Poetic words bring tears in New Zealand mosque shooting case

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The poetic words of love from a daughter to her murdered father brought many people to tears in a New Zealand courtroom Wednesday during the sentencing hearing for the white supremacist who killed 51 worshippers at two mosques.

Sara Qasem said she wonders if, in his last moments, her father was frightened or in pain, and wishes she could have been there to hold his hand. She told the gunman to remember her dad’s name, Abdelfattah Qasem.

“All a daughter ever wants is her dad. I want to go on more road trips with him. I want to smell his garden-sourced cooking. His cologne,” she said. “I want to hear him tell me more about the olive trees in Palestine. I want to hear his voice. My dad’s voice. My baba’s voice.”

Qasem spoke on the third day of a four-day sentencing hearing for Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who carried out the attacks during Friday prayers in March 2019. The 29-year-old Australian has pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, and terrorism.

The hearing has given a chance for some of the survivors and family members to confront Tarrant. Many have asked the judge to impose the maximum possible sentence — life without the possibility of parole.

Tarrant has shown little emotion during the sentencing. He has watched the speakers, occasionally giving a small nod or smirking at jokes made at his expense.

Qasem said Tarrant made a choice.

“A conscious, stupid, irresponsible, cold-blooded, selfish, disgusting, heinous, foul, uninformed and evil choice,” she said.

She said she pitied Tarrant’s coarse and tainted heart, and his narrow view of the world that couldn’t embrace diversity.

“Take a look around this courtroom,” she said to the gunman. “Who is the ‘other’ here, right now, is it us, or is it you? I think the answer is pretty clear.”

Qasem said that love will always win.

Tarrant is noticeably thinner than when he was first arrested. At the current hearing, he hasn’t shown the brazenness he did at his first court appearance the day after the attacks, when he made a hand gesture sometimes adopted by white supremacists.

Tarrant is representing himself during the sentencing and can choose to speak once the survivors have spoken, although the judge will likely shut down any attempts he makes to grandstand.

The attacks targeting people praying at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques shocked New Zealand and prompted new laws banning the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons.

They also prompted global changes to social media protocols after the gunman livestreamed his attack on Facebook, where it was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.

Also speaking at Wednesday’s hearing was Ahad Nabi, whose father Haji was killed. An imposing man, Ahad Nabi stared at the gunman and gave him the finger with both hands.

“Your father was a garbageman and you have become trash of society,” Nabi said.

He said Tarrant was a sheep who wore a wolf’s jacket for 10 minutes of his life and that only fire awaited him.

A statement from the father of the youngest victim, 3-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim, was also read to the court.

The boy’s father said his son loved playing in the mosque and made friends with all the worshippers, young and old. Mucaad loved to run around at home and dress up as a police officer, his father said, and they wondered if he would one day join the force.

“Your atrocity and hatred did not turn out the way you expected,” the father said in the statement. “Instead, it has united our Christchurch community, strengthened our faith, raised the honour of our families, and brought our peaceful nation together.”