Gunman gets life term for killings of 51
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The white supremacist who slaughtered 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The judge imposed the maximum available sentence on 29yearold Australian gunman Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the first time the sentence has been imposed in New Zealand.
Judge Cameron Mander said Tarrant’s crimes were so wicked that a lifetime in jail could not atone for them. He said they had caused enormous loss and hurt and stemmed from a warped and malignant ideology.
“Your actions were inhuman,” Mander said.
“You deliberately killed a 3yearold infant as he clung to the leg of his father.”
The March 2019 attacks targeting people praying at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques shocked New Zealand and prompted new laws banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic weapons. They also prompted global changes to social media protocols after the gunman livestreamed his attack on Facebook.
During the fourday sentencing hearing, 90 survivors and family members recounted the horror of the attacks and the trauma they continue to feel.
Some chose to yell at the gunman and give him the finger. Others called him a monster, a coward, a rat. Some sung verses from the Quran or addressed him in Arabic. A few spoke softly to Tarrant, saying they forgave him.
Mander noted that Tarrant had recently said he now rejects his extremist philosophy and considers his attacks “abhorrent and irrational.”
But Mander said the sincerity of that change of heart was questionable and Tarrant had still shown no empathy toward his victims or sorrow for what he had done.
Sara Qasem spoke Thursday about her beloved father Abdelfattah, who was killed in the attacks.
“All a daughter ever wants is her dad. I want to go on more road trips with him . ... 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.”
Prosecutors said Tarrant had flown a drone over the Al Noor mosque and researched the layout as he meticulously planned his attacks.
Dressed in a gray prison tracksuit, Tarrant showed little emotion during his sentencing. He watched the speakers, occasionally laughing at jokes, often made at his expense.