WELLINGTON, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The sentencing hearing for Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant will be held at 10:00 a.m. on August 24, according to an announcement on Friday.
The terrorist attack in Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019, the worst in New Zealand history, left 51 people dead.
The date has been set for his sentencing after a three-month wait. In March, Tarrant made a late guilty plea to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one under the Terrorism Suppression Act.
The reason for the delay in announcing a date was because the number of family and victims overseas unable to return to New Zealand for the sentencing due to COVID-19 border restrictions, Justice Cameron Mander said in a statement.
The border restrictions only allow New Zealand citizens to enter the country at the moment, and the Ministry of Justice had been waiting to hear from Immigration New Zealand if "limited exceptions" could be applied to allow non-citizens to return, Mander said.
"INZ has been unable to confirm whether the 'limited exceptions' process can be made available to overseas victims and their families," Mander said, adding that family and victims overseas therefore can not be given the option to return.
"I am also aware that many of the victims have found the elongated court process to be exhausting and frustrating. They wish sentencing to happen as soon as realistically possible," he said.
Therefore, August 24 is a compromise date to hold the hearing, according to the justice, who added the sentencing, including victim impact statements from families and victims, would be held for three days or more if necessary.
"It is hoped that by setting a date for sentencing some certainty and reassurance will be provided to those victims and their families who wish to have the criminal proceeding concluded and allow them to obtain some level of closure that would not otherwise be possible if the matter remains in its open-ended state," Mander said.
Live streaming and video conferencing could be used to allow those who could not return to attend the sentencing remotely, he added.
