Relative of supermarket terrorist Ahamed Samsudeen says he was once kidnapped and tortured
A relative of Ahamed Samsudeen, who carried out a 2021 supermarket stabbing in New Zealand, testified at a coroner's inquest that he was a victim of past trauma. The relative suggested his radicalization and subsequent attack were out of character and potentially provoked by his treatment within the justice system.
Why it matters
Highlights the complexities of radicalization and the role of mental health and past trauma in violent extremist acts.
The second and third phases of the Coroner's inquest into the death of Ahamed Aathil Mohamed Samsudeen continue this week. Photo / Getty, NZ Herald
A relative believes that Isis-inspired Ahamed Samsudeen must have been “provoked” into carrying out a supermarket mass stabbing, saying the attack was unlike him.
She said Samsudeen was kidnapped and tortured by “political enemies” when he was younger, leaving him psychologically and physically wounded.
He had moved to New Zealand looking for peace, she said.
The testimony of the relative, who has name suppression, was heard as part of the inquest into the death of Samsudeen.
Samsudeen had become radicalised by violent Islamic extremist ideas when he launched into a frenzied knife attack on shoppers in a West Auckland mall supermarket in 2021.
He was shot dead by undercover police after injuring six people .
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