WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an attempt by convicted Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant to overturn his convictions, ruling that his appeal was “utterly devoid of merit” and confirming that his guilty pleas remain legally valid and binding.
Tarrant, an Australian national responsible for the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks, had pleaded guilty in March 2020 to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one charge of committing a terrorist act. He was subsequently sentenced in August 2020 to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, marking one of the harshest sentences in New Zealand’s judicial history.
In his appeal filed in 2022, Tarrant argued that his guilty plea was not entered voluntarily and claimed that prison conditions had negatively affected his mental state, rendering his confession unreliable. His legal team further alleged that psychological pressure during detention influenced his decision to plead guilty.
However, the Court of Appeal firmly rejected these arguments, stating that evidence from prison records, psychiatric assessments, and his former defence lawyers contradicted his claims. The judges concluded that Tarrant was mentally competent at the time of his plea, fully aware of the proceedings, and not subjected to coercion or undue pressure.
The court also noted inconsistencies in his account and emphasized that the appeal was filed significantly out of time. While Tarrant later attempted to withdraw his appeal, the court declined to allow it, citing strong public interest and the rights of victims and their families.
Although the court permitted the withdrawal of his sentence appeal, his challenge to the convictions itself has now been conclusively rejected, bringing final closure to all legal avenues of appeal in the case.
The ruling reaffirms the finality of one of New Zealand’s most significant terrorism-related prosecutions and upholds the original judgment delivered in 2020.
