Naveed Akram, the man accused of carrying out Australia's deadliest mass shooting in decades, made two specific requests from his hospital bed while under police guard, it has been revealed.
Requests from a Hospital Bed
Akram, 24, is alleged to have killed 15 people and wounded dozens more alongside his father, Sajid Akram, 50, during a terrorist attack at a Jewish festival on Bondi Beach on December 14. The attack, which occurred on the first night of Hanukkah, is being treated as a terrorist incident after an Islamic State flag was allegedly displayed on the perpetrators' vehicle.
While detained at Long Bay Hospital following the shooting, where his father was fatally shot by police, Akram asked to speak with a Muslim chaplain. The request was granted, and Sydney-based chaplain Ahmed Kilani, a private contractor for NSW Corrective Services, visited him.
A source told media that Mr Kilani spoke with Akram for 10 to 15 minutes, describing the accused as 'polite' and 'compliant'. It is understood that Mr Kilani remains the only non-legal or medical visitor Akram has received since his detention.
Akram's second request was for a copy of the Quran. As a Category AA prisoner – the highest security classification in New South Wales – he is permitted access to religious materials and chaplains under specific, controlled circumstances.
Chaplain's Role and Condolences
Ahmed Kilani, who has worked as a prison chaplain for over a decade, described himself as an expert in countering violent extremism. In a statement following the massacre, he explicitly condemned the violence.
'As a Muslim, I want to say this clearly: violence against innocent people has no place in my faith or in any faith,' Mr Kilani wrote. He extended his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, paying special tribute to his colleague, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Jewish chaplain who was among those killed in the Bondi attack.
Chaplains from various faiths, including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Sikh, work with the corrective services department to provide spiritual support to inmates.
Charges and Incarceration
Naveed Akram now faces 59 charges relating to the Bondi Beach shooting. These include 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of wounding with intent to murder, and single counts for offences such as discharging a firearm in public and displaying a prohibited terrorist symbol.
He has since been transferred to the Goulburn High Risk Management Unit, commonly known as Goulburn Supermax, where he will be held under the strictest possible security. The attack is the worst mass shooting in Australia since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
The investigation continues as authorities work to understand the full circumstances behind the tragic events at Bondi Beach, which have left a community and a nation in mourning.
