DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The independent Mindanao news group MindaNews was able to get the scoop on where the Bondi Beach shooters stayed in Davao City for nearly a month before flying to Australia.
In their story released Wednesday, December 17, MindaNews reported that Sajid Akram and son Naveed, Australian nationals with origins from India, stayed in GV Hotel in downtown Magallanes Street from November 1 to 28.
The story gives details on the Akrams in contrast to the narrative from Australia and international authorities that the father and son were “radicalized” and “trained” by ISIS groups in Mindanao before the incident in Bondi.
A quiet stay in Davao
Last December 14, Sajid and Naveed opened fire in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, killing 15 people who were attending the Jewish festival Hanukkah. The 50-year old Sajid was killed in an exchange with police, while Naveed is hospitalized.
Police investigations claimed that the vehicle the Akrams used during the incident bore ISIS flags and symbols, as they are now tracing the history of the Akrams to find links to “radical groups”.
The report from MindaNews quoted staff from GV Hotel saying the Akrams first booked their stay for a week, and kept extending week after week.
During their entire stay, hotel staff observed that the father and son rarely left their rooms and would do so for around an hour. The duo rarely interacted with hotel staff.
Local police had asked the hotel for its CCTV footage, but they only stored footage for a week.
Hotel staff added that when they cleaned the room occupied by the Akrams during housekeeping, they only found leftover food packages. The father and son each carried luggage and a backpack.
Unfair, speculative
The Akram’s month-long stay in Davao had raised speculations from investigation and social media posts, which Mindanao leaders say is unfair and unsupported.
“The insinuation of some that they might have travelled to Marawi to (seek) training is ridiculous! The ISIS were defeated and eliminated in 2017. There are some remnants according to the military but we can count them in our fingers and those remaining are hiding. I doubt they can organize a training camp in Marawi City or Lanao del Sur,” said Drieza Lininding, chair of the Moro Consensus Group said over his Facebook account.
He also added that it is far-fetched for the father and son to be “inspired by ISIS” in sympathy to Palestine, noting that ISIS is “also at war with Hamas”, Palestine’s Islamic political group.
Lininding also asked the global community to stop linking his home city Marawi to ISIS and terrorist groups.
“Please spare our city, we are no terrorist hub. That’s our past and we never supported this group. Marawi is now one of the safest places in Mindanaw.”
Human rights lawyer Dexter Lopoz also called the labeling of Davao City as unfair.
“What’s unfair are the condescending posts making Davao and its International Airport as laughing stocks or fodder for facetious online attacks,” he said.
The lawyer said the father and son’s stay in Davao might be “a deliberate ploy” to avoid scrutiny in other places in Mindanao.
Netizens and groups also complained of travel advisories particularly in Canada which prohibited their citizens to visit the Mindanao regions after the shooting incident.
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año in a statement said the branding of Mindanao as a “hotspot for violent extremism or Islamic State ideology are outdated and misleading.” He further said that after the 2017 Marawi Siege, the remnants of the ISIS-affiliated groups “have been fragmented, deprived of leadership, and operationally degraded.”
He added that there is no report that showed the Akrams underwent military training in Mindanao prior to the attack. “No evidence supports such a claim at present,” the security leader said.
Australian nationals
Investigations in Australia revealed that Sajid migrated there in 1998 via a student visa.
In a news report, authorities did not reveal Sajid’s country of origin, but Indian authorities confirmed Sajid was from Hyderabad.
Sajid settled in Australia and resided in western Sydney in Bonnyrigg. Sajid owned a fruit shop and Naveed had worked as a bricklayer.
The elder Akram had a gun license and owned six firearms, investigation revealed.(davaotoday.com)
