Norwegian
fanatic has admitted killing 77 people
LONDON -- Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing Norwegian
fanatic who has admitted killing 77 people on the Norwegian island of
Utoya and in the Oslo city center last July, told a court Tuesday that
he had carried out "the most sophisticated and spectacular political
attack ... in Europe since World War II."
The confessed 33-year-old killer was captured on video raising his
right arm in a fascist-style clenched-fist salute as he entered the
court in Oslo. His testimony, which began with a statement in which
he sought to explain his actions, was not broadcast due to a judicial
decision to avoid giving a televised platform to his violent
anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant views. But his remarks were widely
reported.
Ignoring demands from presiding Judge Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen
to limit his statement, Breivik continued his justification for the
massacre, according to a BBC report. He claimed that he would have "done
it again" to defend Norway and that his actions were based on
"goodness, not evil."
Breivik compared the killings to the U.S. use of the atomic bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, according to an Associated Press report,
which quoted him as saying, "The attacks on July 22 were a preventive
strike. I acted in self-defense on behalf of my people, my city, my
country."
The second day of his trial was temporarily delayed as Thomas
Indreboe, a lay judge on the five-member panel, was dismissed for
Internet comments he made last summer calling for the death penalty for
Breivik. He was replaced by Judge Elisabeth Wisloeff.
Breivik and witnesses on his behalf will give evidence for the rest
of the week, but none of the testimony is scheduled to be broadcast.
Authorities charge that Breivik targeted an annual Labor Party
political camp on Utoya, shooting and killing 69 young Norwegians, and
blew up a government building in central Oslo, leaving eight people
dead.
His trial is expected to last 10 weeks and he faces a sentence of 21
years in prison, which can be extended if he is considered a danger to
society.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/04/anders-behring-breivik-norway-massacre-witness-stand.html
