Advertisement

  1. National

Urgent review ordered into background of Sydney siege gunman

An urgent review has been ordered by the Australian government to answer a number of "obvious questions" about what could have been done to prevent the deadly siege at a Sydney café.

It comes as police in Sydney revealed they fought to keep gunman Man Haron Monis, who went on to kill two hostages in a 16-hour siege, in custody - but were overruled by the courts, police chiefs have revealed.

The 50-year-old gunman, who died as police stormed the building, was implicated in a string of serious crimes but had still been granted bail.

View all 110 updates ›

Court revokes bail for wife of Sydney hostage-taker

Amirah Droudis was on bail charged in connection with the murder of her husband's former wife. Credit: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

A court in Australia has ordered bail revoked for the wife of Man Haron Monis, a self-styled Sheikh who stormed a Sydney cafe at gunpoint last week, sparking a 16-hour hostage crisis that left three people dead, including the gunman.

Amirah Droudis, on bail after being charged with the stabbing death of Monis' former wife who was found set alight in a Sydney apartment block, was ordered by a Sydney court to return to jail to await trial.

Monis, who had been charged as an accessory to the murder, had also been free on bail.

Chief Magistrate Graeme Henson cited Droudis' prior convictions, the particularly heinous nature of the alleged offence and the slight possibility she might skip bail as factors in deciding to remand her in custody until trial.

More on this story