[ad_1]
The convicted murderer says the allegations of guilt were obtained by force, and he received “cruelty” treatment.
The Christchurch mosque attacker is considering an appeal for a life sentence for his 2019 massive shootings, arguing that his guilty allegations were forced, his lawyer said Monday.
Self-proclaimed white supremacist Brenton Tarrant was charged with 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism in March last year.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the option of parole, the first time he has been sentenced to life in New Zealand.
Tarrant offered no defense at the time, but lawyer Tony Ellis said the 31-year-old Australian citizen was now questioning his decision to plead guilty.
Ellis said the shipowner told him the requests were forced into him because he was subjected to “cruel and humiliating treatment” while in prison.
“He decided that the easiest decision was to plead guilty,” Ellis told Radio New Zealand.
Armed with semi-automatic weapons, Tarrant attacked worshipers on Friday at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch and the Linwood Prayer Center in March 2019, as the murders were played live. Its victims were Muslims and were children, women and the elderly.
Ellis allegedly assumed the position of attorney for Tarrant before a court investigation into the assaults and advised his client to exercise his right of appeal.
Tarrant provided about 15 pages with detailed descriptions of the alleged abuse.
“This means that he was subjected to cruel or humiliating treatment while in prison, which prevented a fair trial,” Ellis wrote in a memorandum to the high court last week, according to Stuff New Zealand media.
In a note to the coroner, Ellis stressed that anyone accused or convicted had the right to exercise their right to enter court.
“He was sentenced to more than 25 years, that’s a hopeless sentence and that’s not allowed, that’s a violation of the Rights Act,” Ellis said.
New Zealand has no death penalty and in a trial in August last year, Judge Cameron Mander said Tarrant’s “inhumane” actions were setting the toughest possible term.
“Your crimes are so evil that even if you are arrested until your death, the conditions of punishment and accusation will not be exhausted,” Mander said at the time.
Ellis refused when he contacted the AFP news agency, saying his client had only promised to speak to the local select media.
There was no immediate response from the Coroner Court.
Abdullah Naeem, who killed his brother and father in the attacks, told Stuff that the convicted killer was “playing”.
Naeem, speaking on behalf of the Whānau Trust on March 15, said she hoped the law would move the appeal forward so that families would not have to endure further trauma.
“It’s a light sentence for someone who was sentenced to life in prison,” he said. “Any good law will deny his request and I hope that happens.”
[ad_2]
Source link
