Name suppression has been given to the lawyers representing the mosque terrorist in a highly unusual court decision.
The shooter filed a notice of appeal against his conviction and sentence in November 2022 and his counsel were appointed the following year.
Their bid to have their names suppressed was opposed by the Crown and media.
But the Court of Appeal granted the application, deciding the publication of their names is likely to cause undue hardship.
The court acknowledged the uniqueness of its ruling and considered the “precedential effect the decision may have”.
It said it was “unaware of any case in any jurisdiction in which current counsel has been granted permanent name suppression out of concerns for their wellbeing and security”.
It emphasised it does not want the case to set a precedent for similar applications in future high profile cases.
The court pointed to the shooter being convicted of 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and a terrorism charge.
“The unique nature of [this] case is a factor that allays our concerns that granting the current application would be an invitation to open the floodgates to other applications of a similar character,” the court’s ruling reads.
The terrorist is serving a sentence of life imprisonment without parole, after pleading guilty.
