A high-security and physically distanced courtroom is tomorrow to see the end, of sorts, to one of the darkest and most traumatic moments in New Zealand’s history: the day an Australian terrorist stormed two mosques in the city of Christchurch, killing dozens of worshipers at prayer.
The shooting survivors and families bereaved by the gunman, are to face the perpetrator in the Christchurch High Court, as he is to be sentenced for 51 murders, 40 counts of attempted murder, and engaging in a terrorist act on March 15 last year, all of which he admitted.
Brenton Tarrant, a self-professed white supremacist who broadcast part of the massacre live on Facebook, faces the possibility of being the first offender in New Zealand sentenced to life in prison without the chance of ever leaving jail.
Photo: AFP
After electing to represent himself, the gunman is to have the opportunity to speak in court during a hearing.
The mosque attacks were the largest mass shooting in New Zealand’s history and the first act of terrorism in decades, prompting an outpouring of grief in the normally peaceful nation and exhortations from many in the Muslim community for the country — and its leaders — to confront what they said had been a rising tide of white supremacist threats.
Tarrant’s abrupt guilty plea to all the charges reversed his earlier decision to plead not guilty. It also subverted plans for a lengthy trial scheduled to begin in June that some of his victims welcomed, but many were dreading.
Instead, over four days next week, more than 60 of those wounded or bereaved in the attacks, and those who witnessed them, are to read statements about the effect of the gunman’s actions on their lives.
Among those making statements would be Aya al-Umari, whose brother Hussein al-Umari, 35, was killed trying to protect others at the Al-Noor Mosque.
“There’s only one line that I plan to eyeball him in,” al-Umari said, referring to the gunman. “When I say that I used to talk to Hussein and vent to him, and I still have the urge to pick up the phone and call him ... but now that you’ve killed him, you’ve actually made me turn to God and that’s made my faith in Islam even stronger.”
New Zealand’s courts issue an automatic life sentence for murder, but judges have always allowed for an offender to seek parole after a set number of years, which varies by case.
No one has ever been sentenced to life without parole, the longest previous sentence being a minimum term of 30 years for a man who killed three people in 2001.
“If anything, this should be where [a sentence of life without parole] needs to be utilized,” al-Umari said.
Brenda Midson, a senior law lecturer at the University of Waikato, said the use of such a sentence must pass “a really high threshold” and take into account all factors surrounding the attacks including Tarrant’s age, the length of time he is likely to spend in jail and his admission of the crimes — which usually results in a shorter prison term.
The vulnerability of his victims during Friday prayers would also be considered, she said.
Even though courts were reluctant to send people to jail without the chance of release, “if there was ever a case [for that sentence], it would be this one,” Midson said.
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