Man Haron Monis

Man Haron Monis is an Australian Muslim cleric originally from Iran.

Haron was born Manteghi Bourjerdi in Iran where his liberal interpretation of Islam led to the detention of his wife and children.

 Bourjerdi fled Iran to Australia in 1996 as a refugee, and changed his name to Man Haron Monis, assuming the title of Sheikh Haron.

On 16 December 2014, Haron was identified in media reports as the person who took hostages in a siege at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Sydney.

Haron, together with his colleague Amirah Droudis, undertook a campaign protesting the presence of Australian troops in Afghanistan, by writing letters to the families of soldiers killed there, in which he called the soldiers murderers, and urged the soldiers' families to petition the government to remove its troops from Afghanistan. According to Justice Heydon of the High Court, the letters compared

"the (deceased soldier) son to a pig and to a dirty animal. It calls the son's body 'contaminated'. It refers to it as 'the dirty body of a pig'. It describes Hitler as not inferior to the son in moral merit". Haron was arrested on charges of "using a postal or similar service to menace, harass or cause offence".

On 10 November 2009 Haron appeared in court and claimed through his lawyers to be a peace activist. He later chained himself to the courthouse in protest over the charges. Haron was subsequently barred by the courts from expanding his protest to include letters to UK soldiers' families.

In December 2011, Haron appeared before the Court of Criminal Appeal in Sydney arguing that the charges against him were invalid because they infringed on his implied constitutional freedom of political communication, but the three-judge panel unanimously dismissed his case.

Upon further appeal to the High Court of Australia, the six-judge panel split 3-3 over the issue.[10] Although the High Court of Australianormally comprises seven judges, one seat was vacant and as yet unfilled at the time Haron's case appeared before the court. Failing to achieve a majority vote in Haron's favour, the lower court's unanimous decision was left to stand.

On 15 November 2013, Haron was charged by NSW Police with being an accessory before and after the fact to the murder of Noleen Hayson Pal, allegedly stabbed and set alight in a Werrington apartment stairwell on 21 April 2013.

His partner Amirah Droudis, was formally charged with Pal's murder. Pal was Haron's ex-wife.

On 12 December 2013, Haron and Amirah were given bail at Penrith Local Court. Magistrate Darryl Pearce said there wew significant flaws in the Crown's case against the pair.

"It is a weak case'" he said. Prosecutor Brian Royce said Monis' claims the Iranian Secret Policeand ASIO were trying to frame him for the murder was fanciful. Magistrate Pearce said all theories needed to be examined.

On 22 January 2014, Haron told magistrate Joan Baptie that he was representing himself and proceeded to talk about documents ASIO has on him that he wanted to see. He told the court he has been charged in connection to the murder of his ex-wife because ASIO is conspiring against him to have him jailed.

But Magistrate Baptie told him she cannot order ASIO to release documents about him. Haron stood outside the Parramatta Local Court wearing chains and holding a sign claiming he has been tortured in jail. He said: "This is not a criminal case. This is a political case."

On 14 March 2014, Haron was arrested and charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a young woman who went to his consultancy in Wentworthville, New South Wales, for "spiritual healing", after seeing an advertisement in a local newspaper.

Haron claimed he was an expert in "astrology, numerology, meditation and black magic" services

Killed on 16 December 2014, at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Sydney.