Europe

Norwegian mass killer Breivik loses human rights case to end prison isolation

The far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage in 2011 sued Norway in January over his prison conditions

Anders Behring Breivik (centre) entering a court at Ringerike prison in Tyristrand, Norway, for his trial in January over his prison conditions. Photograph: Cornelius Poppe/NTB/AFP

Thu Feb 15 2024 - 20:16

Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik lost against the state in his bid to end his isolation in prison after he argued his human rights were being violated, a court ruled on Thursday.

The far-right fanatic, who killed 77 people, most of them teenagers, in a bombing and shooting rampage in 2011, sued the state in January over his prison conditions.

Breivik testified he was sorry for what he had done and broke down in tears as he said his life in prison isolation was a nightmare that left him considering suicide daily. A day later a psychologist who co-wrote a fresh risk assessment about the killer testified he was neither depressed nor suicidal and was doing “very well”.

“In summary, the court has come to the conclusion that the sentencing conditions cannot be said to be, or to have been, disproportionately burdensome,” the Oslo district court ruling said, concluding there had been no violation of his human rights.

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Breivik will appeal against the ruling, his lawyer Oeystein Storrvik said, adding that the two had already spoken about the outcome. ”He is disappointed with the verdict. He has been in isolation for 12 years, and easing of his conditions is vital for his wellbeing in the prison,” Mr Storrvik said.

Breivik is serving a 21-year sentence, the maximum penalty at the time of his crimes, which can be extended for as long as he is deemed a threat to society. He has been held in isolation ever since he killed eight people with a car bomb in Oslo and gunned down 69 others on Utoeya island, on July 22nd, 2011.

The case took place in January at Breivik's high-security prison, set on the shore of the Tyrifjorden lake, where Utoeya also lies.

“He has been isolated for about 12 years...He lives in a completely locked world,” Mr Storrvik, told the judge “He does not wish to be alive any more.”

Lawyers representing the justice ministry told the hearing last month that Breivik must be kept apart from the rest of the prison population because of the continuing security threat he poses. “An extraordinarily dangerous inmate requires extraordinary measures,” lawyer Andreas Hjetland told the court. “He is still proud of what he has done. He still holds the same ideological views.”

Breivik, who was present, shook his head in disagreement.

Mr Hjetland said on Thursday the prison had done a good job in its handling of Breivik. “This shows that the prison service does a thorough job that is professionally solid and legally correct, when they consider what conditions Breivik should have,” he said in a statement. – Reuters

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024

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