蜜芽传媒

The siege of a cafe in the Australian city of Sydney has ended, with two hostages dying when police stormed the premises. Australian media have been pondering the hostage-taker's motives.

The hostage-taker's former lawyer, Manny Conditsis, told Today's John Humphrys: "He spent some time in custody and he's spoken at some length about the torture that he received at the hands of guards over that period of time."

"He was placed in a cell, which had a concrete bed, they removed the mattress, there was excrement thrown around the walls and the floor. Every time he tried to sit down ...he would be bashed."

Mr Conditsis claimed he believed hostage-taker Man Haron Monis "because of the manner in which he said it."

He told John Humphrys he didn't think Man Haron Monis was a jihadist, but that: "Something has happened to have caused him to become unhinged ...his perception of an incredible injustice to him."

First broadcast Today programme 16 December 2014.