New Zealand mosque shooter launches legal challenge to prison conditions, terrorist status

By Praveen Menon

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The mass shooter who killed 51 people in New Zealand in 2019 has launched a legal challenge seeking a review of his prison conditions and his status as a "terrorist entity".

White supremacist Brenton Tarrant was sentenced in August to jail for life without parole for the murder of 51 people and attempted murder of 40 others at two mosques in Christchurch on 15 March 2019, the worst mass shooting in the country's history.

Tarrant, an Australian national, is the only person in New Zealand to be designated the status of terrorist.

A judicial review will be held at the High Court in Auckland on Thursday to clarify the issues Tarrant wishes to raise, New Zealand court authorities said.

Preliminary information provided to court officials indicate that Tarrant wishes the Court to review decisions made by the Department of Corrections about his prison conditions, and also his designation as a "terrorist entity" under the Terrorism Suppression Act.

The hearing will have no bearing on the outcome of the criminal case against Tarrant, or his conviction and sentence, the court said.

Court records show Tarrant will be representing himself.

Victim's families and the survivor community were notified about the hearing on Wednesday. It will not be open to the public but media is permitted to attend.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)