Christchurch Mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant was sentenced to life without parole, a record sentence, for the terrorist attack that left 51 people dead, on Thursday.
“It is incumbent on the court to respond in a way that decisively rejects such vicious malevolence,” judge Cameron Mander said while delivering the sentence. Tarrant, a white supremacist had gunned down 51 Muslim people including children in two Mosques in Christchurch who were offering Friday prayers on 15th March 2019, sparking worldwide outrage. The judge said that Tarrant had failed in spreading right-wing extremism but the New Zealand Muslim community paid a hefty price because of his brutal and callous actions. Tarrant had admitted all the 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and 1 of terrorism, after reversing his initial not guilty plea.
“The offending was motivated by an entrenched racist and xenophobic ideology, in my submission, the offender is clearly New Zealand’s worst murderer,” crown prosecutor Mark Zarifeh said. Life behind bars is the only proper sentencing option for a crime without comparison in New Zealand history, he added. Tarrant had waived his right to speak at the court proceeding and accepted the sentence.
The incident had prompted the New Zealand government to tighten gun laws by banning assault rifles and to clamp down on online extremism.
