Brenton Tarrant, the man who killed more than 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It is the first time that such a harsh sentence has been handed down in New Zealand.
In 2019, Tarrant went on a shooting spree at the two mosques, resulting in the deaths of 51 worshippers.
Tarrant, an Australian citizen, pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder, and one of committing a terrorist act.
According to BusinessLive, Judge Cameron Mander said that a finite term would be insufficient. Mander said: ‘Your crimes, however, are so wicked that even if you are detained until you die it will not exhaust the requirements of punishment and denunciation. As far as I am able to gauge, you are empty of any empathy for your victims.’
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was quoted as saying: ‘The trauma of March 15 is not easily healed but today I hope is the last where we have any cause to hear or utter the name of the terrorist behind it. His deserves to be a lifetime of complete and utter silence.’
She also praised the country’s Muslim community for its resilience in the wake of the tragedy.
Tarrant had links to far-right groups in both Australia and Europe and cited the Norwegian far-right terrorist, Anders Behring Breivik, as an inspiration.
[Picture: Luis Alejandro Apiolaza, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77574129]