The gunman who killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand failed to appear in court this week for a hearing to review complaints of his prison conditions and his appeal to remove his designation as a "terrorist entity."
Australian national Brenton Tarrant is serving a life sentence without parole for shooting worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019. The incident was the worst mass shooting in New Zealand.
Earlier in the week, the 30-year-old white supremacist lodged a legal challenge over his prison conditions and his status as a "terrorist entity." Tarrant was set to represent himself in the hearing of the High Court via teleconference.
Tarrant is serving time at a prison in Auckland. The prison had not provided any details as to why Tarrant was not able to attend the proceedings.
After failing to get on the teleconference call, Justice Geoffrey Venning adjourned the proceedings without announcing another hearing date. Venning said a date will be set if there is a request from Tarrant or the Crown.
According to court documents, Tarrant is challenging decisions made by the Department of Corrections over his current prison conditions. He is requesting for the courts to review the arrangements.
Tarrant also challenged his designation, which he claims is not in accordance with the Terrorism Suppression Act. To date, Tarrant is the only person in New Zealand to be designated as a "terrorist entity."
The court said the hearing over Tarrant's prison condition and his designation will have no bearing on his criminal case, conviction and sentence. During his original trial last year, Tarrant had pleaded guilty to terrorism offenses.
Tarrant openly admitted to the murders during his trial. Apart from being convicted of the 51 murders, he was also convicted of the attempted murder of an additional 40 people.
"Your crimes are so wicked that even if you are detained until you die, it will not exhaust the requirements of punishment," Judge Cameron Mander said during Tarrant's sentencing in August last year.
Tarrant moved to New Zealand in 2017. He admitted to planning the attack on the two mosques. Before he committed the gruesome attack, Tarrant posted a 74-page white supremacist manifesto online.
