Giovanni Laulu: Alleged Adass Israel Synagogue arsonist says he’ll fight chargesLiam BeattyNewsWireMon, 2 February 2026 9:54AM
The young man police allege was involved in firebombing the Adass Israel Synagogue has revealed he plans to fight the charges.
Giovanni Laulu, 21, returned before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning for a bail review after he was released to live with his mother in November last year.
Outside court, Mr Laulu was asked if he intended to fight the charges he faced in court.
“Of course I will,” he responded.
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In court, magistrate Leon Fluxman was told Mr Laulu had been meeting his bail obligations, including by attending counselling, and had found a job last week.
“I’m pleased to see things are going well on your bail. I’m glad you’ve managed to secure employment,” Mr Fluxman said, before adjourning the case until mid-April.
Mr Laulu was charged with three offences of arson, reckless conduct endangering life and vehicle theft in July last year, seven months after the Ripponlea synagogue, valued at $20m, was destroyed by fire.
A second man, Younes Ali Younes, 20, has been charged with the same offences, while a third man has been accused of vehicle theft in connection with the blaze.
Police allege Mr Laulu and Mr Ali Younes were among three masked men who smashed their way into the Adass Israel Synagogue in the early hours of December 6, 2024.
The building was allegedly set alight with about 100 litres of petrol, with two worshippers inside able to escape.
In August, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess alleged the fire was orchestrated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps through intermediaries in the “criminal world”.
Counter-terror police release footage of masked suspects pouring accelerant and igniting a fire at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne’s southeast. The attack is being treated as politically motivated.
During Mr Laulu’s bail application last year, Mr Fluxman was told the 21-year-old was allegedly linked to the fire through DNA found in a vehicle and phone records.
Mr Laulu, the court was told, denied he was involved in the fire but allegedly conceded he drove the vehicle at a petrol station eight hours before the fire.
He remains on bail under conditions to live with his mother, obey a curfew and report regularly to a police station.
Both Mr Laulu and Mr Ali Younes, who has not entered a plea, will return to court on April 13.
Originally published as Giovanni Laulu: Alleged Adass Israel Synagogue arsonist says he’ll fight charges
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