Man appears in Dunedin court for alleged possession of Christchurch terror attack videos

The man appeared in court today. Photo / George Heard

A man has appeared in court today for the alleged possession of livestream videos from the Christchurch mosque terror attack.

The man, in his 30s, appeared before Judge Dominic Flatley at Dunedin District Court this morning.

He is charged with possessing an objectionable publication, namely the alleged possession of three video copies of the terror attack - which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment - and making an intimate visual recording of another person in 2022.

For the charge of making an intimate visual recording, the man entered a plea of not guilty and elected a judge-alone trial. He will return to court on June 21 for a case review hearing.

The Al Noor mosque on Deans Ave in Christchurch - one of the two sites where 51 people were murdered in March 2019. Photo / File

He entered no plea to the charge of possessing an objectional publication and will go to a case review hearing on the same date.

The man is on continued bail and has been granted interim suppression which covers both his name and occupation.

On March 15, 2019, 51 people were killed and 40 were injured when a terrorist gunman opened fire at the Masjid An-Nur (Al Noor Mosque) and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch.

The attacker later pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder and 40 counts of attempted murder, receiving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Following the attack, both the gunman’s manifesto and the livestream video of the massacre were banned in New Zealand.

Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.