Mass murderer who killed 51 in Christchurch mosque shooting appeals sentence

The attack led to major gun-law reform in New Zealand

A white supremacist who pleaded guilty to murdering 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch during Friday prayers in 2019 is appealing against his conviction and sentence.

New Zealand’s Court of Appeal confirmed on Tuesday that Brenton Tarrant, 32, had filed the appeal last week. The court is yet to set a date for his hearing.

The attack three years ago constituted the deadliest mass shooting in New Zealand’s history, and the outpouring of public anger and grief led to major gun-law reforms in the country.

Tarrant left dozens of others with severe injuries in the attack, which he also live-streamed on Facebook.

In 2020, Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one count of terrorism.

The court later sentenced him to life in prison without parole, the maxiumum sentence in New Zealand.

But in previous court documents, Tarrant claimed to have been subjected to “inhuman or degrading treatment” while being held for months in solitary confinement after the shooting, and that this had prevented a fair trial. He also claimed to have pleaded guilty under duress.

Tarrant fired one of his lawyers in 2021, and it was not immediately clear whether another lawyer was representing him in his appeal or if he was representing himself.

Tarrant argues that his guilty pleas in the wake of the 2019 shootings were made under duress (AFP/Getty)

Temel Atacocugu, who survived after being shot nine times during the attack at the Al Noor mosque, told news outlet Stuff that the gunman was playing games and seeking attention by filing the appeal.

“I would like to tell him: ‘Grow up, be a man and die quietly in jail, because that is what you deserve’,” Mr Atacocugu said.

Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said she had made a pledge a long time ago not to say the terrorist’s name in public. “His is a story that should not be told, and his is a name that should not be repeated, and I am going to apply that same rule in commenting on his attempts to revictimise people,” Ms Ardern said. “We should give him nothing.”

The attacks prompted New Zealand to expedite the passing of new laws that banned the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapon.

Flowers left outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch after the shooting (Getty)

In a subsequent buyback scheme, gun owners handed over more than 50,000 weapons to police. The attacks also prompted global changes to social media, as tech companies put measures in place to try to prevent or quickly stop future attacks from being live-streamed.