CHRISTCHURCH | Some chose to forgive him, others did not, but all were able to tell him their pain in the face. For the first time since the 2019 carnage in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, survivors and families of victims faced the mosque killer on Monday for a hearing.
The trial of Australian Brenton Tarrant, who was convicted of 51 murders, 40 attempted murders and one count of terrorism, entered its home stretch on Monday, which is expected to culminate on Thursday on the sentence statement.
While the white supremacist had attended by video conference, in his prison in Auckland, the previous hearings, he was present Monday in the High Court of Christchurch, where survivors and members of the families of the victims had been called to testify.
“Your transgression is beyond comprehension, I cannot forgive you,” said Maysoon Salama, who lost his son Atta Elayyan in the attack. “You gave yourself the authority to take the souls of 51 innocent people whose only crime, in your eyes, was to be Muslims.”
“I hope you will receive the most severe punishment for your evil deed,” she continued, while accusing the 29-year-old killer of failing to divide the New Zealand Muslim community.
“You thought you could divide us, you failed miserably. We are more determined than ever to hold on to Islam and honor our loved ones as martyrs, ”she continued, saying a prayer in Arabic.
“We have become more united”
A feeling shared by Khaled Alnobani who, pointing his finger at Brenton Tarrant, told him: “We have become more united. We thank you.”
Janna Ezat, whose son Hussein Al-umari perished while rushing on the killer in the al-Nour mosque, claimed on the other hand that she had made up her mind not to hate him.
“I have decided to forgive you, Mr. Tarrant, because I have no hate. If we can forgive, we forgive. ”
“The damage is done, Hussein will never be here again and I have only one option, and that is to forgive you.”
Temel Atacocugu, originally from Turkey, said he was galvanized by the expressions of solidarity from all New Zealanders after the attacks.
He too was in the al-Nour mosque, the first to be attacked on March 15. Hit nine times by Brenton Tarrant’s bullets, he got away playing dead.
“I came to live with my family in New Zealand, because it is a peaceful country and despite the events of March 15, I believe it will remain so,” he said.
Some survivors, for their part, detailed their anguish, more than a year after the carnage.
Abdiaziz Ali Jama, a 44-year-old Somali refugee, saw her brother-in-law Muse Awale being killed in front of her eyes.
“I see the pictures and I still hear the ‘rata-rata-rata’ of the weapon in my head,” she said.
“I see a lot of deaths. I speak constantly at night. I only need to hear a noise for me to go out to see if the shooter is there. I will never forget what I saw. ”