The murder of four members of a Muslim family in southwestern Ontario by a self-described white nationalist was an act of terrorism, a judge ruled Thursday as she sentenced the man to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Nathaniel Veltman was also sentenced to a concurrent life sentence for the attempted murder of a boy who survived the 2021 attack in London, Ont., that sent shockwaves across the country and sparked calls to combat Islamophobia.
Veltman, 23, was found guilty in November of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for hitting the Afzaal family with his truck while they were out for a walk.
Veltman 含羞草研究社渆xemplified the prototypical 含羞草研究社榣one wolf含羞草研究社�,含羞草研究社� keeping his beliefs 含羞草研究社� and a written manifesto 含羞草研究社� to himself until after he committed his crimes, said Justice Renee Pomerance, who presided over the trial.
But once he carried out his deadly plan, Veltman 含羞草研究社渕ade it clear that he wanted the world to know what he had done and why he had done it,含羞草研究社� she said in delivering her sentencing decision to a packed London courtroom.
含羞草研究社淭his was part of a plan. He wanted to intimidate the Muslim community. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of other mass killers, and he wanted to inspire others to commit murderous acts.含羞草研究社�
Pomerance, who explicitly chose not to name Veltman in her ruling to deny him the publicity he sought for his beliefs, said 含羞草研究社渢he brutality of the crime, its random character, the hatred that fuelled that and the consequences 含羞草研究社� calls for the imposition of the strictest penalty known to Canadian law.含羞草研究社�
First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years, but there is discretion in sentencing for attempted murder.
Veltman showed no visible emotion and was seen asking his lawyer a question after the sentencing concluded. Outside court, one of his lawyers said the defence would later be getting instructions on whether or not to appeal.
Forty-six-year-old Salman Afzaal; his 44-year-old wife, Madiha Salman; their 15-year-old daughter, Yumna; and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal were killed in the attack. The couple含羞草研究社檚 nine-year-old son was seriously hurt but survived.
Members of the Afzaal family were seen crying and nodding during the sentencing and some later hugged each other after the judge left the courtroom.
Outside court, Salman含羞草研究社檚 mother, Tabinda Bukhari, said the sentencing acknowledged the hate that took the lives of their loved ones, but it cannot bring back what was stolen from them.
含羞草研究社淚t will not mend the fractured pieces of our lives, our identity, and our security,含羞草研究社� she said in reading a statement on the family含羞草研究社檚 behalf.
含羞草研究社淭his trial wasn含羞草研究社檛 just about one act. It was a stark reminder of the fault lines that run deep within our society, the stereotypes that can erupt into violence 含羞草研究社� We must confront the hate, not just condemn it.含羞草研究社�
The case was the first time Canada含羞草研究社檚 terrorism laws were put before a jury in a first-degree murder trial.
Pomerance ruled it was an 含羞草研究社渋nescapable conclusion含羞草研究社� that Veltman committed a terrorist act.
含羞草研究社淭he offender did not know the victims. He had never met them. He killed them because they were Muslim,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淥ne might go so far as to characterize this as a textbook example of terrorist motive and intent.含羞草研究社�
The terror finding is 含羞草研究社渁 very important one,含羞草研究社� Crown prosecutor Sarah Shaikh said outside court.
含羞草研究社淚t is an acknowledgment that the offender含羞草研究社檚 attack was not only targeted at the Afzaal family, it was also targeted and directed towards the entire Muslim community,含羞草研究社� she said.
含羞草研究社淚t was also an attack on values that we as Canadians hold very dear 含羞草研究社� inclusiveness, community, decency and multiculturalism.含羞草研究社�
Amira Elghawaby, Canada含羞草研究社檚 Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, said the decision will have 含羞草研究社減rofound reverberations across Canada含羞草研究社� as it marks the first time a case involving white nationalism has met the threshold for terrorism.
含羞草研究社榃e must also clearly see urgent efforts to address the proliferation of online hate which can include dangerous hateful narratives about Islam and Muslims,含羞草研究社� Elghawaby said outside court.
Faisal Bhabha, an associate professor at York University含羞草研究社檚 Osgoode Hall law school, said the ruling provides Canadian Muslims with 含羞草研究社渋mportant moral validation of their experiences with hate and discrimination and the consequent fear that is produced.含羞草研究社�
It含羞草研究社檚 obvious from the facts of the case that Veltman was motivated by hate, he said.
含羞草研究社淭he sad reality, however, is that in Canada the use of the word terrorist is almost exclusively applied to Muslims. This has contributed to a situation in which Canadian Muslims do not feel that their lives are valued equally by their fellow citizens or by their political leaders when Muslims are victims of violence,含羞草研究社� Bhabha wrote in an email.
含羞草研究社淭his is why today is a critical moment for Canadian Muslims to receive validation from the judiciary 含羞草研究社� that Muslim lives matter too.含羞草研究社�
Prosecutors had argued Veltman was a white supremacist with a plan to commit violence, while the defence argued his actions shouldn含羞草研究社檛 be considered terrorism because he kept his beliefs to himself.
Pomerance rejected that argument, finding that Veltman only kept his beliefs private to avoid detection before he could carry out his plan. He expected his manifesto, in which he described himself as a white nationalist, to be made public after his arrest, she said.
Veltman was 含羞草研究社渁 voracious consumer of extremist right wing internet content含羞草研究社� who became inspired by other mass killers, Pomerance said, describing him as believing 含羞草研究社渋n the superiority of the white race, and the related aspiration for an all-white society.含羞草研究社�
During the trial, Veltman testified he had been considering using his pickup truck to carry out an attack and felt an 含羞草研究社渦rge含羞草研究社� to hit the Afzaal family after seeing them walking on a sidewalk. He said he knew they were Muslims from the clothes they were wearing and he noticed the man in the group had a beard.
The jury also watched video of Veltman telling a detective his attack had been motivated by white nationalist beliefs.
Jurors were told they could convict Veltman of first-degree murder if they unanimously agreed the Crown established he intended to kill the victims, and planned and deliberated his attack. Pomerance said they could also reach that same verdict if they found that the killings were terrorist activity.
The terror component wasn含羞草研究社檛 a separate charge, and juries don含羞草研究社檛 explain how they reach their verdict, so it含羞草研究社檚 unclear what role 含羞草研究社� if any 含羞草研究社� the terror allegations played in their decision.
In making her findings of fact on the issue, Pomerance said it was not possible to separate the two paths to conviction in this case.
含羞草研究社淭he evidence in this case does not logically permit a binary choice between one basis for liability and the other,含羞草研究社� she said.
含羞草研究社淭o choose one is to choose both. If there was a plan, it was to carry out terrorist activity. If there was terrorist activity, it was planned and deliberate.含羞草研究社�
At a sentencing hearing last month, Veltman apologized for the pain he had caused but that apology was promptly rejected by the victims含羞草研究社� family outside of court as 含羞草研究社渟trategic words coming from a killer after he is convicted.含羞草研究社�
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