Will the dreaded mass murderer set free? Breivik asked the court for parole – Topky

“As in any state governed by the rule of law, a convicted person has the right to request parole and Breivik has decided to exercise that right.” his lawyer Öystein Storrvik told AFP. Three days, plus one additional, were set aside for the trial. The verdict is expected next week.

For security reasons, the district court in Telemark will deal with his request at the Skien prison gym, where the convict is serving a 21-year prison sentence. It was the maximum rate in Norway at the time, but since then the laws there have been changed to allow for longer prison sentences.

Breivik was sentenced in 2012 and can apply for parole for the first time in ten years – this minimum expired on 5 June last year. However, his sentence can be extended indefinitely if it still poses a threat to society. The prosecution also requests him to remain in custody.

The Oslo court, which ruled on his guilt, said at the time of the sentence that Breivik would most likely be able to kill even after serving the sentence. Breivik (42) On 22 July 2011, in front of the Norwegian Prime Minister’s office in Oslo, he detonated a van filled with explosives, killing eight people. He then moved to Utöya Island near the capital, where he shot dead 69 members of a Labor party.

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Source: SITA

The families of the victims, who fear that he will use the court hearing to present their political views, call on him to be deprived of the attention he is seeking. Breivik justified his actions with extreme right-wing and anti-Islamic views and oppositions to multiculturalism.

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Source: SITA / Lise Aaserud / NTB Scanpix via AP, File

AFP recalls that Breivik used previous speeches in the courtroom to spread propaganda and allegations from his manifesto, which he published before committing the attacks. Since 2017 he has started using the new name Fjotolf Hansen.

Tore Björgo, head of the Center for Extremism Research (C-REX) at the University of Oslo, stated that Breivik “he has not become a minor extremist from an ideological point of view”. “He now presents himself as a National Socialist, and although he claims that armed struggle is a thing of the past, he has not distanced himself in any way from the mass killings he has committed and considers absolutely legitimate.” stated.