Christchurch, The Indonesia Post – Brenton Harrison Tarrant (29), a defendant in a brutal shooting case that killed 51 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand yesterday (24/8) is undergoing trial. The trial was planned for the next four days.
A video of the trial shows the moment the defendant was brought into the courtroom. He was seen wearing a gray prison outfit. He didn’t move much. His athletic body was flanked by two tall policemen. Her hands and feet were chained.
The panel of judges invited the defendant to say something. But he was silent. Without expression.
“May you get the heaviest punishment for your evil deeds in this life and in the hereafter. We know that Allah is Just. You have transgressed. You think you can destroy us? You failed miserably,” said Maysoon Salama, one of the shooting victims welcomed the defendant’s arrival in the courtroom.
In the trial video which lasted 1 minute and 30 seconds, another witness who gave testimony was Mohammed Atta Ahmad Alayan. He is a survivor of that terrible incident. At the trial, he asked for justice for this heinous act.
The trial yesterday was attended by the majority of the families of the dead victims and survivors. One of them is Hamimah Tuyan. He deliberately flew from Singapore to New Zealand to give a statement in court. Hamimah Tuyan lost her husband, Zekeriya Tuyan, who died because of the shooting at the mosque. Zekeriya Tuyan died after undergoing treatment for seven weeks, due to a gunshot wound.
The prosecutor, Barnaby Hawes, told the BBC that Tarrant had been planning the brutal shooting for years. The 29-year-old Australian isn’t actually going to stop at the second mosque. He plans to target a third mosque. He also planned to burn down the mosque. And want to cause as many casualties as possible.
The defendant, who worked as a personal trainer on a daily basis, gathered information about New Zealand mosques. He studied the mosque plans. Location. Access in and out. To the number of congregants in each mosque.
He planned everything carefully. Two months before the bloody incident that killed 51 Muslims, he came to Christchurch. Flying a drone over the Al-Noor mosque which is the main target. It focuses on the entry and exit points of the building.
Once convinced of his plan, he executed. Tarrant carried out shootings at the Al-Noor mosque and Linwood Islamic Center in March 2019. As well as attacking the two mosques, he also plans to target the Ashburton Mosque. But failed. He was immediately arrested by the police.
“He intends to instill fear in the people he describes as colonizers, including the Muslim population or more generally non-European immigrants,” Hawes said as written by the BBC.
Tarrant’s actions were truly sadistic. The man from Australia faces a minimum prison sentence of 17 years. However, he could be sentenced to life without parole. Because a High Court Judge, Cameron Mander has the power to hand down the sentence. If that happened, it would be the heaviest punishment in New Zealand history. Because Jacinda Ardern’s country does not adopt the death penalty. (imf/bbs)
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