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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again brought up the issue of restoring the death penalty, vowing to approve such legislation if parliament passes it, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

“We have done wrong by removing the death penalty. It offends me to feed those in prison, those who martyred 251 of our citizens, police officers and soldiers on the night of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, even though they are serving life sentences,” Erdogan said on March 19 at a rally for the upcoming local elections in the northern province of Zonguldak.

“I have been saying this all the time, if parliament passes such legislation, I will approve it,” he added. 

Erdogan also called on New Zealand to hand down a “proper punishment” to the white supremacist, identified as Brenton Tarrant, who claimed 50 lives in two Christchurch mosques.

“You have nefariously, perfidiously and vulgarly killed 50 of our praying brothers. You will pay for this. If New Zealand fails to do so, one way or another, we will make you pay for it,” he said, referring to Tarrant.

The Turkish leader even said he would “argue relentlessly with New Zealand’s administration” concerning the attacker’s punishment.