Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX SX10088 | Wellington
T 04 918 8800 |
F 04 918 8820
[email address] | www.justice.govt.nz
18 September 2025
Angela
[FYI request #32078 email]
Our ref: OIA 125225
Tēnā koe Angela
Official Information Act request: the Christchurch Masijdain terror attack
Thank you for your email of 21 August 2025 requesting under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act), information regarding the terrorist attack on the Christchurch Masijdain on 15
March 2019. Specifically, you requested:
1. The number of New Zealand residents whose electronic devices, communications, or
online accounts were accessed, intercepted, or monitored by Police, SIS, or GCSB
citing justification under the Christchurch events.
2. Any internal assessments or authorisations that permitted such invasions of privacy.
3. The total number of individuals charged, convicted, or placed under supervision in
New Zealand for possession or dissemination of the Christchurch video.
4. Any records of review, verification, or forensic audit undertaken to confirm the
authenticity of the video prior to those prosecutions or supervision orders.
5. Reports, logs, or directives relating to the blocking of streets, armed police
deployments, or public order actions carried out in the aftermath of the Christchurch
events.
6. Any complaints or formal grievances lodged by members of the public alleging
harassment, wrongful detention, or intimidation by officers acting under authority of
the Christchurch events.
7. Please provide the information in full, subject only to lawful grounds of refusal, and
cite the statutory ground for each redaction or withholding.
8. Records of any analysis, review, or external advice received by GCSB regarding
anomalies within the video attributed to the alleged offender, including but not limited
to:
a. Individual depicted lying on the floor wearing a hoody and dark glasses
apparently unharmed while texting on mobile phone during the alleged
shooting;
b. Individuals shown with apparent bullet wounds who subsequently rose and
walked away;
9. Reports or communications relating to the involvement or interest of Mossad, or any
other foreign intelligence services, in the Christchurch events.
10. Any coordination with allied intelligence services (e.g., MI6, CIA, Five Eyes partners)
regarding the Christchurch video or persons depicted therein.
11. Records, briefings, or reports concerning foreign nationals entering New Zealand in
the weeks preceding 15 March 2019, with specific reference to arrivals from Turkey
and Israel.
12. Any records concerning the visit of John Podesta to New Zealand prior to the event.
13. Information held by GCSB regarding whether any individuals present at the
Christchurch mosques on 15 March 2019 had prior connections with foreign or allied
security or intelligence services, including work in conflict zones such as Syria.
14. Please provide all material in full unless a statutory ground for withholding applies
and cite the precise ground for each redaction or refusal.
In response to question three, the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry) is unable to identify the
total number of individuals charged, convicted, or placed under supervision in New Zealand
for possession or dissemination of the Christchurch video,
as this level of information is not
recorded in the Case Management System (CMS) used by the court. This information could
only be identified by searching individual court files.
Court files form part of the court record and Courts are not subject to the Act under section
2(6)(a). Therefore I must refuse this part of your request under section 18(g) on the grounds
the information requested is not held by the Ministry or any other agency subject to the Act.
All other parts of your request are more closely connected with the functions of the New
Zealand Police and the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB). The
Ministry considered transferring your request, but we understand you have made the same
request to these agencies. Therefore, a transfer was not deemed necessary.
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on
the Ministry
website at: Official Information Act responses | New Zealand Ministry of Justice.
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman under section 28 of the Act. The Office of the Ombudsman may be contacted
by phone on: 0800 802 602, by email at: [email address], or via the
webform: Make a complaint (for members of the public) | Ombudsman New Zealand.
Nāku noa, nā
Jacquelyn Shannon
Group Manager Courts and Tribunals, Regional Service Delivery
