Killer of 51 mosque victims finally owns up to atrocity

John Twomey

FAMILIES of victims slaughtered in the Christchurch terror attack spoke of their relief yesterday as the killer finally admitted the atrocity.

Brenton Tarrant, 29, who was due to go on trial in June, pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, the attempted murder of another 40 people, and one terrorism charge.

He appeared via prison videolink during the hastily called hearing at Christchurch High Court in New Zealand.

No relatives were present due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the judge pledged that the mass killer would not be sentenced until everyone was free to travel. Families and survivors were formally represented in court by a mosque official.

Tarrant, armed with semiautomatic weapons, went on the rampage at two mosques during Friday prayers on March 15 last year.

The white supremacist, from New South Wales, Australia, originally pleaded not guilty – even though he “live-streamed” part of the attack.

Relatives of victims and the wider Muslim community were dreading the six-week trial and it was feared Tarrant would use it as a platform to spout far-Right propaganda.

Proceedings at the High

Court were adjourned until sentencing at a date to be fixed.

Sheikh Hasan Rubel, 35, who was shot three times, said the guilty pleas were a surprise and relief.

“Whenever I thought about the court proceedings, it used to affect me mentally and I did not want to re-live all of it,” he said. “Now I feel quite relieved. I am sure he will get whatever he deserves.”

Farid Ahmed, whose wife Husna was shot dead, said: “His heart has realised what is right and he has admitted his guilt.

“That would save him from more emotional and mental trauma...for the Muslim community, it would

Tarrant, left, filmed his sickening attacks at mosques in New Zealand, far left, before police disarmed the killer, right

save them from going through the court process and refreshing memories of this tragedy.”

After the hearing, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, said: “The whole nation, but particularly the Muslim community, has been spared a trial that could have acted as a platform.” Aarif Rasheed, a lawyer working with some victim families, said they were not given any indication of why suspected neo-Nazi Tarrant changed his pleas.

However, he added: “We do know terrorists are often seeking a sense of self-importance and attention to their cause [and] the Covid19 pandemic has removed that.”