<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The family of </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/bondi-shooting" rel="" target="" title="accused Bondi terrorist"><span>accused Bondi terrorist</span></a><span> Naveed Akram are at risk of being killed and should have their names kept from the public, a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="court"><span>court</span></a><span> has been told.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 24-year-old alleged gunman is seeking a court gag order preventing publication of the names of his mother, brother and sister, who say they have received death threats since Akram's arrest.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A 10-year-old girl was among 15 people killed when Akram and his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, allegedly opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>EXCLUSIVE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/first-home-buyers-australia-rush-protect-borrowing-capacity-before-predicted-interest-rate-hikes/a938f241-58b0-43b4-bdd9-00e1b6832fc9" target="_blank"><strong><span>Max scrambled to buy a home before today's RBA decision derailed his plans</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Akram's barrister Richard Wilson SC today acknowledged his client had been charged over the biggest terror attack in Australia's history.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The outpouring of public grief, public outrage and public anger at what he and his father allegedly did are unprecedented, extraordinary and absolutely understandable," he told a hearing at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"However, there is no suggestion (his) mother, brother or sister had anything to do with it."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/bondi-shooter-naveed-akrams-family-fearful-after-death-threats/c6c6a389-91d6-40b9-a766-886d197decd5" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Angry, misguided individuals keen to be vigilantes could target Akram's mother and siblings, Wilson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some already had, he added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The family had received death threats and had been intimidated by groups of men turning up at their home late at night, Wilson told the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Are you still alive?" an unknown male asked Akram's mother over the phone.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We're going to kill you," someone else told Akram's brother on WhatsApp.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The court was told their home had been vandalised, had pork chops thrown onto the driveway and people had driven past in utes yelling slurs and death threats.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Akram's driver's licence was distributed widely online minutes after the December 14 attack.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-march-17-donald-trump-pushes-allies-for-help-in-strait-of-hormuz/07b534e9-af93-4d00-91dc-58dba21ca969" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump unleashes on allies, missile shrapnel falls on holy sites</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The suppression order was needed because there was a catastrophic risk that one of Akram's family members could be killed, Wilson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There was also a risk of mental harm with the family living in a state of fear, he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While details of the family had already been published, the gag order would have a dampening effect on future threats, Wilson argued.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Akram silently watched the hearing by audiovisual link from Goulburn's supermax prison, often bowing his head.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Several media outlets opposed the suppression application, arguing transparent reporting could be therapeutic for the community.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This was especially important due to the hostility and raw emotion felt after the massacre, the outlets' barrister said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The public requires confidence to know that an (alleged) terrorist who's affected the worst terrorist offence in Australian history is going to be held to justice," Matthew Lewis SC told the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-schoolgirl-speaks-out-about-terrifying-bullying-incident/126cabb4-10a4-4c8a-a889-92f2115e687c" target="_blank"><strong><span>Girl, 13, told to 'strip naked' in terrifying five-hour bullying ordeal</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He cast the gag order as futile due to the names and address of the family having already been widely reported nationally and overseas. He also attacked evidence from Akram's mother and brother as speculation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said there was no expert evidence proving the likelihood and imminence of any risk towards the 24-year-old's family.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the lawyer representing News Corp, Nine newspapers, the Guardian and the ABC acknowledged the Akram relatives' plight.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The court could have sympathy with Akram's mother and siblings, finding they were three further people impacted by the Bondi attack," Lewis said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Akram has not yet been required to plead to dozens of charges, including terrorism offences and multiple counts of murder.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His father was killed by police during their alleged terror attack, which was Australia's deadliest mass shooting since 1996's Port Arthur massacre.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A box-like bomb was allegedly found in the boot of their car while two hand-painted ISIS flags were also in the vehicle.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The magistrate is expected to make a decision on the suppression order on April 2.</span></div></div>