Bondi shooter charged with 59 offences, including committing act of terrorism

The charges against him include 15 counts of murder, one count of committing a terrorist act, 40 counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, and one count of causing a public display of a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol.

He attended an initial court hearing from his hospital bed, during which the charges were presented. The case has now been adjourned until April 2026.

It comes after New South Wales confirmed they were investigating a trip the two shooters made to the Philippines last month, reportedly to receive “military-style training”.

Immigration authorities confirmed that they arrived in the Philippines on November 1, returning to Sydney on November 28.

Sajid travelled on an Indian passport and the duo listed Davao as their destination upon entry. The city sits on the east coast of the island of Mindanao, where Islamist militant groups have historically maintained significant networks.

The Philippines has been a key hub of Isis activity in the Indo-Pacific region since the group’s significant expansion in 2014.

Its activities in the area have largely been connected with the Islamic State of Lanao (ISL), which was founded as the Maute Group by brothers Abdullah and Omar Maute in 2012 but pledged allegiance to the main branch of Isis in 2015.

Since then, the group has orchestrated a series of significant terror attacks in the Philippines, including the December 2023 Mindanao State University bombing, which killed four and injured more than 70.

It also emerged on Tuesday that Naveed was a follower of Wisam Haddad, a Sydney-based extremist preacher linked by Asio, Australia’s security services, to the city’s pro-Isis networks and the British convicted terror preacher Anjem Choudary.

Choudary has been serving a life sentence since 2024 after becoming the first person in the UK convicted of “directing an organisation concerned with the commission of acts of terrorism” 

Haddad, dubbed the “spiritual leader” of Sydney’s pro-Isis movement by one former Asio spy, has never been charged with a terror offence, despite what security officials reportedly referred to as his “longstanding ties to Australian terrorists and foreign jihadist leaders”, according to national broadcaster ABC.

However, he has denied committing any offence, saying: “If I was involved with any criminal activity or terrorist activity… I'm pretty sure we've got a better security system than reporters, and I'd be arrested.”

He also denied being part of Choudary’s ALM network, but called both him and the group’s founder, Omar Bakri, “brothers in Islam” who were “going through a struggle for speaking the truth”.
Asio identified Naveed’s links to pro-Isis networks in Sydney as early as October 2019, and noted his connection with Haddad, per ABC.

However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that a six-month investigation by the service concluded that he was not an imminent threat to the public.