Terrorism charges unlikely for gunman
Doubt is being cast over whether Christchurch mosque shootingaccused Brenton Tarrant will be the first person charged under New Zealand’s anti-terror laws.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and police have frequently referred to Tarrant as a terrorist since Friday’s massacre.
Yet authorities may not charge the 28-year-old Australian under the Terrorism Suppression Act (TSA) because multiple murder convictions would allow a sentencing judge to impose a longer minimum non-parole period.
Auckland University senior law lecturer John Ip also believed that proving murder would be more straight-forward than terrorism.
‘‘I think that probably the more attractive point for a prosecutor regarding murder . . . would be the relative ease of proof, particularly bearing in mind that murder is familiar and the terrorism offence [is] both novel and complex,’’ Ip said.
‘‘Where the murder involves certain aggravating circumstances, one of which is ’if the murder was committed as part of a terrorist act’ . . . the minimum non-parole period is 17 years. He is, assuming conviction, of course, [is] likely to face a non-parole period far longer than that – and rightly so given the gravity of the offending in this case.’’
A provision was also added to the law in 2010 allowing a court to order a life sentence to be served without parole in murder cases.
Tarrant, who was represented by duty lawyer Richard Peters when he was charged with one count of murder on Saturday, planned to represent himself in court in the future. He has not sought legal aid.
Auckland University law professor Bill Hodge said it would be risky for Tarrant to be charged under the TSA because few prosecutors would have a working knowledge of the statute.