A Jewish man who allegedly making phone calls containing threats to an unspecified minority “section of the community” has been refused bail in Sydney.
Gunther Mosslacher, 55, from Rosebery, was arrested about 10 minutes after allegedly making Triple-Zero calls from a payphone on George St in the CBD threatening to kill or harm the minority group, which police did not name in court.
Mosslacher was charged with using a payphone to harass, and four counts of making irritating calls to emergency service numbers, and faced court for a bail application on Sunday where Magistrate Robert Rabbidge said he was “taken back” that the accused was Jewish, The Daily Telegraph and ABC News reported.
“One appreciates in these appalling times, it’s been two years since the October 7 attack and I’m aware of the recent targeted attacks in the eastern suburbs, the community is aghast at what’s been going on,” he said.
“I appreciate the heightened concerns in the community at large. You should be sorry, Making the vexatious calls and verbal attacks on a minority community was a terrible thing.
“He himself claims to be a Jewish person and that frankly has taken me aback.”
The magistrate said their was “no justification” for the alleged calls and denied bail.
Mosslacher’s lawyer Kristina Domadyous said her client lived in Bondi Beach but was staying in Randwick due to fears for his safety after the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack.
She said her client “may have been drunk”, said he suffered from PTSD, was not on parole or bail and would follow bail conditions including not consuming alcohol and a curfew.
But the police prosecutor said Mosslacher appeared to suffer from mental health issues and was a risk of reoffending, saying: “Threats were made to a minority group, which was particularly concerning given the recent incident in Bondi.”
Mosslacher will reappear in court in January 28.
Header image: A Sydney payphone (ashishlohorung – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link).
