The failed attempt by the Christchurch mosque terrorist to get his guilty pleas reversed has been “deeply retraumatising” for the people affected by his attack, a family member says.
By Laura James and Thomas Mead
The Court of Appeal yesterday threw out Brenton Tarrant’s application for an extension of time for an appeal, ruling that it was “utterly devoid of merit”.
The Australian terrorist killed 51 people and left 40 others injured in his hateful rampage across two mosques on March 15, 2019. He admitted those crimes a year later, but in recent years, has been attempting to get those guilty pleas vacated, saying his mental health was “wildly fluctuating” when he entered them.
While the Court of Appeal has now rejected his application, it’s left a lingering trauma for victims and their families including Sara Qasem who lost her father Abdelfattah.
Speaking to 1News, she said the outcome affirms "what we’ve already known”.
“The convictions and sentence were just, and there is really no merit in revisiting those,” she said. Qasem added that those affected by the attack continue to struggle and highlighted how they are in need of support, seven years later.
“This closes a legal chapter but it doesn't close all of them, and it certainly doesn't close the grief,” she said.
“There's a real dissonance in being asked to feel closure when the conditions for healing aren't there.”
'All for seeking attention'
That was echoed by Temel Atacocogu, who survived nine of the killer’s bullets. He said he was “smiling and laughing” when he received the news that the application had been blocked. “He is doing that all for seeking attention,” he told 1News.
“He is wasting people's time, New Zealand taxpayer’s money.”
Atacocogu hoped that the justice system would "stop any further applications" from going to the court.
“I’m not calling him as a human, I’m calling him as a monster,” he said.
“When I see the injured people, I can see in their eyes the trauma is haunting everywhere. It’s the same [for me], my trauma is haunting me everywhere, every time.”
Law expert Al Gillespie, a professor at the University of Waikato, agreed that Tarrant was engaged in “continual game-playing”.
“It’s continually looking for opportunities to be put in front of the public to gain his notoriety,” he said. “This is a man who murdered 51 people. He streamed it live, he recorded his extremist ideology and when he spread it all over the internet, there is no defence to this type of atrocity.
“But we have shown him that even no matter how despicable he is as a person, he still has a right to justice, and we've seen that through in our country.”
The Court of Appeal ultimately found that Tarrant’s guilty pleas were voluntary, and he was not coerced or pressured in any way to plead guilty. He had claimed he had suffered from “inhuman prison conditions” which affected his mental health. However, the justices said there were inconsistencies in his evidence.
“The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that he was not suffering any significant psychological impacts as a result of his prison conditions at the time he pleaded guilty,” the Court said.
“The wider interests of society, and particularly the victims of Mr Tarrant’s offending, strongly favour declining Mr Tarrant’s application to extend time to appeal his convictions.”
'Court has ruled definitively'
It also found that Tarrant had filed his application 505 days late, with the appeal period normally just 20 days.
Gillespie described the decision as an “excellent judgment”.
“I think the one sentence you need to take from it is ‘utterly devoid of merit’ in terms of the application,” he said.
“The Court has ruled definitively that he was of sound mind when he made his plea and we can now move to the next stage.
”Many doubt this will be the end of the killer’s efforts to remain in the public eye.
“Once he's done with the court, once he's done with the coronial inquiry, it's possible he will try the UN processes,” Gillespie added.
Fifty-one people were killed and 40 others were injured at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre on March 15, 2019 in New Zealand's deadliest ever mass shooting. (Source: 1News)
Qasem also believes he’ll do anything in his power to do as much harm as he can, even while behind bars.
“Am I worried about it? I'm only human, but I'm not worried about it in a sense that it would come as a shock, nor will I try and entertain that in my day-to-day either,” she said.
Tarrant will spend the rest of his days in jail, with no prospect of release.
Atacocogu said the sentence is “what he deserves”.
“He will be rotting in jail for the rest of his life,” he said.
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