The former partner of Sydney siege gunman Man Monis has had her jail sentence cut by almost a decade on appeal.
Amirah Droudis, 41, will now serve a minimum 26 years and three months behind bars for murdering Monis’ ex-wife so they could be together.
Droudis stabbed the woman 18 times and then set her body alight in her Werrington unit block in 2013.
Monis faked a car accident to give himself an alibi but he was the mastermind of the plan designed to secure custody of his two boys.
He died in the Lindt siege before the case went to trial.
“Although the accused demonstrated an established pattern of acting at Monis’ behest, I do not consider that she was naive in her dealings with Monis,” Justice Peter Johnson found.
But on appeal Droudis argued the judge made an error when he found the death of Monis did not assist her.
The appeal court found his absence is relevant when it comes to assessing factors which includes her future dangerous to others.
“Although the applicant committed the murder of her own free will and to achieve a result she regarded as beneficial both to herself and Monis, the fact remains that Monis was the instigator of the crime,” the court found.
“His removal from her life does increase her prospects of rehabilitation.”
Although still adhering to Islam, the appeal court accepted she would not have committed the crime for purely ideological reasons.
“This is particularly the case when the evidence demonstrates that since she has been in prison the applicant has been a polite and co-operative prisoner,” the court found.
“There is nothing to indicate that she has expressed extremist views during her period in prison.”
Droudis was jailed in 2014 and with time served she will be eligible for parole in 2041.
Source: Nine News.
