Convicted of terror attack Christchurch attacker fails with appeal
The assassin convicted of a terrorist attack on two mosques in New Zealand that left 51 people dead has failed in his attempt to have his guilty plea overturned after six years. The application by the now 35-year-old right-wing extremist was completely unfounded, the Court of Appeal in the capital Wellington ruled on Thursday.
30.04.2026, 08:42
30.04.2026, 09:15
SDA
The perpetrator, Brenton Tarrant, pleaded guilty to all charges in March 2020 - including 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and terrorism. The Australian was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of early release for the racially motivated crimes at the Al-Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center in the coastal city of Christchurch.
Court contradicts the perpetrator's account
In February, Tarrant told the Court of Appeal that the difficult prison conditions at the time had affected his mental state to such an extent that he had not acted rationally when he confessed.
The court has now contradicted this account in a statement. The guilty pleas had been made voluntarily and no one had forced or pressured Tarrant to plead guilty. The evidence clearly showed that at the time of his confession, he was not suffering from any significant mental impairment as a result of his imprisonment.
Most serious attack in New Zealand
Tarrant had attacked two mosques and shot 51 people in the most serious attack in the recent history of the Pacific state on March 15, 2019. Dozens of victims were injured, some of them critically.
Many survivors still suffer from the consequences to this day, are unable to work and have to live with severe pain and trauma. The perpetrator broadcast the massacre live on the internet using a helmet camera.
