Source:
https://scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3002438/new-zealand-shooting-terrorist-was-his-way-third-location
Asia/ Australasia

New Zealand shooting: White supremacist Brenton Tarrant likely to be locked up in solitary confinement ‘for his own safety’, says criminologist

  • The terror accused who killed 50 Muslims in Christchurch will be ‘highly unpopular’ in a prison where 80 per cent of the inmates are not white, said a New Zealand criminology professor
  • New Zealand has no death penalty and Brenton Tarrant is expected to face a record prison sentence if found guilty of the massacre
Terror-accused Brenton Tarrant appears in the Christchurch District Court. Photo: New Zealand Herald

A white supremacist who gunned down 50 Muslims in a twin mosque attack is likely to spend a lifetime behind bars and in isolation for his own safety, said a New Zealand criminologist and former convict on Wednesday.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, was charged with one count of murder a day after the well-planned massacre which sent shock waves across the nation.

“He is going to be very highly unpopular in a prison where 80 per cent (of inmates) are Maori or Pasifika [Pacific islanders] and he is a white supremacist,” said Greg Newbold, a professor of criminology at Canterbury University. “He will have no friends, not even the white guys.”

New Zealand media already have quoted members of a notorious criminal biker gang as saying “we’ve got friends inside”, suggesting they would get to Tarrant if they had the chance.

People mourn near the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch. Photo: Kyodo
People mourn near the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch. Photo: Kyodo

New Zealand has no death penalty and Tarrant is expected to face a record prison sentence if found guilty of the slaying.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, criminal lawyer Simon Cullen told AFP, adding that such a sentence would be “unprecedented” for New Zealand.

“If he’s convicted, he will be effectively in solitary for a long, long time... he will be locked up most of the time in his own cell,” said Newbold, who spent five years in jail on drugs charges – half of that in maximum security – before turning his life around.

Tarrant, who was remanded without a plea, was being held in a “specialist security facility” outside Christchurch until his next court appearance on April 5, where he was likely to face more charges, said authorities.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush. Photo: New Zealand Herald
Police Commissioner Mike Bush. Photo: New Zealand Herald

Police on Wednesday revealed the shooter was on his way to a third location when he was apprehended.

“We strongly believe we stopped him on the way to a further attack,” Police Commissioner Mike Bush said at a press conference. “Lives were saved.”

Bush said police knew where the gunman was heading, but declined to comment further as an investigation and prosecution process was underway.

The rifle-armed gunman shot 50 worshippers during Friday prayers in a killing spree which he streamed live on Facebook. He first attacked a packed central city mosque, before driving eastward to continue the rampage at a second mosque – where he was apprehended as he fled the scene, with police running him off the road and dragging him from his car.

Bush said the officers involved were “courageous in their intervention”, given the shooter was still armed and home-made bombs were found in the car.

Mourners carry the coffin of a victim killed in the twin mosque massacre. Photo: AFP
Mourners carry the coffin of a victim killed in the twin mosque massacre. Photo: AFP

Meanwhile, burials for the victims began on Wednesday, with a Syrian refugee and his son among the first to be interred.

Hundreds of mourners gathered as Khaled Mustafa and his 15-year-old son Hamza were laid to rest at a cemetery not far from Linwood Mosque, the second of the mosques targeted.

The five-member Mustafa family arrived in the “the safest country in the world” last year as refugees seeking sanctuary from the maelstrom of Syria.

Zaid Mustafa (in wheelchair), who was wounded in the attack, attends the funeral of his slain father Khalid Mustafa and brother Hamza in Christchurch. Photo: AFP
Zaid Mustafa (in wheelchair), who was wounded in the attack, attends the funeral of his slain father Khalid Mustafa and brother Hamza in Christchurch. Photo: AFP

Younger brother Zaid, 13, was wounded but survived and attended the funeral in a wheelchair, his hands held aloft as he prayed alongside the rows of mourners.

Hamza’s high school principal described the student as compassionate and hardworking, and said Hamza was an excellent horse rider who aspired to be a veterinary surgeon.

Many relatives of the deceased have had their grief compounded by the failure of authorities to return bodies to families in time for a speedy burial, as required under Islamic custom.

Only six of the 50 victims have been returned to their families so far, with 21 victims formally identified by coroners. Of the six bodies released so far, four are expected to be repatriated overseas.

Dozens of relatives of the deceased have begun arriving domestically and from around the world, some hoping to take bodies back with them.

Mourners offer prayers for Khalid Mustafa and his son Hamza. Photo: AFP
Mourners offer prayers for Khalid Mustafa and his son Hamza. Photo: AFP

Javed Dadabhai, who travelled from Auckland to help bury his cousin, said families and volunteers had been warned of a slow process. “The majority of people still have not had the opportunity to see their family members,” he said.

Authorities said they were doing all they could to speed up autopsies and the formal identification of those killed.

Police commissioner Mike Bush said the process had been slow because of the need to identify victims conclusively and to avoid hindering the prosecution.

“It would be unforgivable to return the wrong body to a family,” he said, adding he hoped a further six bodies would be returned to families by midday on Wednesday.

Reporting by Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg, Associated Press