Convicted Norweigan mass killer and right-wing extremist, Anders Behring Breivik, executed two terrorist attacks against the government of Norway and the civilian population in which a total of 77 people were killed on July 22, 2011. 12 years into his prison sentence, Breivik is accusing the Justice Ministry of violating his human rights.
Breivik, who has changed his name to Fjotolf Hansen, claims that the isolation he has been placed under amounts to inhumane punishment under the European Convention on Human Rights. His first attempt at suing the state in 2016 and 2017, was ultimately dismissed by the European Court of Justice. His lawyer, Øystein Storrvik, told The Associated Press that Breivik's mental health has suffered from additional years in solitary confinement since then, leaving him "suicidal" and dependent on antidepressants. Storrvik said he would argue for an easing of restrictions and more contact with other inmates, and that he believed 12 1/2 years in isolation was "unique" in recent European judicial history.
AP went on to report that on Monday, Storrvik told the court that Breivik had hoped he could have had some form of "human relations" when he was moved from Skien prison to a spacious two-story complex in Ringerike prison near Oslo in 2022, but that the cells had been "turned into an isolation ward."
Breivik was convicted in 2012 of mass murder and terrorism for a bombing that killed eight people in the government block in Oslo, and a shooting massacre on Utøya island where he gunned down 69 people at a holiday camp for youth activists from the center-left Labor Party. A self-proclaimed anti-Muslim crusader, pleaded not guilty, claiming he was acting in self-defense at the time to protect Norway from multicultarism.
Breivik was escorted into the hearing surrounded by three security guards. Reuters disclosed that among those watching the proceedings was Freddy Lie, one of whose daughters was shot dead by Brevik. Another daughter was wounded. "He must never come out again," Lie told Reuters.
The government continues to reject Breivik's claim that his prison conditions violate human rights. Government lawyer Andreas Hjetland, who represents the Justice Ministry in the case, stated the conditions are necessary for security. While incarcerated he has proved himself to be unreceptive to rehabilitative work, Hjetland wrote in a written statement to the court ahead of the trial, due to end on Friday.
According to Reuters, the 44-year-old will speak on behalf of himself on Tuesday. He is also asking the court to lift restrictions on his correspondence with the outside world. Lawyers representing the justice ministry say Breivik must be kept apart from the rest of the prison population because of the continuing security threat he poses.
"An extraordinarily dangerous inmate requires extraordinary measures," lawyer Andreas Hjetland told the court on Monday.
"He is still proud of what he has done. He still holds the same ideological views," Hjetland said.
The judge will give a verdict in the coming weeks. There is no jury.
