Ahmed al Ahmed pleads not guilty to assault charge

Ahmed al Ahmed, the 44‑year‑old who became widely known after tackling and disarming gunman Sajid Akram during the Bondi Beach terror attack, appeared before Bankstown Local Court and entered not‑guilty pleas to one count of common assault and one count of stalking/intimidation. The charges relate to an alleged March incident in which he put his father in a headlock during a family dispute over the $2.6 million in donations raised for Ahmed after the attack.

Lawyer Mohamad Sakr described Ahmed as a “heroic man” whose honesty and dignity should be maintained pending a legal determination, and noted the matter is set to return to court on 3 December. Ahmed’s brothers, Hozifa and Sameh al Ahmed, have previously been charged with threatening him over the same dispute. The case follows Ahmed’s rise to global fame for intervening at the Chanukah festival shooting that left 15 dead and dozens injured, after which a GoFundMe campaign attracted donations from thousands of supporters worldwide.