Sydney cafe inquest to shed light on how hostages died
Thu, Jan 29, 2015 - Page 5 ( TAIPEI TIMES )
By APF , SYDNEY
An inquest into the deadly siege in which an extremist gunman held a cafe full of people captive in Sydney opens today, amid expectation it will officially lift the lid on how two hostages died.
Details of what happened when Man Monis took customers and staff hostage at the Lindt chocolate cafe in Martin Place on Dec. 15 last year have not been released, with survivors advised by the authorities against telling their stories before inquiries have ended.
“We had to beg for our lives, he was going to shoot someone,” one woman says in a promotional clip for a yet-to-air television interview about the 16-and-a-half hour ordeal. “I said: ‘Please don’t shoot me, please, please don’t shoot me,” the woman sobs.
The siege ended with heavily armed police storming the high-end cafe in the early hours of the following morning, after about 10 of the 17 hostages had managed to escape.
Two hostages died in the shoot-out — cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34, and barrister and mother-of-three Katrina Dawson, 38 — while several more sustained gunshot wounds.
Reports have suggested that Monis, a 50-year-old self-styled Islamic cleric, shot Johnson as he tried to wrestle his weapon from him, but that Dawson was struck by police bullets, possibly a ricochet when police stormed the cafe.
The siege triggered a wave of emotion in Sydney, with thousands flocking to Martin Place to leave flowers at an impromptu memorial and sign condolence books.
It also raised questions about how Monis, who had a long criminal history, was let out on bail given that charges against him included sexual offenses and abetting the murder of his ex-wife.
In the hours after the drama, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott ordered an urgent inquiry into why the deranged gunman was not under surveillance and how he had obtained citizenship.
The month before the siege, Monis had posted a message in Arabic on his Web site pledging allegiance to “the Caliph of the Muslims,” which some interpreted as the Islamic State group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The inquest will not hear from witnesses on the opening day, but Jeremy Gormly, the counsel assisting the coroner, is to outline a provisional list of issues the investigation and inquest is set to look at and some details from inquiries to date.
The aim of the inquest is to determine how the deaths occurred, the factors that contributed to them and whether they could have been prevented.
Structure of the Lead：
WHO: Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson , who was the brave victims in this this tragedy
WHEN: Thu, Jan 29, 2015
WHAT: Johnson and Dawson died in the shoot-out.
WHY: Johnson was shoot by the suspect because he tried to wrestle his weapon from him. In addition, Katrina Dawson was shoot by the same person, since she wanted to protect her pregnant colleague
WHERE: At the Lindt chocolate cafe in Sydney
HOW:They were shoot by gun.
Keywords:
2. advise : 勸告
3. inquire: 查詢
4. allegiance : 忠誠
Johnson and Dawson are brave because they want to protect others. When we are in the public place, we should notice anyone who looks like a bad guy or does some strange behavior.
回覆刪除The terrorist attack around the world becomes more and more common.If people who are critical of somebody or a country,and then he or she will choose this way to express their dissatisfaction.It is not reasonable,though.
回覆刪除