The actions of Nathaniel Veltman, accused of attacking a Muslim family in London, Ont., in June 2021, “constitute terrorist activity,” the judge ruled, sentencing the defendant to life in prison on THURSDAY.
The 23-year-old was back in court for the sentencing after being found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder last November.
He ultimately received a life sentence for the attempted murder of the little boy who survived the tragedy, but also a life sentence of 25 years without the possibility of parole for the murder of the four other family members who were victims of his attack.
A terrorist attack
“The attempted murder is part of a terrorist attack that cost the lives of four people and miraculously spared one,” said Judge Renne Pomerance in her verdict, according to the London Free Press.
She ruled that there were several aggravating circumstances in the case and accused Veltman of seeking to “disrupt the most basic of all human rights,” namely the sense of security.
Before announcing her decision, Judge Pomerance noted that the Afzaal family had been victims of a “terrible act of violence.”
“This terrorism-related designation complements previous murder convictions and marks the first time in Canadian history that a white nationalism-related case has been classified as an act of terrorism,” said Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative in charge of combating Islamophobia .
“Today’s decision sends a clear message that Canada’s Muslim communities must be protected from ideologically motivated violent extremism. “It confirms that targeted, vile and hateful attacks like the one in London constitute terrorism and that their perpetrators will be prosecuted in accordance with the law,” she added.
Nathaniel Veltman is accused of intentionally clashing with the Afzaal family on June 6, 2021, killing Talat Azfall, 74; Salmon Afzaal, 46; Madiha Salman, 44 years old and Yumnah Afzaal, 15 years old.
“[Veltman] “I never met her,” she said, according to the London Free Press. “He killed them because they were Muslims.”
The judge also stated that she did not want to mention the defendant's name in her decision in order to avoid putting him in the spotlight.
“The decision to classify these crimes as terrorist activity is very important as it recognizes that Islamophobia and attacks directed against people based on their faith cannot be tolerated under any circumstances and must be denounced in the strongest terms,” Federal stressed Prosecutor Sarah Shaikh after the verdict.