. Australia is a peaceful, open, and generous society. Nothing should ever change that and that's why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual."

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird addressed the media, stating "We are being tested today... in Sydney. The police are being tested, the public is being tested, but whatever the test we will face it head on and we will remain a strong democratic, civil society. I have full confidence in the Police Commissioner and the incredible work of the NSW police force."

Community

Due to concerns about anti-muslim backlash and attacks, a grassroots movement named #illridewithyou was started on social media in order to physically and emotionally support Muslims traveling alone on public transport.

Muslim organisations

Sanier Dandan, the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, informed ABC News that Australian Muslim leaders were meeting online for discussions on how the Muslim community could help with the crisis. He also added that it was not known if the perpetrator or perpetrators were linked to the Australian Muslim community, saying, "Regardless we have a hostage situation. Whether he is someone who belongs to the Australian Muslim community or not, we are still waiting for information to be provided by police and based on that if there's something the Muslim community can do or assist, we are there." Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, the Grand Mufti of Australia, also condemned the incident in a released statement. During the afternoon of 15 December around 50 Muslim groups issued a joint statement in which they condemned the incident.

See also

• Crime in Australia
• Terrorism in Australia
• 2014 Australian terror raids