The man behind the siege: Who is Man Monis?
The alleged gunman who held hostages against their will in a cafe in Sydney's Martin Place was a self-styled Sheik who had been known to police for a long time.Police identified him as Man Moni
Born in Iran, the 50-year-old came to Australia in 1996 as a refugee.
In 2009, Monis chained himself to the steps of a Sydney courthouse in a bid to convey a 'message of peace'.
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At the time, he was accused of seven counts of using a postal or similar service to menace, harass or cause offence after sending offensive letters to families of fallen soldiers in Afghanistan.
Monis took advantage of several grieving families and wrote letters that purported to be sympathetic but were vile and grossly insulting, the crown prosecutor John Agius told the District Court at the time.
The letters, dubbed by one High Court judge as "sadistic, wantonly cruel and deeply wounding", were sent to the families of seven soldiers killed in Afghanistan and a trade official killed in a bombing in Indonesia between 2007 and 2009.
As well as posting the letters - some of which described the soldiers as murderers - Monis published them on his website under headings such as: "Why should we call pig a hero?"
In a DVD sent to the widow of one of the soldiers, Lance Corporal Jason Marks, co-accused Amirah Droudis is seen read out one of the letters saying, "We shouldn't be honouring them as we don't honour Hitler's soldiers".
In 2013, Monis was accused of assisting in the brutal killing of his ex-wife, mother-of-two Noleen Hayson Pal.
Monis and Droudis were charged with murder after 30-year-old Ms Pal was stabbed multiple times and set alight in a western Sydney unit block.
In 2014, Man Monis was charged with sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of indecent assault.
Claiming to be a spiritual healer, Monis was charged after allegedly advising a 27-year-old woman in 2002 to visit him at his business in Wentworthville after she contacted him through a 'Spiritual Consultation' ad in a community newspaper.
The alleged victim was indecently assaulted during her first consultation with Manteghi in August 2002.
A week later at their next meeting the woman was allegedly sexually assaulted.
Monis was on bail will appear in court again in February.
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