Man Horan Monis has been named by police as the gunman at the centre of the Sydney hostage crisis.
The man is known to authorities as a radical Islamic cleric who is out on bail, charged with being an accessory to murder of his ex-wife and a further string of serious offences.
Monis was charged earlier this year with indecent and sexual assault of women in 2002. He was charged with a further 40 charges in October and appeared in a Sydney court just last week.
He is also convicted of sending offensive letters to the families of deceased Australian soldiers. He served time in prison for the offences and claims he suffered mistreatment while incarcerated.
He has been regularly seen on Sydney streets, protesting his alleged mistreatment.
It is understood that the self-styled Islamic cleric migrated to Australia from Iran in 1996.