Brenton Tarrant, who shot dead 51 Muslim worshippers in two Christchurch mosques in 2019, has lost his bid to appeal his conviction and sentence, reports Todayinfo news agency.
New Zealand's Court of Appeal on Thursday dismissed Tarrant's appeal, ruling that his attempt to overturn his guilty plea was 'utterly devoid of merit'. The 35-year-old Australian white supremacist was sentenced to life in prison in August 2020.
The court stated in its ruling: 'Tarrant's guilty pleas were voluntary, and he was not coerced or pressured in any way. There is no evidence that he suffered any significant psychological impacts from his prison conditions.'
Tarrant livestreamed his attack on the Al Noor mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre for 17 minutes on March 15, 2019. He also published an online manifesto before carrying out the atrocity, which targeted children, women and the elderly.
Lawyers representing the survivors and families of Tarrant's victims called the court's decision a 'huge relief'. 'The families, and frankly all of us, will be spared the trauma of reliving the 15th of March all over again in a trial. It is a huge relief that the burden of a new trial will not be added to the families,' they said.
