New Zealand court dismisses Christchurch mosque attacker’s appeal

A New Zealand court on Thursday found the appeal of the white supremacist who killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in March 2019 "utterly devoid of merit," the New Zealand Herald reported.

Brenton Tarrant, who is serving life in prison without parole for the gruesome attacks, had sought to withdraw his guilty pleas.

He told the court in February that he felt forced to plead guilty during his trial because of what he described as "irrationality" caused by the conditions of his detention.

In March 2020, he pleaded guilty at the High Court to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one charge of terrorism.

"The facts concerning Mr. Tarrant's offending are beyond dispute. He has not identified any arguable defense, or indeed any defense known to the law," the Court of Appeal said Thursday.

The decision was greeted with "huge relief" by lawyers representing victims' families.

On March 15, 2019, Tarrant killed 51 people and injured 40 more at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in the city of Christchurch.

He was sentenced to life in prison in 2020 without the possibility of parole, the first sentence of its kind handed down in New Zealand.