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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) \u2014 Police charged a third suspect on Friday with an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue that was allegedly directed by Iran.<\/p>\nMELBOURNE, Australia (AP) \u2014 Police charged a third suspect on Friday with an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue that was allegedly directed by Iran.<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old man was one of three masked offenders who broke into the Adass Israel Synagogue, doused the interior with flammable liquid then set it alight in the early hours of Dec. 6, 2024, a police statement alleged.<\/p>\n
The fire caused extensive damage to the synagogue and a worshipper sustained minor injuries.<\/p>\n
The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, which brings together federal and state police with a spy agency, charged the man, who has not been named, with offenses including arson.<\/p>\n
He was charged in a Melbourne jail where he was already being held in custody on unrelated offenses. Police declined to elaborate on those offenses.<\/p>\n
His co-accused Giovanni Laulu, 21, was arrested in July last year and another suspect, Younes Ali Younes, 20, was arrested a month later.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year accused Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard of directing the synagogue fire and an arson attack two months earlier at a Sydney kosher eatery, Lewis\u2019 Continental Kitchen.<\/p>\n
Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the nation\u2019s main domestic spy agency, said the Revolutionary Guard used a \u201ccomplex web of proxies to hide its involvement\u201d in both antisemitic attacks.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s ambassador to Australia and another three Iranian diplomats were expelled. Tehran has denied Australia\u2019s allegations.<\/p>\n
Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Crozier told reporters on Friday that investigators were working with international partners in the continuing investigation.<\/p>\n
Police were also investigating whether the three alleged arsonists knew who ordered the attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey may not actually be aware of the people who are directing or the principals of these investigations. That remains a key line of inquiry for us,\u201d Crozier said.<\/p>\n
Victoria Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul O\u2019Halloran said police had informed the local Jewish community of the third arrest before the news was made public.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur heart goes out to them. Again, this brings back this terrible incident,\u201d O\u2019Halloran said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople deserve the right to feel safe and be safe in their community and particularly at their place of worship. Today’s charges are a strong testament to this,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The latest suspect will make his first court appearance on the new charges next week.<\/p>\n
The Australian government has established a public inquiry to investigate a rise in antisemitism across the country, including the killing of 15 people when two gunmen opened fire on a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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