Islam Down Under > Melbourne synagogue attack linked to Iran

 

Suspect named in Australian synagogue arson attack linked to Iran

By Paul Godfrey

   

A second suspect appeared in court Wednesday in connection with a Dec. 6, 2024, arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in a suburb of Melbourne. File photo by Con Chronis/EPA-EFE

Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A 20-year-old man made his first court appearance in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday, charged in connection with the torching of a synagogue in the city, a day after Australian intelligence and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese alleged the attack was directed by Iran.

Melbourne Magistrates Court remanded Younes Ali Younes, 20, in custody to reappear Dec. 4 to answer charges of arson, endangering life and car theft in relation to a December 2024 blaze that gutted the Adass Israel Synagogue in the Ripponlea section of the city and slightly injured a worshipper.

Younes, who has been in detention since his arrest on Aug. 21, did not enter a plea.

The Melbourne resident was the second person to be charged in connection with the attack, which was designated as terrorism in the initial stage of the investigation, along with Giovanni Laulu, 21, also from Melbourne.

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Authorities were continuing to hunt a third suspect.

No evidence was presented in court but prosecutors said a brief from police, who allege the three men broke into the synagogue in the early hours of Dec. 6 and set the building alight, containing CCTV footage and digital and DNA evidence would be shared with Younes' counsel before Oct. 23.

Damage to the Adass Israel was estimated at $13 million, according to court records, but synagogue members have pledged they will rebuild it.

Albanese and Australian Security Intelligence Organization chief Mike Burgess said Tuesday that Tehran tasked unnamed third parties to order the attack and an earlier second arson attack that destroyed Lewis' Continental Kitchen, a kosher restaurant in Sydney, in October 2024.

Iran's Ambassador to Australia, Ahmad Sadeghi and three other officials were expelled with seven days' notice to leave Australia, which in turn pulled out all its diplomatic staff from Tehran.

Iran said it "absolutely rejected" the allegations.

Authorities at the time of the Melbourne attack said a male witness reported seeing two men allegedly dousing the floor of the synagogue with a liquid. The pair fled after being disturbed by the witness, who sustained minor injuries to his hand.