Christchurch mosque shooter seeks to overturn guilty pleas citing prison conditions

BRENTON Tarrant, the Australian white supremacist convicted of murdering 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019, appeared in a New Zealand court on Monday via video link to seek the reversal of his guilty pleas, claiming he was mentally unfit when he admitted to the killings.

Reuters cited on Monday that the 35-year-old, who used military-style semi-automatic weapons to carry out the deadliest mass shooting in New Zealand’s history and livestreamed the attack on Facebook, initially denied all charges and was preparing for trial.

He entered guilty pleas a year later to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one charge of committing a terrorist act.

Tarrant told the Court of Appeal that his mental health had deteriorated under what he described as “torturous and inhumane” prison conditions while awaiting trial.

“I did not have the mind frame or mental health required to be making informed decisions at that time,” he said.

“I think the issue is, did I really know what I wanted to do or what would be a good idea? No, I didn't actually … I was making choices, but they were not choices made voluntarily and they were not choices made rationally due to the (prison) conditions.”

A court document confirms that the appeal will examine whether Tarrant was incapable of making rational decisions when he entered his guilty pleas as a result of the prison conditions.

He is serving a life sentence without parole — the first time such a sentence has been imposed in New Zealand.

The appeal hearing is scheduled for five days and is expected to conclude on Friday.

Should the court refuse to vacate the guilty pleas, a separate hearing later this year will consider his appeal against the sentence. If the convictions are overturned, the case would return to the High Court for Tarrant to face trial.

Families of victims attended the hearing in Wellington, expressing frustration at the appeal process.

“It's really annoying because he's trying to play with all of us and this is, it's just a waste of our time and waste of taxpayers money and he just wants to play with us,” Rashid Omar, whose son Tariq was killed in the attack, told TVNZ.

Tarrant’s legal team has remained largely confidential under court order and could not be reached for comment, while the appeal proceedings are expected to draw further attention to both his claims regarding prison conditions and the ongoing impact on the victims’ families. - February 9, 2026