O 16-year-old teenager who stabbed two clergy during a church service in Sydney, Australia, has been formally charged with terrorism by authorities.
The attack was considered a terrorist act due to suspicions that the young man had acted with religious motivations, in addition to having traveled 90 minutes from his home to the Assyrian Church of the Good Shepherd, in the Wakeley district, reported the Associated Press.
According to the same outlet, the teenager said, in Arabic, that the Prophet Muhammad had been insulted, shortly after stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and Reverend Isaac Royel, on Monday night. He was then subdued by parishioners, suffering serious injuries to his hands.
“Yesterday, investigators were at a medical center to interview the alleged offender, where he was accused of committing a terrorist act,” Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said at a press conference this Friday.
The teenager, who risks a maximum sentence of life in prison, was not heard at today’s hearing, which took place in a children’s court.
The young man has a history of crimes with bladed weapons, having even consulted three psychologists and a school counselor, in addition to having made an appointment with a psychiatrist, said his lawyer, Greg Scragg.
The defense also highlighted that the teenager had a “long history of behavior” consistent with mental illness or intellectual disabilities. Along these lines, the magistrate recommended that the young man should be psychologically evaluated while in custody. The teenager will then be held in a juvenile detention center until his next hearing on June 14.
However, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel said, on Thursday, that he was “fine” and that he forgave the attacker, having also appealed for calm.
This incident happened two days after another stabbing left six dead in a shopping center in Sydney.
Read Also: “I Forgive”. Bishop attacked in “terrorist act” in Sydney breaks silence
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2544566/adolescente-que-atacou-bispo-em-sydney-formalmente-acusado-de-terrorismo
