WELLINGTON (Reuters) – The mass shooter who murdered 51 people in New Zealand in 2019 did not appear in court on Thursday after requesting a judicial review of his prison conditions and status as a “terrorist entity”.
White supremacist Brenton Tarrant was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in August for the murders in two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019, the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
This week he filed a legal challenge to review the conditions in his prison and his status as a “terrorist entity”.
But Tarrant, who was supposed to represent himself in the Supreme Court chambers from a prison in Auckland on Thursday, was not present.
Judge Geoffrey Venning adjourns the proceedings without a further date until further request from Tarrant or the Crown.
Preliminary information provided to court officials indicated that Tarrant wanted a review of the Department of Corrections’ decisions about his prison conditions, as well as his designation as a “terrorist entity” under the Terrorism Suppression Act.
An Australian citizen, Tarrant is the only person in New Zealand to be granted terrorist status.
The hearing will not affect the outcome of the criminal case against Tarrant, or his conviction and conviction, the court has said.
Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Sam Holmes