Apr 16, 2012 1 Comment ›› Pat Dollard
Excerpted from The Daily Mail: Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik broke down in tears on the first day of his terror trial today – when a video clip he had created, mentioning Vlad the Impaler, was screened.
The 33-year-old, who admits killing eight in an Oslo bomb blast and 69 in a shooting spree on the island of Utoya last July, remained emotionless as prosecutors spent two hours describing in graphic detail how each of his victims died.
But he suddenly became emotional when shown an anti-Muslim 12-minute video he had posted on YouTube before the carnage, wiping away tears with trembling hands.
A smug looking Breivik had earlier entered the Oslo court room, dressed in a dark suit, grinning as a guard removed his handcuffs.
He then flashed a closed-fist ‘right wing’ salute, before shaking hands with prosecutors and court officials, and told the judge he did not recognise the court.
He said: ‘I don’t recognise Norwegian courts because you get your mandate from the Norwegian political parties who support multiculturalism.’
He also said he does not recognise Judge Wenche Elisabeth Arntzen’s authority, because he said she is friends with the sister of former Norwegian Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Gro Harlem Brundtland.
When asked for his employment status, he described himself as a writer. He had admitted playing his part in the deaths, but pleaded not guilty to terror and murder charges saying he was acting in self-defence.
Prosecutors then read out the names of those killed and injured, and graphic details of how each one happened, in the devastating shooting spree. Some of the methods were so horrific that Norwegian media bleeped the sound when they were read out.
If the court decides he is criminally insane, he will be committed to psychiatric care; if he is judged to be mentally stable, he will be jailed.
In the latter case, he faces a sentence of 21 years, which could be extended to keep him behind bars for the rest of his life.
The 33-year-old Norwegian was found insane in one examination, while a second assessment made public last week found him mentally competent.
Excerpted from The Associated Press: Eight people were killed in Breivik’s July 22 bombing of Oslo’s government district and 69 others were slain in his shooting massacre at the left-leaning Labor Party’s youth camp on Utoya island outside the capital. Breivik has said the attacks were necessary to protect Norway from being taken over by Muslims.
“I admit to the acts, but not criminal guilt,” he told the court, insisting he had acted in self-defense.
The key issue to be resolved during the 10-week trial is the state of Breivik’s mental health, which will decide whether he is sent to prison or into psychiatric care. Anxious to prove he is not insane, Brevik will call right-wing extremists and radical Islamists to testify during the trial, to show that others also share his view of clashing civilizations.
Norway’s NRK television was broadcasting parts of the trial live but was not allowed to show Breivik’s testimony.
During Monday’s opening session, he remained stone-faced and motionless as prosecutors read the indictment on the terror and murder charges, with descriptions of how each victim died, and when they explained how he prepared for the attacks.
But Breivik suddenly became emotional when prosecutors showed an anti-Muslim video that he had posted on YouTube before the killing spree, wiping away tears on his cheek with trembling hands.
After a lunch break, Breivik was again expressionless as he watched prosecutors present surveillance footage of the Oslo explosion. The blast ripped through the high-rise building that housed government headquarters, blowing out windows and filling surrounding streets with smoke and debris.
He didn’t flinch as prosecutors played a three-minute recording of a young woman’s frantic phone call to police from Utoya.
“Shots have been fired,” the woman, who survived the massacre, said with panic in her voice. “I’m pretty sure that there are many injured.”
More than a dozen shots in close succession could be heard as the woman fell silent.
“Are you still there?” the police officer asked.
“Yes,” she whispered. She fell silent again, breathing into the phone as more shots cracked in the background.
