Norway's Anders Behring Breivik in open court hearing

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

The man who confessed to killing 77 people in Norway in July has made his first public appearance in court.

Anders Behring Breivik, dressed in a dark suit, appeared in court in Oslo before dozens of reporters and members of the public.

The 32-year-old right-wing extremist has been in custody since the 22 July attacks in Oslo and at a youth camp on the island of Utoeya.

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The Norwegian Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Monday's remand hearing could be held in public - overturning a lower court ruling that Mr Breivik should give evidence from his jail via a closed-circuit TV link, the Norway Post reported on its website.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15720289

[jakeXT]

1. gag order, ban on pictures or video... great

OSLO — A judge on Monday prevented right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik, the confessed killer of 77 people in a July rampage in Norway, from talking to victims' families at his first public court appearance.

Behring Breivik, 32, speaking calmly, tried to address the families at the Oslo district court where they were gathered along with journalists and members of the general public, before being quickly interrupted by the judge.

The court is under a gag order on reporting Behring Breivik's words for fear he would turn the hearing into a platform for his far-right ideology, although the court might lift the order once the hearing is over.

There is also a ban on publishing pictures or video of him.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gkuLU4u788LNRkXNJQdyPv-mEBew?docId=CNG.abe928c50a156ab1dabfd1a1411a5115.4c1

[bemildred]

2. That is interesting, the gag order, are they really afraid of his "ideas"?

I suppose he could become a sort of cult figure like McVeigh:

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-07-24/world/norway.okc.terror_1_norwegian-police-attacks-youth-camp

[harmonicon]

3. I think it's equal parts ...

concern for the victims' families, and to prevent needless publication of hate speech.

[bemildred]

5. Have to do I suppose.

I would like the chance to hear his rationalizations, and I think as a matter of principle we have to stop sweeping this sort of shit under the carpet because it might upset someone or some other fool might find it convincing, but I don't expect to get my way.

[Rebubula]

6. No rationalizing crazy

I would be keen to hear his story IF HE NOT MURDERED KIDS!

Once he started taking out innocent children - I stopped caring why and just wanted to see him dead.

[bemildred]

8. People will rationalize anything they want to, happens constantly. nt

[harmonicon]

7. That's fine to say in theory...

but I don't think we can imagine how we'd feel about it if this man had murdered our children.

[bemildred]

9. I'd want him dead, so what? Is that supposed to be the basis for public poliicy? nt

[struggle4progress]

11. he wrote a huge manifesto that you can probably still find online

i downloaded it after the shootings

it's filled with the usual neonazi double-talk. he says he's out to save "christian culture" -- by which he means northern european traditions. he makes very clear that he distinguishes "christian culture" from christianity, and that he doesn't care much one way or the other about christianity. he hopes to establish an elite rightwing paramilitary group and lays out some details of rank and uniforms and such. he also issues the obligatory disclaimer that he's not a nazi -- and then begins planning for nazi-like mass relocations of people he considers culturally inferior, like muslims

it's long and boring. i looked through it briefly then trashbinned it

[bemildred]

14. Thanks, I'll look. nt

[jakeXT]

12. I still want to know if he knows anything about the second gunman

11.27am: The Norwegian newspaper VG has interviewed witnesses of the Utøya shooting who believe there was a second gunman.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/jul/23/norway-attacks-live-coverage

[bemildred]

4. Norway gunman admits carrying out massacre

A gunmen who killed 77 people in attacks in Norway on July 22 has acknowledged carrying out the massacre but refused to plead guilty in his first public court appearance since the attacks.

Anders Behring Breivik, speaking on Monday at a court just two blocks from where he detonated a huge home-made bomb before shooting 69 people at the ruling political party's youth summer camp, also rejected the court's authority to hear his case.

"I am a military commander in the Norwegian resistance movement and Knights Templar Norway," Breivik told the court. "Regarding the competence , I object to it because you received your mandate from organisations that support hate ideology because it supports multiculturalism."

"I acknowledge the acts but I do not plead guilty," Breivik said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2011/11/20111114114356162894.html

[pampango]

10. "“I am a military commander in the Norwegian military resistance movement… and a Knight Templar,"

Breivik replied, when asked his plea. “ a mandate from those that support multiculturalism.”

“There is a broad consensus that we do not want Breivik to have the possibility to profile himself and his ideas,” said Arne Okkenhaug, on behalf of the victims’ families support group that gathered over the weekend, in a press statement. Mr. Okkenhaug is one of the fathers of the 69 killed at Utøya Island.

“We fear the further increased attention this will give him…. The open court hearing can give him a speaker platform for spreading his viewpoints which we will experience as an extra burden.”

If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of 21 years. However, he could sit in prison for the rest of his life if, as expected, he is still deemed a danger to society at the end of his current sentence and his sentence is repeatedly rolled over. There is no death penalty or life sentence in the Norwegian justice system. He could be the first in Norwegian history to have successive rollovers of his sentence.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2011/1114/Norway-gunman-Breivik-makes-first-appearance-since-twin-terror-attacks-video

He is either crazy or really believes that he is the vanguard of a violent right-wing attack on multiculturalism and immigration. Probably both.

[struggle4progress]

13. he explained after the shootings that he had hoped his action would gain attention for his ideas

the norwegians aren't obliged to humor him with that, imo

[ellisonz]

15. Throw him in the looney bin...