Victim’s son says he is no threat
The son of a man killed in the Christchurch terror attack says police treated him as a potential threat after he called for the accused gunman to be tortured.
Omar Nabi’s father, Haji-Daoud Nabi, was fatally shot at the Deans Ave mosque on March 15 as he tried to shield another person.
Three days after the shootings Omar Nabi shared a petition to introduce the death penalty to terrorists on his Facebook page, with a message saying he wanted the accused to be repeatedly tortured, not killed.
Nabi told Stuff that several days later he received a phone call from police telling him the post was inappropriate and he should take it down and asked what his intentions were. They then visited him at his workplace.
He said the terror suspect should be taught a lesson ‘‘and the only way you can teach somebody a lesson is punishment’’.
‘‘They explained that I sounded like a threat to the community and wanted to know why I was putting these posts up.’’
Nabi said he was ‘‘disgusted’’ by being perceived as a threat, and that he was a ‘‘good citizen’’ with no history of violence or anger issues.
Four months after his post, Nabi said he believed he was still being monitored by police.
‘‘They’re wasting their time because at the end of the day I’m not a threat at all.’’
Acting Canterbury district commander Mike Johnson confirmed police had spoken to Nabi.
‘‘We’re very mindful of his loss in any inquiries we’ve made with him.’’
He declined to say whether Nabi was a person of interest or not.
It comes as police monitor a list of more than 100 people, including white supremacists, Muslim converts and people who were left disgruntled by the terror attack.
Police appear to be placing a large focus on social media, with one person making it on to the list for posting ‘‘concerning information’’, including how to make their own live feed on social media.
The list, seen by Stuff, was created as part of the intelligence phase of Operation Whakahaumanu – a nationwide operation put into place following the attacks. The operation was designed to reassure New Zealanders.