Christchurch: The Australian man accused of killing 50 Muslim worshippers at two mosques here on March 15 will face 50 murder charges and 39 attempted murder charges, New Zealand police said on Thursday. “Police can now confirm the man arrested in relation to the Christchurch terror attacks will face 50 murder and 39 attempted murder charges when he appears in the High Court in Christchurch on Friday 5 April,” the New Zealand Police said in a tweet.
The charges against Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, comes ahead of his second appearance at the High Court in Christchurch on Friday, reports The New Zealand Herald. He first appeared a day after he carried out the massacre at the city’s Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre which also left over 50 others injured. The police said that other charges were still under consideration.
Tarrant has turned down his legal counsel and said he wanted to defend himself against the charges. The High Court received 12 applications from both New Zealand media and foreign organisations to film, take photographs, or make audio recordings at Friday’s hearing. But Justice Cameron Mander declined the applications.Justice Mander also ruled the accused will appear in court on Friday via audio-visual link from New Zealand’s only maximum security prison in Paremoremo, Auckland.Tarrant will not be required to enter pleas to charges he currently faces.