The Sydney Lindt café siege: The role of the consultant psychiatrist

Background: In December 2014, after a 16-hour siege of the Lindt café in Sydney, Iranian-born gunman Man Haron Monis shot dead a hostage precipitating the police action which broke the siege. Objective: This paper reviews the demographic and other factual details of Monis as documented by the NSW Coroner’s Inquest and critically analyses the published findings of the Coroner particularly in relation to the role of the psychiatrist who advised senior police and negotiators during the siege. Results: At the time of the siege, there was no formal protocol that delineated the role of a psychiatrist in hostage negotiations. Despite the psychiatrist’s credentials including his extensive experience with siege-hostage incidents and his counter-terrorist training, the Coroner was unfairly critical of the psychiatrist. Conclusion: The Coroner’s censure of the psychiatrist was clearly prejudiced by hindsight bias. During the siege, the psychiatrist properly considered and evaluated all the available intelligence and other information known about the gunman. As the psychiatrist advised, Monis was a narcissist and the siege was not an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack. Given that he announced he was armed with a bomb, Monis represented a ‘ credible threat’ to the hostages. The psychiatrist’s endorsement of the police strategy to ‘ contain and negotiate’ was prudent in the circumstances. The Coroner’s disparagement of the senior psychiatrist may have the unintended consequence that psychiatrists may be reluctant to assist in hostage-sieges or other critical incidents.

Chinese Diplomatic Security

China’s rise as a global power and its proactive foreign policy have been extensively researched. The challenges China faces in sustaining its growing diplomatic presence, including the protection of its diplomatic posts and personnel abroad, have been much less studied. In recent years, Chinese diplomats have been increasingly operating in unstable environments and have become the target of terrorist and criminal groups. China’s growing economic footprint and the large number of Chinese citizens traveling to and living in foreign countries exert further pressure on consular services and expose Beijing’s diplomats to additional risks and challenges, ranging from hostage negotiations to the evacuation of Chinese nationals. As this chapter shows, Beijing has yet to fully develop legislative and institutional frameworks to manage these growing challenges.

Debrief

This chapter concludes the book with four reflections on how readers can shift power away from kidnappers, protect at-risk populations, and safeguard hostages. First, hostages can help smooth their own release by not volunteering financial information to their kidnappers. Second, stakeholders who understand how hostage negotiations work are less likely to inadvertently strengthen the bargaining position of the kidnappers. Third, politicians should recognize the counterproductive nature of the UN ban on ransom payments to terrorists as it is currently practised. Its reform would increase public security. Finally, a better understanding of the power of private governance should reduce public demands for government interference in this tricky, politically sensitive, and ethically problematic market.