New Zealand gunman refuses to talk as victims speak of grief

On a day when the poetic words of love from a daughter to her murdered father brought many people to tears in a New Zealand courtroom, the white supremacist who killed him and 50 other worshippers at two mosques said he would not speak before he is sentenced.

Gunman Brenton Tarrant had earlier pleaded guilt y to murder, attempted murder and terrorism for the March 2019 attacks. After earlier firing his lawyers and deciding to defend himself, he could have spoken on the final day of his sentencing hearing, sch eduled for today.

But the 29-year-old Australian told the judge yesterdy he did not plan to say anything and instead a standby lawyer would make a short statement on his behalf.

Over the first three days of the hearing, 90 survivors and family members told the judge about the pain and aftermath of the attacks. Many said Justice Cameron Mander should hand down the maximum available sentence–life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The hearing has pr ovided some degree of catharsis. Some yelled at the gunman and made obscene gestures. Others called him am onster, a coward, arat. Some sung verses from the Koran or addressed him in Arabic. A few spoke softly to Tarrant, saying they forgave him.

Sara Qasem spoke about her beloved father.

She said she wondered if, in his last moments, he was frightened or in pain, and wishes she could have been there to hold his hand. She told the gunman to remember her father’s name, Abdelfattah Qasem.

“All a daughter ever wants is her dad,” she said. “I want to go on more road trips with him. I want to smell his gardensourced cooking, his cologne.

“I want to hear him tell me more about the olive trees in Palestine. I want to hear his voice, my dad’s voice, my baba’s voice.”

Tar rant has shown little emotion during the sentencing. He has watched the speakers, occasionally giving a small nod or covering his mouth as he laughs at jokes, often made at his expense.

Ms Qasem said Tarrant had made a choice. “A conscious, stupid, irresponsible, coldblooded, selfish, disgusting, heinous, foul, uninformed and evil choice,” she said.

She said she pitied Tarrant’s coarse and tainted heart and his narrow view of the world that could not embrace diversity.

“Take a look around this court room ,” she said to the gunman. “Who is the ‘ other’ here, right now. Is it us, or is it you? I think the answer is pretty clear.”

Ms Q as em said that love would always win. Tarrant is noticeably thinner than when he was arrested.