Wellington, New Zealand — Web Desk: The Australian national responsible for the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, which killed 51 Muslim worshippers, has filed an appeal against his life imprisonment without parole sentence, according to foreign media reports.
Brenton Tarrant, sentenced in August 2020, claims he was subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment during court proceedings, arguing that he was not in a sound mental state when he pleaded guilty.
Court documents reveal that Tarrant is currently held in New Zealand’s highest-security prison unit in Auckland, with limited contact with others. He has claimed that his mental condition was severely affected during the trial process.
Tarrant carried out the deadly shootings at Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch in March 2019, publishing an extremist manifesto and livestreaming the attack on social media. The victims included women, children, and elderly worshippers.
The appeal is being heard by a three-judge panel at the New Zealand Court of Appeal in Wellington, with victims’ families following proceedings via video link. A decision is expected at a later date.
The sentence is considered New Zealand’s harshest punishment in modern history. Following the attacks, then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern introduced strict gun law reforms and initiatives to counter extremist content online.
