A businessman from Christchurch, New Zealand, who shared video footage of the deadly New Zealand mosque shooting last March, received a 21-month prison sentence on Tuesday. The judge who delivered the sentence said that the defendant’s offense “glorifies and encourages” the mass murder being carried out over “religious and racial hatred.”
Philip Arps — who was one of six people charged in New Zealand with sharing video footage of the Christchurch mosque shooting — pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing the video, according to the Associated Press. Christchurch District Court Judge Stephen O’Driscoll said that Arps sent the video to 30 people.
The report added that Judge O’Driscoll said Arps had not shown empathy toward the victims of the March 15 shooting, and that the businessman had committed a hate crime as a result of his strong and unrepentant views toward the Muslim community.
“Your offending glorifies and encourages the mass murder carried out under the pretext of religious and racial hatred,” said O’Driscoll.
Arps’ attorney, Anselm Williams, told O’Driscoll that his client should not go to prison, and stressed that the court should be “very careful to sentence Mr. Arps based on what it is that he has actually done, and what he accepts he has done,” rather than on the basis of “the views that he holds.”
In New Zealand, it is illegal to distribute, possess, and view the video, as well as the shooter’s manifesto, according to he Chief Censor of New Zealand, David Shanks, who criminalized the material just three days after the shooting.
Moreover, Shanks has warned New Zealanders that it is even a crime to unintentionally be in possession of the video, according to a report by the New York Times.
“While he said that those who spread the video in New Zealand risked arrest and imprisonment, he warned all New Zealanders that even innocent possession of the video was a crime,” states the report, “‘If you have a record of it, you must delete it,’ he said. ‘If you see it, you should report it. Possessing or distributing it is illegal and only supports a criminal agenda.'”
This could end up becoming a problem for New Zealanders, as they may be unaware of the video or manifesto having been saved in caches or browser histories.
Since the attack, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been leading a global campaign, entitled, “Christchurch Call,” which seeks to prevent people from using internet platforms to spread hate, organize extremist groups, and broadcast attacks, noted the Associated Press.
New Zealand has also responded to the attack by banning certain types of semi-automatic weapons, a reaction that the shooter had predicted in his manifesto, but noted however, that he preferred calls for the removal of gun rights to take place in the United States.
Arps’ attorney said that his client has since filed an appeal against his sentence at the High Court.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.
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