Families of mosque attack victims ready to turn page on Bissonnette sentence

Families impacted bythe shooting ata Quebec City mosque want to turn the page on the sentencing of killerAlexandreBissonnette.

The city'sMuslim community was deeply disappointed by the decision thatBissonnettewould be eligible forparole after spending 40 years inprisonfor hisattack that killed sixand left fivebadly injured.But in a statement released Monday, they say they accept the court's decision and will respect the choice of Quebec's Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) to appealthesentenceorto let it stand.

"Justice has done its duty and we mustbe reasonable and accept the decision," saidBoufeldjaBenabdallah, the president of theIslamic Cultural Centre of Quebec, where the attack occurred.

Bissonnetteshotand killedsixmen at the mosque on Jan. 29, 2017. Five others were critically injured. On Feb.8, JusticeFranoisHuot sentenced Bissonnette to life in prison with no chance of parole for40 years.

A 2011 change to the Criminal Code allows judges to give consecutive rather than concurrent sentences for multiple murders. The Crownrecommendedmaking the parole ineligibility periods consecutive, for a total of 150 years.

But the judge chose to make some of the sentences concurrent,saying thatsending a criminal to die in prison would constitute "cruel and unusual punishment," and effectively modifying the 2011 change.

TheDPCPhas 30 days from judgment to appealHuot'ssentencing decision.

The decision causedgreat disappointment in the Muslim community.

AymenDerbali, who was hit by sevenbullets and is now paraplegic, said he almost fainted when he heard the judge's final decision.

"I would have liked to see justice served today,"Derbalisaid.

SadEl-Amari, who was shot twice during the mosque shooting, said he was "gutted" by the judge's decision to allowBissonnetteto ask for parole after a 40-year period.

Since then, the mosque's president has said that families and community members want to turn the page.

"At the time (of the decision)we were inshock,"saidBenabdallah. He said the judge's six-hour reading of his decision was complex and overwhelming."Imagine the families who were already deeply ingrief."

He said that whethertheDPCPdecides to appeal the judgment or not, it will be justified.

"We defer tojustice," hesaid.

No satisfaction or dissatisfaction

Asection of themosque's statementattributed to the bereaved families said they cannotspeakof satisfaction ordissatisfaction, but rather of resilience.

"We simply want to return to normal life and protect our children," the statement said.

The families also asked the governments of Canada and Quebec to take measures to encourage tolerance, inclusiveness and peace for all communities.

Seeking firearm bans

The mosque is campaigning for stronger measuresto protect citizens againstfirearms like those used in the mosque attack.

Benabdallah, the president of the mosque, is in Ottawa today to give testimony atthe Senate committee hearings on a proposal totighten the rules on gun sales and licensing checks.

The perpetrator of the shooting had a semi-automatic weapon that jammed and that could have otherwise claimed more victims,Benabdallahnoted in an interview with Radio-Canada.

"The individual came to the mosque with an assault weapon capable of shooting almost50 bullets," he said.

"We want to tell senators, imagine if this weapon hadn't jammed, it could have beenmuch worse."