Norway Massacre: Judge Says Breivik Not Insane
Norwegian District Court Judge Torkjel Nesheim has said that there is no reason to believe that lone-wolf terrorist Anders Behring Breivik is legally insane.
Breivik made his first public court appearance today since his arrest for the July massacres he carried out in Norway's capital of Oslo and on the small island of Utoya.
At his hearing on Monday, Breivik told the court, “I am a military commander in the Norwegian resistance movement and the Knights Templar Norway.”
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“Regarding the competence (of the court), I object to it because you received your mandate from organizations that support hate ideology (and) because it supports multiculturalism,” he added.
Breivik was interrupted several times during his speech, by Judge Nesheim telling the right winged extremist that he had no intension of allowing the terrorist to use the hearing as a “soap box to talk about all the causes he believes in.”
The 32-year-old anti-Muslim extremist pled not guilty to the charges against him on the grounds that he believed the attacks were necessary to save Norway and Europe from Islamization.
Breivik demanded that he be released from custody and called his jail tenure "irrational torture."
Breivik has been held in essentially solitary confinement since his surrender to police on July 22 on Utoya.
At Monday's hearing the court determined to hold Breivik behind bars for another 12 weeks until the onset of his trial due to the fact that Breivik’s crimes were “particularly harmful to society.”
At the end of the public hearing, Breivik asked to address the survivors and families of the attack, however Nesheim refused the request.
Breivik faces up to 21 years in prison if convicted under the charges of terrorism but perhaps could stay behind bars indefinitely if deemed a threat to the public.
