Australian police have charged a third suspect in the arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue that was allegedly directed by Iran. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The 20-year-old man was one of three masked offenders who broke into the Adass Israel Synagogue, doused the interior with flammable liquid and set it alight in the early hours of Dec. 6, 2024, a police statement alleged. The fire caused extensive damage to the synagogue and a worshipper sustained minor injuries.
The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team charged the man with offenses including arson. He was charged in a Melbourne jail where he was already being held in custody on unrelated offenses. Police declined to elaborate on those offenses.
His co-accused Giovanni Laulu, 21, was arrested in July last year and another suspect, Younes Ali Younes, 20, was arrested a month later.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year accused Iran's Revolutionary Guard of directing the synagogue fire and an arson attack two months earlier at a Sydney kosher eatery. Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, said the Revolutionary Guard used a "complex web of proxies to hide its involvement" in both antisemitic attacks.
Iran's ambassador to Australia and another three Iranian diplomats were expelled. Tehran has denied Australia's allegations.
Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Crozier told reporters on Friday that investigators were working with international partners. Police were also investigating whether the three alleged arsonists knew who ordered the attack. "They may not actually be aware of the people who are directing or the principals of these investigations. That remains a key line of inquiry for us," Crozier said.
The latest suspect will make his first court appearance on the new charges next week. The Australian government has established a public inquiry to investigate a rise in antisemitism across the country.