The Daily Examiner, 15 June 2019, p.1:
The Australian man
accused of the Christchurch mosque killings smiled as survivors of the shooting
were told he would be pleading not guilty to 51 charges of murder and 40 of
attempted murder.
Brenton Tarrant, 28,
pleaded not guilty to all charges yesterday morning when he faced New Zealand’s
High Court by video link. It means he will stand trial in May next year over
the attack.
Dozens of survivors and
family members of the victims packed the court to hear whether the man accused
of the shootings would defend himself.
Some were visibly
nervous during the hearing. Others were in tears. They reacted in shock when
the not guilty pleas were made.
Two further courts and
some 200 seats were set aside for the public, with police maintaining a heavy
presence through the building.
Tarrant is facing a
terror charge, 51 counts of murder and 40 of attempted murder over the March 15
attacks on worshippers at two mosques.
Tarrant was not in the
courtroom but was shown via video from Paremoremo Prison in Auckland wearing a
grey sweatshirt.
This is the accused’s
first hearing since early April.
The terror charge
against Tarrant, laid last month, is the first in New Zealand and legal experts
say it could potentially lead to a complex trial.
But Christchurch’s
Muslim community has welcomed the decision by prosecutors to acknowledge the
attacks as an act of terrorism.
Tarrant was remanded in
custody to face a review hearing on August 16.
He is being held in New
Zealand’s only maximum security jail and prison staff say he has no access to
television, radio, newspapers or visitors.
The courts last week
dropped a ban on local media publishing pictures of the former Grafton
resident’s face.
At Tarrant’s last
appearance, the court ordered he undertake a mental health assessment to see if
he was fit to stand trial.
A trial date has been
set for May 4 [2020] which was confirmed by Justice Cameron Mander…..
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