Brenton Tarrant, the white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslims in New Zealand's deadliest mass shooting, wanted to be described as a terrorist and always intended to admit to his crimes, his former lawyer says.

More than 60 survivors and family members will confront the New Zealand mosque gunman this week when he appears in court to be sentenced for his crimes in the worst atrocity in the nation's modern history. Waziri said Tarrant had not shown any remorse during the hearing and so instead of giving a victim's impact statement he wanted to deliver the gunman a message. The 29-year-old Australian gunman in March pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, and terrorism, reversing an earlier not guilty plea. He could become the first person in New Zealand to be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, the toughest sentence available. The attacks targeting people praying at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques shocked New Zealand and prompted new laws banning the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons.

Gul is one of 200 people who arrived in Mecca, Saudi Arabia from Christchurch this week to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which began on Friday. They are survivors of the March 2019 terror attacks at two Christchurch mosques as well as the relatives of those who were slain in the shootings. CNN's interviews with Christchurch pilgrims in Mecca were facilitated by the kingdom's Center of International Communications. Christchurch survivors and victims' relatives say the pilgrimage has been a means to healing from the violence that changed their lives. She had planned to go to Hajj with her parents, but the Christchurch shooter dealt a fatal blow to their plans.