Brenton Tarrant, the Australian who killed 51 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand's worst mass shooting, wants a new trial. He pleaded guilty in March 2020 to 51 murders, 40 attempted murders, and terrorism charges. In August 2020, he was sentenced to life without parole — the first under current NZ law. In 2022, Tarrant appealed against both his convictions and sentence, though his appeal was filed late. The high court will decide if it can hear the appeal, focusing on whether Tarrant's guilty pleas were made rationally. He claims his prison conditions made him unable to think clearly. If the court agrees, the case could return to trial. If not, another hearing will review his sentence appeal later this year. Court security is strict, allowing only media, lawyers, and authorized people inside. Victims’ families can watch the hearing live in Christchurch. Tarrant, 35, is expected to testify via video during the week-long hearing starting February 9 in Wellington. Aya Al-Umari, whose brother was killed in the attack, said hearing him speak is painful but she tries to view his words as "just words with absolutely no meaning behind them." Tarrant moved to New Zealand in 2017 to plan this white supremacist attack. He prepared for months, scouted the mosques, shared a racist manifesto, then attacked and streamed it live on Facebook. The tragedy led to strict gun law changes by the government. A major inquiry into the attack is still underway. The high court left open the possibility that Tarrant could testify at this inquest in 2025 despite objections from victims’ families.