New Zealand: Iraqi woman forgives her son’s killer

Shafaq News / The Iraqi woman, Jannat Ezzat, surprised all those present at the trial session of the perpetrator of the attack on two mosques in Christchurch in New Zealand, including the murderer himself, when she publicly declared her forgiveness for his action.

Ezzat lost her son, Hussein Al-Omari, 35 years old, during the attack carried out by Brenton Tarrant, on March 15, 2019, on the Al-Noor and Linwood mosques, killing 51 people and wounding 40 others.

Jannat Ezzat, who survived the attack, told Brenton Tarrant that she did not hate him despite her grief over the loss of her son, who was killed while trying to protect others during the attack.

"I forgive you, the damage has already occurred, Hussein left us forever. I have only one option, which is to forgive," Ezzat added, during a hearing on the testimonies of some of the massacre survivors and the families of the victims, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Ezzat addressed her words directly to the attacker, saying, "I decided to forgive you, Mr. Tarrant, because I do not hate. I have no motive for revenge. We say in our Islamic religion, we are able to forgive, and we forgive."

After he listened to her words, it seemed that the killer was also affected, as he nodded his head, confessing her words, before blinking a lot and wiping one of his eyes, according to the newspaper.

Ezzat, who immigrated to New Zealand in 1997 from Iraq, was one of 66 survivors who spoke before the court Monday and Tuesday. The President of the High Court of Justice in Christchurch is due to deliver the final ruling on Thursday.

A number of legal experts expect Tarrant, the Australian, to be the first person to be sentenced to life imprisonment in New Zealand without the possibility of parole.