Summary Tarrant was then remanded to custody until June 14.
CHRISTCHURCH (Reuters) - Around two dozen family members of victims and some survivors of the attacks were present in a New Zealand court on Friday, April 5 where suspected white supremacist Australian Brenton Tarrant was charged with an additional 49 counts of murder following his arrest after mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch last month.
Tarrant, 28, has been moved to New Zealand s only maximum-security prison in Auckland and appeared at the Christchurch High Court through a video link. The High Court judge overseeing the appearance also ordered Tarrant, who was not required to submit a plea, to undergo a mental assessment to determine whether he was fit to stand trial.
Tofazzal Alam, who was present at the Linwood Mosque during the shootings, attended the hearing, wanting to see how Tarrant felt about killing 50 people, while the son of victim Haji Daoud Nabi, Omar Nabi, said he would like to see Tarrant be punished.
Tarrant appeared via video handcuffed and seated, wearing a grey prison t-shirt. He listened calmly throughout the hearing, which lasted roughly 20 minutes. Tarrant was then remanded to custody until June 14.
