Prosecutors have withdrawn assault and intimidation charges against Ahmed al-Ahmed, 44, the man who reportedly disarmed a gunman during the Bondi beach attack, after he had pleaded not guilty to both counts at Bankstown Local Court on 24 June.
Assault charges against man who disarmed Bondi attack gunman dropped
Prosecutors have withdrawn assault and intimidation charges against Ahmed al-Ahmed, 44, the man who reportedly disarmed a gunman during the Bondi beach attack, after he had pleaded not guilty to both counts at Bankstown Local Court on 24 June.
Al-Ahmed had been accused of placing his father in a headlock on 9 March and of intimidation relating to a separate alleged incident in June. Both charges were confirmed as withdrawn by prosecutors on Wednesday.
An apprehended domestic violence order protecting his father will remain in place for 12 months, according to court documents.
Al-Ahmed alleged in June that members of his family were seeking a share of approximately $2.5 million raised on his behalf following the international attention he received after video footage of him disarming a gunman during the Bondi attack went viral. He was shot in the arm multiple times during the incident.
His brothers, Sameh and Hozifa, were granted conditional bail in June after pleading not guilty to charges of using a carriage service to menace or harass, relating to claims they attempted to extort $200,000 from their brother. An interim domestic violence prevention order prohibits the pair from approaching within 100 metres of their brother, his home, or his workplace.
Al-Ahmed, a tobacconist, was visited in hospital by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese following the attack and was awarded the keys to the cities of Canterbury-Bankstown and Waverley.
- The source does not include a response or statement from al-Ahmed's father regarding the dropped charges or the domestic violence order.
- The source does not include a response from brothers Sameh and Hozifa regarding the extortion charges beyond noting they pleaded not guilty.
- The source does not state the reasons prosecutors gave for withdrawing the charges.
Read the original at The Guardian