Sentenced To Life, New Zealand Mosque Shooter That Killed Dozens Appeals

Al Noor Mosque, which is one of the locations for the mass shooting at Christchurch New Zealand in 2019. (Wikimedia Commons/Michal Klajban)

JAKARTA - A man who killed more than 50 people in the 2019 mosque massacre in New Zealand has appealed his life imprisonment.

Australian citizen Brenton Tarrant is appealing his sentence, court officials told the news agency on Tuesday.

Tarrant shot dead 51 worshipers and injured 40 others at two Christchurch City mosques. The victims included men, women, and children who gathered for Friday prayers.

The attack, which was broadcast live by Tarrant, rocked the Kiwi Country and prompted gun reforms in New Zealand.

Tarrant was sentenced to life in prison without parole in August 2020, the first person in New Zealand to be ordered to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Judge Cameron Mander said he handed down the harshest sentence for Tarrant's 'inhumane' act.

"Your crime is so grievous, even if you are held to death, it will not exhaust the terms of the sentence and the complaint," he said at the time.

The father of a 3-year-old boy who died in the attack, Tarrant's youngest victim, told him: "You have killed my son and to me, it is as if you have killed all of New Zealand."

Tarrant spent years preparing for the attack, prosecutors said at his sentencing hearing, purchasing a high-powered firearm, researching the layout of the mosque, and timing the March 15, 2019, attack, to maximize casualties.

He intended to instill fear in people he described as "invaders", a prosecutor said.

His former lawyer previously indicated he was considering an appeal, saying his client believed "the simplest way out is to plead guilty", which is a defense made under duress.