New Zealand mosque shooter’s former lawyers say he showed anxiety but did not appear depressed

Feb 10 (Reuters) – Former lawyers for the white supremacist who killed 51 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand seven years ago told a court on Tuesday that he showed signs of anxiety during his original trial but did not appear to be depressed, media reported.

Brenton Tarrant, 35, is seeking to overturn his conviction in the Court of Appeal in Wellington and be granted a new trial. He told the court via a video link on Monday that harsh prison conditions had affected his mental health at the time he pleaded guilty.

Tarrant, an Australian national, opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019 during Friday prayers in the deadliest mass shooting in New Zealand’s history. He used military-style semi-automatic weapons and livestreamed the killings on Facebook with a head-mounted camera.

Tarrant initially denied all charges and was preparing to stand trial but entered guilty pleas in 2020 to 51 charges of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act.

Jonathan Hudson and Shane Tait, who represented Tarrant between March 2019 and July 2020, told the court Tarrant had complained about his treatment in custody, including being handcuffed and forced to wear a suicide suit, according to a report in the New Zealand Herald.

However, the lawyers said Tarrant appeared to adjust after about a month, they said.

Hudson told the court he “took comfort” from reports by two mental health assessors, which indicated there were no problems with Tarrant’s fitness to plead, the report said.

He said Tarrant’s mental health was consistent across the charges they faced and that he was pleased when police charged him on terrorism offences.

“He wanted to be described as a terrorist,” Hudson told the court, according to the New Zealand Herald report.

Tarrant is serving a life sentence in prison without parole – the first time a New Zealand court imposed a sentence requiring a person to spend the rest of their life in prison.

The appeal hearing is set down for five days, and is expected to conclude on Friday.

Counsel currently acting for Tarrant have their names and identities suppressed by order of the court and could not be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; editing by Lincoln Feast.)