Brenton Tarrant, an Australian man who pleaded guilty to committing the Christchurch mosque shooting on 15 March 2019, has decided to represent himself in court a month ahead of the sentencing hearing set to begin on Aug 24.
Earlier this year, Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act.
Tarrant’s decision to represent himself was approved by the judge in a pre-trial video call after Tarrant was made to understand his rights to have legal representation.
Tarrant’s lawyers stated that Tarrant’s request was consistent with his legal rights.
Tarrant was arrested and accused of using semi-automatic weapons to target Muslims attending Friday prayers at two mosques, Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre, in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.
Christchurch mosque shooting was stated as New Zealand’s worst mass shooting in 2019.