Anders Breivik pleads not guilty at Norway murder trial

[Tophat Dragoneye]

It has been a while since I saw anything related to the Norway terror attack last year, so I decided to give an update here of what's currently happening. To those who doesn't know who Anders Breivik is, you're soon going to find out by reading this article. And it's not pretty...

Original source from BBC: Link

The man who carried out bomb and gun attacks in Norway last year which left 77 people dead has pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial in Oslo.

Anders Behring Breivik attacked a youth camp organised by the governing Labour party on the island of Utoeya, after setting off a car bomb in the capital.

He told the court he "acknowledged" the acts committed, but said he did not accept criminal responsibility.

The prosecution earlier gave a detailed account of how each person was killed.

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.

'Self-defence'

Dressed in a dark suit, Breivik smiled as he entered the courtroom and a guard removed his handcuffs. He then gave a closed-fist salute.

He later told the lead judge, Wenche Elisabeth Arntzen: "I do not recognise the Norwegian courts. You have received your mandate from political parties which support multiculturalism."

He also said he did not recognise the authority of Judge Arntzen, claiming she was friends with the sister of former Prime Minister and Labour party leader Gro Harlem Brundtland.

The judge noted the objections, which Breivik's lawyer said were not official, and said the defence could follow up on them in their opening arguments.

Breivik described his occupation as a "writer", currently working from prison.

Prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh read out the charges against him and gave an extensively detailed account of how each person was killed or injured in last year's attacks.

She said the attacks "created fear in the Norwegian population", adding: "The defendant has committed very serious crimes, on a scale which hasn't been experienced in our country in modern times."

Breivik showed no emotion, looking down at the table in front of him.

At the end of the indictment, he told the court: "I acknowledge the acts, but not criminal guilt - I claim I was doing it in self-defence."

Breivik has already confessed to the attacks on 22 July. In the car bombing outside government buildings in Oslo, eight people were killed and 209 wounded.

He killed 67 people and wounded 33 - most of them teenagers - in his shooting spree at the youth camp on Utoeya. A further two people died by falling or drowning.

At a court hearing in February, Breivik said his killing spree was "a preventative attack against state traitors", who were guilty of "ethnic cleansing" because they supported a multicultural society.

His lawyer has said his only regret is that "he did not go further".

"It is difficult to understand, but I am telling you this to prepare people for his testimony," Geir Lippestad told reporters before the trial.

Investigators have found no evidence to support Breivik's claims that he belonged to a secret "resistance" movement, the "Knights Templar", named after a military and religious order founded
during the Crusades to fight the enemies of Christendom.

"In our opinion such a network does not exist," prosecutor Svein Holden told the court on Monday.

A 12-minute-long film about the evils of "multiculturalism" and "Islamic demographic warfare", which Breivik posted online on the day of the attacks, was shown in court before the trial was adjourned for lunch. As it concluded, he could be seen wiping tears from his eyes.

Later, previously unreleased surveillance footage of the Oslo bombing was shown.

Some of the survivors and relatives of those killed reportedly gasped after footage was played of Breivik's explosives-packed vehicle exploding, followed by scenes of panic as people fled and pieces of metal fell to the ground. But the defendant was impassive, and at times even smirked.

The court later adjourned for the day.

At a news conference following the adjournment, Mr Lippestad said Breivik considered he was at war and therefore felt he should be tried by "a war tribunal".

Asked about Breivik's tears during the first day, he said "part of the explanation" might be that his client considered his actions "necessary to prevent a war in Europe".

Parts of the trial will be shown on television, but the court will not allow Breivik's testimony or that of his witnesses to be broadcast. Breivik is scheduled to take the stand for about a week, starting on Tuesday.

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Oslo says that with Breivik not expected to express any remorse for his actions, his trial promises to be an ordeal for the families of those killed and for those who survived.

Jorid Nordmelan, a survivor of the Utoeya massacre, told the BBC she would be in court to hear Breivik testify.

"It's a historical date for Norwegians," she said. "We never had a trial like this, so we don't know what's going to happen.

"Prosecutors told me they were going to make the opening statements awful, so that people can just feel what he did right there."

Police have sealed off streets around the courtroom, which was specially built for the trial to accommodate more than 200 people. Glass partitions have been put up to separate the victims and their families from Breivik.

 

[Aelia]

CONFIRMED: This guy is bonkers.

As in, really fucking insane. This guy is just plain old sick. But I guess I'm stating the bleeding obvious here.

 

[Dorothy LaRouge]

This is like bragging about swiping cookies from the jar, and then being surprised when you get punished for it.

He doesn't seriously expect this to work, does he?

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

This is like bragging about swiping cookies from the jar, and then being surprised when you get punished for it.

He doesn't seriously expect this to work, does he?

I am actually afraid he does.

On a side note, Danmarks Radio (a danish television and radio company in Denmark) have started a discussion about Breivik and about that he may have used computer games as training for the terror attack, and ask the question if video games affects gamers in a violent way.... (here we go again with the hate on video games...)

Side note end.

 

[GengarEatBanana]

Such a sad story. Especially for the victims and the victims families who have to listen to this nutcase in court.

 

[Keldeo94]

I don't think he's a bad person per say. I don't think he's evil as some suggest. I think he genuinely believes what he was doing was the right thing. He loves his country, and shares common fears held by many across Europe that our culture is being eroded, and Europe is being islamified and he wanted to do something about it, to protect it. Andy isn't alone in that respect, there are millions across Europe feeling this same fear. There is also a common problem of the political elite not listening to this fear and just labeling anyone opposed to mass immigration as racist. Completely ignoring the economic and cultural casualties this entails. So he hit out in the only way he knew how. I think it's sad, as he was driven to this, by fear and disenfranchisement caused by the political elite. Even now, the elitists refuse to budge any ground despite the concerns this issue rasies, and I fear there will be even more otherwise good men, driven to this kind of action as they want to protect their country.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

1. Kill 77 people
2. Say you didn't do it
3.
4. Profit

 

[Keldeo94]

1. Kill 77 people
2. Say you didn't do it
3.
4. Profit

You missed point 3? Also how is he going to profit from this? He's either going to spend his life in jail, or his life in a mental health facility.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

You missed point 3?

That's the point. It's an Internet thing.

Also how is he going to profit from this? He's either going to spend his life in jail, or his life in a mental health facility.

He isn't going to, and I hope he doesn't.

 

[Bikini Miltank]

I don't think he's a bad person per say. I don't think he's evil as some suggest. I think he genuinely believes what he was doing was the right thing. He loves his country, and shares common fears held by many across Europe that our culture is being eroded, and Europe is being islamified and he wanted to do something about it, to protect it. Andy isn't alone in that respect, there are millions across Europe feeling this same fear. There is also a common problem of the political elite not listening to this fear and just labeling anyone opposed to mass immigration as racist. Completely ignoring the economic and cultural casualties this entails. So he hit out in the only way he knew how. I think it's sad, as he was driven to this, by fear and disenfranchisement caused by the political elite. Even now, the elitists refuse to budge any ground despite the concerns this issue rasies, and I fear there will be even more otherwise good men, driven to this kind of action as they want to protect their country.

That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I am prepared to debate many things, but the cold-blooded murder of 77 innocent people, many of them children, is either the behavior of an evil mind or an unstable mind. There is zero ambiguity. This is not up for debate. In no way is this man a good person, no matter what paranoid, xenophobic, far-right bullshit he claims justifies his actions.

 

[Keldeo94]

I don't think he's a bad person per say. I don't think he's evil as some suggest. I think he genuinely believes what he was doing was the right thing. He loves his country, and shares common fears held by many across Europe that our culture is being eroded, and Europe is being islamified and he wanted to do something about it, to protect it. Andy isn't alone in that respect, there are millions across Europe feeling this same fear. There is also a common problem of the political elite not listening to this fear and just labeling anyone opposed to mass immigration as racist. Completely ignoring the economic and cultural casualties this entails. So he hit out in the only way he knew how. I think it's sad, as he was driven to this, by fear and disenfranchisement caused by the political elite. Even now, the elitists refuse to budge any ground despite the concerns this issue rasies, and I fear there will be even more otherwise good men, driven to this kind of action as they want to protect their country.

That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I am prepared to debate many things, but the cold-blooded murder of 77 innocent people, many of them children, is either the behavior of an evil mind or an unstable mind. There is zero ambiguity. This is not up for debate.

I agree, I'm saying he's unstable.

In no way is this man a good person, no matter what paranoid, xenophobic, far-right bullshit he claims justifies his actions.

He's been driven insane. If an insane person, does something in their mind they think is right, and just, does that make them an evil person? Your basing your decision as if used our logic. But he doesn't. He's unstable as you suggested and insane. I don't think that makes him evil though.

 

[Bikini Miltank]

I agree, I'm saying he's unstable.

I'm sorry, but at no point did your post actually say that. You state that you don't think he's evil and that he's driven by (what you perceive to be) laudable motives.

He's been driven insane. If an insane person, does something in their mind they think is right, and just, does that make them an evil person? Your basing your decision as if used our logic. But he doesn't. He's unstable as you suggested and insane. I don't think that makes him evil though.

Then why the detailed explanation of his motives? A crazy person doesn't need motives to commit heinous acts. Your post reads like a justification of his crimes. I'd even go so far as to say it tries to portray him as heroic.

Also, why are you calling him Andy?

 

[Keldeo94]

I agree, I'm saying he's unstable.

I'm sorry, but at no point did your post actually say that. You state that you don't think he's evil and that he's driven by (what you perceive to be) laudable motives.

Woah woah woah, hold it right there, that's inflammatory. Saying I think a psyco person isn't evil because of his unstable mind, IN NO WAY means I perceive them to be "laudable motives" how can you actually contemplate saying such a thing? In his own mind, he thinks he did the right thing, and so I don't think we can call him evil, but to then say I think his motives are laudable, is hyperbole to the max.

He's been driven insane. If an insane person, does something in their mind they think is right, and just, does that make them an evil person? Your basing your decision as if used our logic. But he doesn't. He's unstable as you suggested and insane. I don't think that makes him evil though.

Then why the detailed explanation of his motives? A crazy person doesn't need motives to commit heinous acts. Your post reads like a justification of his crimes. I'd even go so far as to say it tries to portray him as heroic.

Again, how can you actually say such a thing. I don't like to label anyone as evil, I believe there are actually very few evil people around. Saying that I don't find him evil, because of the reason HE did what HE felt was right, doesn't mean I in any way shape or form think what he did was right. And to then say I'm portraying him as heroic is just an unprecedented insult on my character, and I request that you retract that rather vile and inflamatory statement.

 

[Caitlin]

He may have felt what he did was right, but murdering 77 people is still evil.

 

[Ferbgor]

At least he wants to be tried as sane. That way, the families will get true justice when he goes to prison, instead of crazy house.

 

[Instrutilus]

...wait, he claimed to be killing those who supported ethnic cleansing, as in to remove an ethnic or religious group, while supporting multicultural society...?

 

[Every Breaking Wave]

At least he wants to be tried as sane. That way, the families will get true justice when he goes to prison, instead of crazy house.

He wants to be tried as sane because it gives his manifesto/viewpoints legitimacy. Being tried as insane means that his writings and beliefes were automatically the work of a crazy person. In his viewpoint, being tried as sane means that his actions and writings have an air of legitimacy to them, and that may cause others to follow what he said more seriously.

 

[Dorothy LaRouge]

While I am a proponent of the theory that what we label as insanity is merely severely socially-unacceptable behavior, there is no excuse for the murder of 77 people.

 

[Caitlin]

...wait, he claimed to be killing those who supported ethnic cleansing, as in to remove an ethnic or religious group, while supporting multicultural society...?

'A multicultural society without the blight of Islam infecting Europe' is probably a good way to sum up this man's views.

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

'A multicultural society without the blight of Islam infecting Europe' is probably a good way to sum up this man's views.

That pretty much sums up about this crazy guy. Anyway, about the case against him, they expect the final verdict will be given to him the 20th of July, 2012, ironically almost a year after the attack on Utøya (<- the isle's named like that in scandinavian languages).