Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
26-08-2020
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies
WELLINGTON/ CHRISTCHURCH/ MELBOURNE: The father of murdered three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim, the youngest victim in the New Zealand (NZ) mosque shootings, told the white supremacist who gunned down his son that “true justice” awaited him in the next life and it would be more severe than prison.
“You have killed my son and to me it is as if you have killed the whole of New Zealand,” Aden Ibrahim Diriye said during a sentencing hearing for Brenton Tarrant on Wednesday.
“Know that true justice is waiting for you in the next life and that will be far more severe. I will never forgive you for what you have done,” Diriye told the High Court in Christchurch.
Tarrant, a 29-year-old Australian, is scheduled to be sentenced this week after pleading guilty to 51 murders, 40 attempted murders and one charge of committing a terrorist act during the 2019 shooting rampage in Christchurch which he livestreamed on Facebook.
A murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The judge can impose a life term without parole, a sentence that has never been used in the country.
Tarrant is noticeably thinner than when he was first arrested. At the current hearing, he hasn’t shown the brazenness he did at his first court appearance the day after the attacks, when he made a hand gesture sometimes adopted by white supremacists.
The attacks targeting people praying at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques shocked New Zealand and prompted new laws banning the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons.
They also prompted global changes to social media protocols after the gunman livestreamed his attack on Facebook, where it was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.
Dozens of survivors and families of victims have addressed the court this week and many have urged the judge to sentence Tarrant to the most severe sentence.
Diriye, a refugee from Somalia who arrived 25 years ago, told the court his son had been robbed of a future.
“He used to engage and play with the police; at home he would run around the house pretending to be a cop and wear a police uniform. We thought one day he might become a police officer,” he said.
While most victims were at Al Noor mosque, including Mucaad Ibrahim, Tarrant killed seven people at the Linwood mosque, before being detained en route to a third.
The casualty list would likely have been higher if it weren’t for Abdul Aziz Wahabzadah, who was commended for his courage by High Court Judge Cameron Mander.
After shots rang out in the Linwood mosque, Wahabzadah engaged Tarrant outside, throwing a bank card machine at him and drawing fire when the gunman returned to his car, loaded with high-powered weapons, ammunition and incendiary devices.
“I didn’t want him to go inside the mosque because we had 80-100 people praying at that time,” Wahabzadah said.
Wahabzadah took cover, and weaved through parked cars, to stop Tarrant getting a clear shot. Tarrant’s plan frustrated, he left quickly and was detained en route to a third mosque.
Ahad Nabi, who lost his 71-year-old father in the attack, said Tarrant should “never walk free” for his cowardly actions that March 15.
“You are weak, a sheep with a wolf’s jacket on for only 10 minutes of your whole life,” said Nabi, referring to the shooting rampage.
Sara Qasem, daughter of victim Abdelfattah Qasem, said she would miss smelling her father’s garden sauce cooking and wanted to hear his stories about the “olive trees in Palestine”.
“You made a choice here — a conscious, stupid, irresponsible, cold-blooded, selfish, disgusting, heinous, evil choice,” Qasem said, looking at Tarrant who was seated and surrounded by guards.
Prosecutors have told the court that Tarrant wanted to instil fear in those he described as invaders and that he carefully planned the attacks to cause maximum carnage.
Tarrant, who is representing himself, will not speak ahead of his sentencing, court officials said on Wednesday. He has directed a lawyer assisting the court to make a brief statement on his behalf. The judge is expected to sentence Tarrant on Thursday.
Live reporting from the courtroom has been banned, and other restrictions were put in place on what the media could report.
