A young Australian man who confessed to killing 51 Muslim worshipers in the country's worst indiscriminate shooting last year decided to represent himself at a sentencing hearing next month, a court in New Zealand said Monday.
Brenton Tarrant pleaded guilty earlier this year to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of a terrorist act.
Judge Cameron Mander said that Tarrant's decision to represent himself would not affect the hearing on August 24.
The judge agreed to Tarrant's request after confirming that the accused knew his right to a legal representative and that he wanted to waive this right.
"Tarrant has informed the defense that he wants to represent himself when the verdict is issued," Tarrant's attorneys, who joined his defense since his second appearance in court on April 5 last year, said in an email statement.
The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported in a report that the date of the verdict was formally confirmed today, Monday, in the Supreme Court in Christchurch, in the presence of survivors of the accident.
Tarrant authorities have been detained since March 15, 2019 after being accused of using semi-automatic weapons to strike Muslims during Friday prayers at two mosques in Christchurch.