Christchurch mosque attacker ordered to undergo mental health tests
Christchurch - The Australian man accused of killing 50 people and wounding dozens of others in two Christchurch mosques last month, was Friday ordered to undergo mental health tests to determine if he is fit to stand trial.
The alleged white supremacist is accused of opening fire in the al-Noor and Linwood mosques on March 15 in New Zealand's worst-ever shooting. The 28-year-old appeared via video link from New Zealand's only maximum security prison in Auckland, more than 1,000 kilometres north of Christchurch, and watched the procedural hearing in silence.
"The way he presented was rational and someone who was not suffering any mental disability," lawyer Richard Peters told the New Zealand Herald at the time. "He seemed to understand what was going on," he said. He said the court case was a "waste of taxpayers' money" and wasn't going to bring the family's loved ones back. Yabi added he felt he had to come to see the accused's face and what he had to say. "He's a coward," he said.
Justice Mander declined applications from national and international media to film, take photos or record Friday's hearing.Since the attack three weeks ago New Zealand has banned a range of semi-automatic weapons. The country's parliament on Tuesday passed the first reading of a bill that bans military-style semi-automatic weapons and brings in a raft of new gun-related criminal offences.
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