Christchurch mass killer loses bid to overturn conviction

White supremacist Brenton Tarrant's appeal is "utterly devoid of merit", a New Zealand court has ruled. New Zealand: Christchurch gunman loses bid to overturn conviction Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. The March 2019 attack at the Al Noor mosque in led to tighter gun laws in New Zealand Three men lay the New Zealand flag over a spread of flower bouquets offered for victims of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooting. Christchurch mass killer loses bid to overturn conviction A white supremacist who killed 51 people at two New Zealand mosques has lost his bid to overturn his convictions and sentence. A white supremacist who killed 51 people at two New Zealand mosques has lost his bid to overturn his convictions and sentence Brenton Tarrant is serving a life sentence with no parole after admitting to the murders and trying to kill another 40 worshippers in the March 2019 attack in Christchurch. after admitting to the murders and trying to kill another 40 worshippers in the March 2019 attack in Christchurch. During a week-long hearing in February, Tarrant, now 35, argued he was incapable of making rational decisions at the time of his plea because of "torturous and inhumane" conditions in prison. He also launched an appeal against his sentence. New Zealand's Court of Appeal rejected his bid on Thursday, ruling that his arguments were "utterly devoid of merit". The facts around Tarrant's crimes are "beyond dispute", the panel of three judges said in a unanimous decision. In his appeal, Tarrant claimed he made the guilty pleas while he was "irrational" and under a poor mental state. The judges found his claims inconsistent and not supported by other witnesses, concluding that he was not "coerced or pressured in any way" to plead guilty. "He has not identified any arguable defence, or indeed any defence known to the law. We have also rejected his claim that his guilty pleas were the product of him having an irrational state of mind induced by his prison conditions," they said on Thursday. The massacre at Al Noor mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre, parts of which were live-streamed, led to stricter gun laws in New Zealand. Aya al-Umari, who lost her older brother Hussein in the attack, said she was "pleased and relieved" with the court's decision, "and to see justice is being served again". "I was confident that there were no solid grounds for the appeal, and the decision today confirms that," al-Umari told the BBC. "I remember thinking at the sentencing that this [would be] the end of it, and we can try to move forward and collect the pieces after the destruction of our lives. But things like this appeal hearing... takes you right back to the moments of fragility. "Hearing the outcome today really gives that reassurance and comfort around the right processes being followed," she said. Within a month of the shootings, the country's parliament had voted overwhelmingly to ban military-style semi-automatic weapons as well as parts that could be used to build prohibited firearms. The government also offered to compensate owners of newly-illegal weapons in a buy-back scheme. Tarrant was born in New South Wales, Australia, but moved to New Zealand in 2017 – prosecutors said that was when he started planning his attacks against the Muslim community. He was active on fringe online forums and shortly before the attack, he had posted a 74-page "manifesto" outlining his racist views. Mosque witness 'prayed for bullets to end' Drone users will also be required to register their devices and secure permits before flying them. The RBI is mulling measures to tackle rising cases of digital fraud in India - but will they work? A video from Odisha state of Jitu Munda taking the remains to the bank went viral this week, leading to anger. The zoo has had to delay its reopening after a maintenance break, as police investigate the staff member's claim. It confirms suspicions that North Korean soldiers are being told to detonate their grenades to kill themselves.