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Court hearings into the Adass Israel Synagogue firebombing will be delayed until 2026 due to a “significant” amount of material in the investigation remaining with the Australian Federal Police.
Days out from the one-year anniversary of the alleged attack, Werribee man Giovanni Laulu and Younes Ali Younes, of Meadow Heights, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
The destroyed interior of the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 6, 2024.
Magistrate Wendy Bakos was told documents had been filed late and a large volume of disclosure material was still yet to be served on the pair’s lawyers.
This included a “very significant” amount of material held by the AFP, such as police interviews with other potential persons of interest who had not been charged, the court heard.
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Other items included CCTV footage, investigation logs, information reports, phone intercepts and downloads and search warrant information.
Much of the material required an “assessment of relevance” to take place before the material was disclosed, the prosecution said.
David De Witt, acting for Younes, 20, who remains in custody at the Melbourne Assessment Prison, said all they currently had was a “vague list of categories of disclosure”.
Bakos ordered the material be provided before March, with the accused men to return to court in April.
“Get it together rather than serve things piecemeal,” she told the prosecution.
Other statements relevant to the case were sent to the defence lawyers late last month.
The magistrate was told Laulu, who was granted bail last month, had been “behaving” since his release from custody. He was asked to return to court for a bail review in February.
Detectives released CCTV footage of the alleged arson attack in May.Credit: Victoria Police
The 21-year-old was bailed with 22 conditions, including a ban on attending places of Jewish worship, during a court hearing in November.
Laulu and Younes are accused of using 100 litres of petrol to set fire to the synagogue in Ripponlea, in Melbourne’s south-east, about 4.15am on December 6, 2024.
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The men allegedly drove to the site in a stolen Volkswagen then smashed their way into the synagogue using an axe before setting the building alight. The alleged attack caused more than $20 million in damage.
At the time of the fire, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the attack as “an outrage”.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan met leaders from the Adass Israel congregation and pledged $100,000 to help rebuild the synagogue.
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