WELLINGTON (Reuters) – The mass shooting that killed 51 people in New Zealand in 2019 did not go to court on Thursday after it called for a judicial review of its prison conditions and “terrorist entity” status.
White supremacist Brenton Tarrant was sentenced in August to life in prison without parole for the murders of two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019, the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
He launched a lawsuit this week seeking a review of his prison conditions and his status as a “terrorist entity.”
But Tarrant, who was due to appear at the High Court chamber hearing on Thursday by teleconference at an Auckland prison, did not attend.
Judge Geoffrey Venning adjourned the proceedings without further delay until further notice by Tarrant or the Crown.
Preliminary information provided to court officials indicated that Tarrant wanted a review of the Department’s corrections decisions regarding his prison conditions, as well as his designation as a “terrorist entity” under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
Tarrant, an Australian citizen, is the only person in New Zealand who has been designated a terrorist.
The hearing will have no influence on the outcome of the criminal case against Tarrant, or on his conviction and sentence, the court said.
Report by Praveen Menon; Mountain by Sam Holmes