Photographs Of Sydney's Cafe Siege Victims, Lawyer Katrina Dawson And Cafe Manager Tori Johnson
Photographs of Sydney's cafe siege victims, lawyer Katrina Dawson (L) and cafe manager Tori Johnson are displayed in a floral tribute near the site of the siege in Sydney's Martin Place, December 23, 2014. A funeral for Johnson and memorial for fellow siege victim, lawyer Katrina Dawson were held on Tuesday, one week after both died in the siege. Reuters/Jason Reed

The Sydney Siege was the common subject on Sunday evening for rival television networks Seven and Nine. Both of them aired special programs on Lindt Café victims who shared their first-hand experience of the hostage situation.

Seven aired “Inside the Siege: The Untold Story” while the Nine Network broadcast a special during “60 Minutes.” Both the programs were aired at the same time. Nine is reported to have paid $1m for the entire package. Nine interviewed eight hostages who experienced the Martin Place siege for 16 hours. Seven, on the other hand, showed footage which had been captured from a camera positioned inside its Marin Place office.

John O’Brien and Marcia Mikhael gave exclusive interviews to Seven. While 82-year-old O’Brien is reported to have received $100,000, 43-year-old Mikhael has apparently bagged $300,000 for her interview. The hostages Nine interviewed included pregnant barista Harriette Denny, Jarrod Morton-Hoffman and Joel Herat.

Denny said that she was OK with being shot by the gunman if she did not feel it. She said that she was grateful that she had been able to experience pure love and happiness of being pregnant. However, she said that it was hard to know that she might die. “Knowing that you’re about to die is kind of hard, the desperation you feel, the fear, you lose hope, thinking about your family outside, thinking there’s nothing you can do to get yourself out and it’s very hard,” The Guardian quotes Denny.

Westpac Bank Project Manager Mikhael, who was involved with police negotiations during the siege, said that she could not believe it that the prime minister was too busy to attend her. She said that she had “lost hope” when she realised that there would not be any negotiation. She thought that no one was coming for the hostages and they were left on their own.

While Mikhael was forced to stand against the cafe's windows by the gunman, she wondered why the police officers inside the Seven building were not helping them. Although she knew that the officers “had a plan,” she said that the “unknown” was difficult for her to bear. Mikhael accused the officers of treating her “like a criminal” during the investigation into the siege. “Why am I the criminal here?” The Sydney Morning Herald quotes her.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au