Breivik’s sanity to be in focus as trial opens

Rightwing extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in twin attacks in Norway last year, goes on trial in Oslo on Monday where proceedings will focus on whether or not he is sane. Since Breivik has already confessed to the deadliest attacks in post-war Norway, the main line of questioning will revolve around whether he is criminally sane and accountable for his actions, which will determine if he is to be sentenced to prison or a closed psychiatric ward. A first court-ordered psychiatric exam found him insane, while a second opinion came to the opposite conclusion. “This question will certainly permeate a large part of the trial,” one of the two prosecutors in the case, Svein Holden, told news channel TV2 Nyhetskanalen. “If the conditions are met to sentence Breivik to prison, we will call for that, but if ... we feel that those conditions are not met, we will call for care in a closed psychiatric ward,” he said. On July 22, Breivik killed eight people when he set off a bomb in a van parked at the foot of government buildings in Oslo housing the offices of the Labour prime minister, who was not present at the time. He then travelled to Utoeya island outside Oslo where, dressed as a police officer, he spent more than an hour methodically firing bullets at hundreds of people attending a Labour Party youth summer camp. The shooting spree which left 69 people dead, most of them teenagers trapped on the small heart-shaped island surrounded by icy waters, is the deadliest massacre ever committed by a sole gunman. Breivik has been charged with “acts of terror” and faces either 21 years in prison — a sentence that could thereafter be extended indefinitely if he is still considered a threat to society — or closed psychiatric care, possibly for life. Now 33, the extremist has described his actions as “cruel but necessary.” He claims he acted alone and in “self-defence”, saying the massacre was “a preventive attack against state traitors” whom he accuses of disintegrating Norwegian society by opening it up to multiculturalism and allowing the “Muslim invasion” of Europe. His defence lawyer, Geir Lippestad, has said he will call for his client’s acquittal. He admits it is a “purely technical” request with no chance of success yet the only option since his client refuses to plead guilty. During the trial, “he will not only defend (his actions) but will also lament, I think, not going further,” Lippestad said. In order to spare the survivors and families of the victims further suffering, the court has refused to allow television broadcasts of his testimony, which is due to start on Tuesday. Breivik himself has said that court-ordered psychiatric care would be “worse than death”. He wants to be found sane and accountable for his actions, so that his anti-Islam ideology — presented in the 1,500-page manifesto he published online just before the attacks — will be taken seriously and not considered the ravings of a lunatic. “From his point of view, he committed these acts in order to shed light on an ideology and world view. And, according to him, this vision of the world and this ideology carry more weight if he is considered accountable,” Lippestad said. The five judges will have to consider the two contradictory psychiatric evaluations presented to the court, and determine whether he is sane and accountable when they hand down their verdict sometime in July. Utoeya survivors have meanwhile said they want Breivik to have a fair trial, and they do not want the legal system to treat him more harshly than anyone else. “Breivik tried to attack the rule of law and for me it’s more important to preserve the system that he wanted to destroy than to change that system to keep him in prison,” Bjoern Ihler, a 20-year-old survivor, told AFP. The massacre shocked normally tranquil Norway, home of the Nobel Peace Prize, sparking emotional displays of national unity and a deep reflection on the delicate balance between openness and security. “On July 22, it was our democracy that was attacked,” Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told news agency NTB recently. “It is therefore more important than ever to show that our democracy and rule of law work,” he said. The size and scope of the trial is unprecedented in the Scandinavian country, and will attract worldwide media coverage: some 800 reporters are accredited to follow the proceedings, which are expected to last 10 weeks amid high security.