Christchurch shooter to stay in prison for life after appeal loss

A New Zealand court has firmly rejected an appeal by the gunman behind the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, ruling that his case lacked any legal basis.

The country’s Court of Appeal dismissed the bid by Brenton Tarrant to withdraw his guilty pleas, describing the arguments presented as “utterly devoid of merit,” according to local media reports, News.Az reports, citing Turkish media.

Tarrant, who is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, had claimed he was pressured into pleading guilty due to what he called mental strain caused by prison conditions. He sought to overturn admissions made during his 2020 trial.

However, judges found no credible defense, stating that the facts of the case were beyond dispute and that no legally valid argument had been presented to justify revisiting the convictions.

The ruling relates to the Christchurch mosque shootings, one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history. On March 15, 2019, 51 Muslim worshippers were killed and dozens more injured at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch.

Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one terrorism charge in March 2020. Later that year, he received life imprisonment without parole—the first such sentence ever imposed in New Zealand.

Lawyers representing victims’ families welcomed the decision, saying it brought a sense of relief and reaffirmed the finality of the case.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada