Calls for New Zealand mosque attacker to be returned to Australia

Sydney, Australia, Aug 26 (efe-epa).- The alleged author of the 2019 mosque massacre in New Zealand, which left 51 dead, should be sentenced to life imprisonment and returned to his native Australia, survivors in the sentencing process said Wednesday.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 29, faces a possible life sentence without parole on 51 counts of murder, 40 for attempted murder and one for terrorism as a result of the attack on the mosques of Al Noor y Linwood, in the city of Christchurch.

“Send Brenton to Australia,” said John Milne, father of a 14-year-old boy killed in the attack, when addressing Christchurch City Superior Court Judge Cameron Mander, despite the fact that the decision is not in the hands of the magistrate.

“You have killed my son, but for me you have killed all of New Zealand,” said Aden Diriye, father of Mucaad Ibrahim, the three-year-old boy who was the youngest victim of the attack.

“I know that true justice awaits you in the next life and I know it will be more severe. I will never forgive you for what you did,” Diriye said, adding that she trusts that the court will give her a fair sentence.

At the beginning of the day, Aha Nabi, the son of another victim, asked Judge Mander that “this parasite of the world never gets out of prison in his entire life and never sets an example for those who follow in his footsteps.”

“You wanted to make this world a human cult of one color, but you were never successful. There is nothing heroic in killing people from behind, without them having the opportunity to defend themselves,” he added.

Prosecutor Mark Zarifeh is expected to make a presentation at the end of the testimonies of some 80 survivors and relatives of the massacre’s victims, who have begun to wait outside the court since Monday, awaiting for Tarrant to speak. EFE-EPA

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