August 27, 2020
New Zealand mosques gunman sentenced to life imprisonment
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
The gunman of last year's terrorist attack on two Christchurch mosques in New Zealand was sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court on Thursday. The sentence came after three days of the final hearing of the case.
The 29-year-old Australian gunman, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, killed 51 people and injured 40 others on March 15, 2019.
Tarrant murdered 44 people at the Al Noor Mosque and killed seven more at the nearby Linwood Mosque. He also injured 40 others in the mass shooting, according to the prosecutor.
The gunman conducted a research of the view of the Al Noor Mosque by flying a drone over the mosque in January 2019. "The planned time for entry was to ensure the maximum number of worshippers would be present," according to the summary presented at the court.
According to his interview with the police, Tarrant said he had planned to burn the mosques down and wanted to "inflict as many fatalities as possible." He was on the way to another mosque in Ashburton, 85 km southwest of Christchurch, to carry out another attack when he was stopped by the police.
Justice Cameron Mander
Judge Cameron Mander of the Christchurch High Court said that a finite term would not be sufficient.
"Your crimes ... are so wicked that even if you are detained until you die it will not exhaust the requirements of punishment and denunciation," said Mander as he handed down a sentence unprecedented in New Zealand legal history.
"Your actions were inhuman,'' the judge said. "You deliberately killed a 3-year-old infant as he clung to the leg of his father…As far as I can discern, you are empty of any empathy for your victims."
“You present as a deeply impaired person motivated by a base hatred of people you perceive to be different from yourself,” said Justice Mander.
“You have offered no apology or public acknowledgement of the harms you have caused,” he added.
“While I appreciate that you have forsaken the opportunity to use these proceedings as a platform, you appear neither contrite nor ashamed.”
The sentence came after the court heard three days of emotional victim impact statements during which more than 90 of those bereaved or wounded in the attacks addressed the court. Many asked Mander to bar the gunman from ever walking free from jail.
The shooter had sacked his legal team last month intending to represent himself.
He waived his right to speak at the sentencing. Instead, he made a brief statement through a court-appointed lawyer before the sentencing, saying the shooter "does not oppose the application that he should be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole."
NZ Prime Minister
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she felt "relief" when she heard the sentence handed down to the Christchurch mosque shooter.
"This has been a crime in New Zealand the likes of which has never occurred before and now we've seen a sentence the likes of which we've never seen before as well," Ardern was quoted by Radio New Zealnd as saying. "But yes, it gave me relief to know that that person will never see the light of day", she said.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the strength of the Muslim community who shared their words in court over the past few days. "You relived the horrific events of March 15 to chronicle what happened that day and the pain it has left behind," Ardern said in a statement after the sentencing.
"Nothing will take the pain away but I hope you felt the arms of New Zealand around you through this whole process, and I hope you continue to feel that through all the days that follow," said the prime minister. She called last year's March 15 "the darkest day" in New Zealand history.
Christchurch Mayor
Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel praised the courage of the mosque attack victims who addressed the High Court this week at the sentencing of the mass shooter.
"Since the atrocious act of terror unfolded in our city on 15 March 2019, our Muslim community has taught us much about peace, love, compassion and forgiveness. They gave us another lesson this week as they came face-to-face with the terrorist," Dalziel was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying
"They showed enormous courage and delivered their incredibly moving testimony with dignity and grace," Dalziel said adding "I think it is very fitting that the man who perpetrated the worst crime in New Zealand's history should get the harshest sentence in New Zealand's history. Hopefully his sentencing today will help people move on," she said.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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