New Zealand mosque attack evidence will be suppressed for 30 years: royal inquiry
- The Royal Commission of Inquiry commissioners say the move will prevent others from using the full report as a ‘how-to’ terrorism manual
- The inquiry’s report, sans evidence, will be publicly released on December 8, after first being shared with victims’ families and political party leaders
Evidence given by New Zealand ministers and public sector bosses will also be sealed for three decades, said commissioners Sir William Young and Jacqui Caine.
Full publication of the evidence could provide a “how-to manual for future terrorists”, they said in a statement.
The interview had included acknowledgements by Brenton Tarrant about what he felt were “mistakes” in the way he carried out the massacre – which could be read by potential terrorists as “advice”. Furthermore, his motives and “reasoning” could be used to provide a platform for the dissemination of his views.
Those concerns would likely have “dissipated” in 30 years, the commissioners said.
The transcript of the interview, however, would be provided to the New Zealand Police and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service to help them improve their knowledge of extreme right-wing and lone-actor terrorists.
A number of individuals involved in the inquiry would also have their identities suppressed, including the police officers who had vetted Tarrant for his firearms licence and the people who provided references for him.
