Liam Alexander Hall has been named as the accused terrorist behind the attempted bombing of an Invasion Day rally in Perth.
The 31-year-old allegedly threw a homemade bomb into a crowd of protesters on 26 January. The bomb did not detonate after its fuse failed.
Hall’s name previously could not be published by media outlets because a suppression order was in place.
This afternoon, the suppression order was lifted.
The case
On 26 January, an Invasion Day rally was held in the Perth CBD. Police say about 2,500 people were in attendance.
Investigators allege Hall removed a “homemade improvised explosive” from his bag and threw it at the crowd, before fleeing the scene. The device did not detonate.
Nine days after the attempted bombing, police labelled the incident as terrorism, making Hall the first person in WA’s history to be charged with a terrorism offence.
Hall did not appear in court for the second hearing of his case, with his lawyer saying he was in a “vulnerable mental health condition”.
Suppression order
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Australia’s judicial system is based on the principle of “open justice”.
Court proceedings are normally available for the public to see and media to report on.
However, suppression orders (also known as gag orders) can be introduced to restrict what is made public.
When a gag order exists, it becomes an offence to publish details the judge has asked be kept secret.
Anyone who publishes those details can face prison time or heavy fines.
In this case, federal and state prosecutors were joined by lawyers representing multiple media organisations in challenging the order.
They argued publishing Hall’s identity was in the public interest.
Hall’s lawyers fought for the suppression order to remain in place, saying there was an “obvious risk” to Hall if his identity was revealed, due to his “mentally vulnerable” state.
Kirsten Nelson, a lawyer for the Federal Government, told the court: “There are many accused in the criminal justice system who have mental health issues.“
Ultimately, Magistrate Lynnette Dias overturned the suppression order, ruling that Hall’s personal circumstances did not “justify displacing the usual practice of naming accused persons”.
