Bikies rejected 'weird' Lindt gunman
The Lindt Café gunman was once thrown out of a bikie gang for being “too weird”, an inquest in Sydney has heard.
The life of Man Haron Monis, the man responsible for the Lindt café siege which ended in his death, along with the deaths of two hostages, has been the focus of day one of a colonial inquest into the tragic events.
The hearing was told Monis was a man struggling to achieve significance in the world, and had even once joined the Rebels motorcycle club, doing away with his familiar religious attire and replacing it with leathers.
However, his association with the infamous outlaw motorcycle club, which cancelled his membership because he was deemed “too weird”.
Scores of photographs, certificates and shaky hand-held videos tendered to the Sydney siege inquest yesterday document the self-styled sheikh's downfall over two decades.
There were the Iranian academic transcripts showing Monis was a student of "some promise"; the wedding snap showing a clean-shaven Monis holding his new bride's arm; and a bandanna-wearing Monis posing with Rebels bikies, taken during his bizarre and ill-fated bid to join the outlaw motorcycle gang.
And, ominously, there was the stamped accreditation form from the Firearms Registry, issued in 1997, the year after Monis arrived in Australia seeking asylum, declaring he was approved to handle a semi-automatic gun.
Jeremy Gormly SC said although many of the 100-plus witnesses who will give evidence over the course of the multi-stage inquest are people who interacted with Monis, few of them knew him socially.
Instead they were former employers, lawyers and psychiatrists.
"Mr Monis has proved to be a complex and secretive man about his own life, even though he could be very public about his views," Mr Gormly said.
"Initially it took some effort to find information about him, although once that process commenced, a very large volume of material emerged."
Victims' loved ones - including several members of Katrina Dawson's family - watched on as the inquest was shown footage of Monis preaching peace outside Sydney's Downing Centre.
The documents tendered already show he sent media releases, launched a website, and was happy to address the microphones that were thrust his way outside courtrooms and houses of parliament.
The inquest into the Sydney siege will examine gunman Monis's work history and his dealings with immigration and customs officials when it resumes today.
