The white supremacist terrorist who murdered 51 people in shootings at two New Zealand mosques last year was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole.
Brenton Tarrant, a 29-year-old Australian, did not speak in his own defense, the Associated Press reported. Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism.
New Zealand does not sentence people to death. This is the first time in the country has sentenced someone to life without parole.
“If not here, then when?” Justice Cameron Mander said, according to the BBC.
More than 60 people read victim impact statements during the four-day sentencing hearing.
“You deserve to be buried in a landfill,” Ahad Nabi, whose 71-year-old father Haji-Daoud Nabi was murdered by Tarrant, said. “I do not forgive you for what you have done, but while you are in prison you will come to reality, that you are now in hell and only the fire awaits you.”
Tarrant plotted his attack on the two Christchurch mosques for years, buying thousands of rounds of ammunition and using a drone to scout the buildings. He livestreamed the mass slaughter on Facebook.
Tarrant released a white supremacist manifesto days before the shooting and included shoutouts to similar terrorists Dylann Roof in South Carolina and Anders Breivik in Norway.
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