Mon 24 August 2020:
Survivors of New Zealand’s 2019 terrorist attack began on Monday giving their victim impact statements amid tight security in the same room as the Australian white supremacist who admitted killing 51 people in two Christchurch mosques.
The Australian man who killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand in 2019 meticulously planned his shooting rampage to maximise casualties, a prosecutor said at the start of sentencing hearings on Monday.
Handcuffed and dressed in grey prison clothes, Tarrant sat impassive as he looked directly at survivors and family members of those who died speaking about how their lives had been affected by the killings.
The imam of Al-Noor Mosque, Gamal Fouda – who was the first to speak – addressed Tarrant, calling him “misguided and misled”.
“You gave yourself the authority to take the souls of 51 innocent people, their only crime – in your eyes – being Muslims,” said Maysoon Salama, whose son Atta Elayyan was killed.
“You transgress beyond comprehension, I cannot forgive you.”
He said he saw the “hate in the eyes of a brainwashed terrorist” as he was standing in the pulpit, telling Tarrant: “Your hatred is unnecessary.”
The son of victim Ashraf Ali, said he still suffered trauma, saying: “I have flashbacks, seeing dead bodies all around me. Blood everywhere.”
The 29-year-old faces a life prison term, possibly without parole, when he is sentenced later this week.
Handcuffed and dressed in grey prison clothes, Tarrant sat impassive as he looked directly at survivors and family members of those who died speaking about how their lives had been affected by the killings.
Crown prosecutor Barnaby Hawes said Tarrant told police after his arrest that he wanted to create fear among the Muslim population.
“He intended to instil fear into those he described as invaders, including the Muslim population or more generally non-European immigrants,” Hawes said.
Tarrant also expressed regret for not taking more lives and had planned to burn the mosques down, Hawes said.
Maysoon Salama, mother of 33-year-old Atta Elayyan, who was shot dead as he prayed at the back of the mosque, said she constantly wondered what her son had been thinking in his last moments “armed only with his courage”.
Brenton Tarrant, a self-confessed white supremacist, has pleaded guilty to 51 murder charges, 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act in relation to the massacre in the southern city of Christchurch, which he streamed live on Facebook.
Families to address court
Security was tight outside the court, with police dogs pacing the streets and snipers on rooftops, television footage showed.
High Court judge Cameron Mander said that he had received more than 200 victim impact statements, along with submissions from various organisations.
“I have read them all,” said Mander, who added that he would not sentence Tarrant before Thursday morning after survivors and family members of victims had had an opportunity to address the court.
Many of the people who will give victim impact statements have travelled from overseas for the sentencing, undergoing two weeks of quarantine so they can participate.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said it will be a difficult week for survivors and families of the victims.
“I don’t think there’s anything I can say that is going to ease how traumatic that period is going to be,” she said last week.
She has vowed never to say the gunman’s name, saying soon after the attack: “He sought many things from his act of terror – but one was notoriety.”
Less than a month after the shootings, New Zealand’s parliament voted by 119 to 1 on reforms banning military-style semi-automatic weapons as well as parts that could be used to build prohibited firearms.
The government offered to compensate owners of newly-illegal weapons in a buy-back scheme.
