Faizel Patel – 27/08/2020
The self-confessed white supremacist who mercilessly murdered 51 worshippers at two New Zealand Masajid was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
This is the first time the maximum available sentence has been imposed in New Zealand.
Brenton Tarrant pleaded guilty in March to 51 murder charges, 40 of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act.
The March 2019 attacks livestreamed on Facebook targeted people praying at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch shocked New Zealand and prompted new laws banning the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons.
During the four-day sentencing hearing, 90 survivors and family members recounted the horror of that day and the trauma they continue to feel.
One of those who spoke was Temel Atacocugu, who survived being shot nine times during the attack at the Al Noor mosque.
The Associated Press reports that Judge Cameron Mander said the crimes committed by 29-year-old Australian Tarrant were so wicked that a lifetime in jail could not begin to atone for them.
Judge Mander said Tarrants actions had caused enormous loss and hurt and stemmed from a warped and malignant ideology.
“Your actions were inhuman. You deliberately killed a 3-year-old infant by shooting him in the head as he clung to the leg of his father.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was relieved “that person will never see the light of day”.
“The trauma of March 15 is not easily healed, but today I hope is the last where we have any cause to hear or utter the name of the terrorist behind it. His deserves to be a lifetime of complete and utter silence.”
After the sentence was announced, survivors of the shootings raised hands and fists in celebration and greeted supporters waving signs with painted hearts and carrying roses outside the court building.
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