The suspected white supremacist who killed 51 Islamic worshippers last year i.e. 2019, a massacre that prompted a global campaign to stamp out online hate, arrived in Christchurch on Sunday i.e. 23rd August ahead of sentencing hearings.
Brenton Tarrant leaves a New Zealand air force plane at Christchurch Airport on this Sunday afternoon, wearing a protective vest and an helmet and escorted by armed officers, before being directed into the back of a white van, television footage showed.
He has pleaded guilty to total of 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act. Tarrant was shifted to Christchurch, the city where the shootings occurred, from Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, the New Zealand Herald reported.Murder convictions carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The judge can impose a life term without the possibility of release, a sentence that has never been used in New Zealand.
A police spokeswoman denied to comment on Tarrant’s movements, referring Reuters to the country’s department of corrections. A spokeswoman there denied to comment, referring to “the interests of public safety and operational security”.
