Police Chief: Sydney Hostage-Taker Was a Fraudster Who Fled Iran

The commander of Iran's police force stated that Mohammad Hassan Manteqi, who was killed along with two hostages during a hostage situation in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, had fled Iran after committing fraud in 1996. According to ISNA news agency, Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam said on Tuesday, December 25, 'A person named Manteqi, who had a travel agency in 1996 and defrauded citizens, fled to Malaysia and then to Australia that same year.' He added, 'We reported the matter to the Australian police in 1999, but since this country does not have an extradition treaty with us, they stated they could not return this individual to our country.' Additionally, according to IRNA news agency, the police chief mentioned that Australia had sent Manteqi's fingerprints to Iran's police. Meanwhile, ISNA quoted Ahmadi Moghadam as saying, 'We do not have this individual's fingerprints; however, we have informed them via Interpol to send us the fingerprints, and we are even prepared to verify the matter by sending DNA samples and matching them with this individual's family.' Mohammad Hassan Manteqi, a 50-year-old Iranian refugee in Australia, took hostages at the 'Lindt' cafe in Sydney on Monday, December 24, local time. He was killed early Tuesday following a police raid on the cafe, along with two hostages. Marzieh Afkham, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, stated on Tuesday that Manteqi's 'background and psychological conditions' had been 'repeatedly' raised with Australian officials. The police chief emphasized, 'This person was a fraudster who claimed to be political and religious to obtain asylum.' Manteqi referred to himself as 'Sheikh Haroun' and wore Shia clerical clothing but later converted to Sunni Islam. Ahmadi Moghadam compared the incident to 'a play,' adding, 'We do not want to say that Australia was behind this, but it seems there are hidden hands, and Western countries intend to divert attention from their shortcomings in combating terrorism by linking this issue to Iran.' The state-run IRNA news agency also reported on Tuesday, referring to Manteqi being 'wanted' in Iran, claiming that the coverage of this 'Australian' hostage situation in Western media indicates that they are 'trying to hide years of serious support from Australia for this fugitive wanted by Interpol.' According to Australian media, the police identified Mohammad Hassan Manteqi as someone with a long history of criminal behavior. Reports indicate that he had sent hateful letters to the families of several Australian soldiers killed in the Middle East seven years ago and had been under police scrutiny since then. He was also accused last year of involvement in the murder of his ex-wife, who was stabbed and burned. Reports suggest that Manteqi's hostage-taking occurred after he failed in his last attempt to exonerate himself in the High Court of Australia on Friday. The Australian newspaper 'The Age' reported that he was also accused of about 50 sexual assaults.