Breivik's terrorist attacks in Norway. Double terrorist attack in Norway. Review of events The Norwegian who shot children
Today the Oslo District Court handed down a verdict in the case of Anders Breivik, who committed a double terrorist attack in the summer of 2011. For the murder of 77 people, he was sentenced to 21 years in prison, with the possibility of extending the term by five years an unlimited number of times.
Let us recall that on the evening of July 22, 2011, a powerful explosion occurred near a government building in the Norwegian capital Oslo. Shortly thereafter, a man dressed in a police uniform opened fire on participants in a youth gathering of the Norwegian Workers' Party, which was taking place on the island of Utøya. The shooter surrendered to police without resistance. He turned out to be 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, an ultra-right religious fanatic.
Breivik confessed to organizing the explosion in the center of Oslo and the shooting of young people on Utøya, but never admitted his guilt, believing that he committed an ideological act and not a crime. He calls his sentence ridiculous. In his opinion, there were two normal options in this whole story: execution if guilty or release.
Anders Breivik reacts to the judge's words during his trial in Oslo, Norway. (EPA)
Armed police stand guard during a court hearing in Oslo, Norway. (EPA)
The site of Breivik's bomb in the government quarter of Oslo, Norway, July 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Fartein Rudjord)
Rescuers inspect the site of an explosion in search of victims, Oslo, Norway, July 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Fartein Rudjord)
Rescuers help victims of an explosion in central Oslo, Norway, July 22, 2011. (ROALD BERIT/AFP/Getty Images)
The resort island of Utøya (with an area of only 0.12 sq. km) from a bird's eye view. On July 22, 2011, Anders Breivik attacked youth camp The Workers' Party of Norway, which was located on the island, shot vacationers from firearms. Over 90 people became victims of the bloody massacre - they had nowhere to run. (AP Photo/Mapaid, Lasse Tur)
The bodies of the dead, covered with white sheets. Utøya Island, Norway, July 23, 2012. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
Police evacuate survivors on the island of Utøya, Norway, July 23, 2011. (REUTERS/Morten Edvardsen/Scanpix)
More than a hundred thousand residents gathered in the center of Oslo, Norway, to remember those killed at the hands of Breivik. People took to the streets with white and red roses in their hands. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A girl looks at a red rose, Oslo, Norway. The organizers of the march called on people to remain silent and to do without slogans and banners. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
People mourn the dead, Oslo, Norway. (PAULA BRONSTEIN/AFP/Getty Images)
No comments. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
No comments. (JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Anders Breivik at a court hearing in Oslo, Norway. (EPA)
"Christian fundamentalist" Mason and bodybuilder, farmer and admirer of Kant and Churchill, avid World of Warcraft player killed almost a hundred people in Norway...
The terrorist grew melons and beets to legally purchase explosive components.
Massacre on the island - the killer calmly shot teenagers from legally purchased firearms.
Did the terrorist have an accomplice?
Norwegian Prime Minister's Office Building
People from the island of Utøya try to swim to the opposite shore
Rescuers tend to the wounded on Utøya
On Friday, July 22, an explosion occurred near the Norwegian government building in Oslo. While the media and city authorities were finding out the details of what happened, eyewitnesses began writing blogs about the “Norwegian September 11th.” Some time later, reports of the first deaths appeared, but after a couple of hours it became clear that the explosion in the capital was just the beginning.
Police have not yet been able to establish exactly what happened in the government quarter of Oslo when agencies reported a new emergency: an armed man attacked a youth camp on the island of Utøya, there were casualties. In total, at least 91 people were killed in the two attacks - seven in the capital and 84 in a youth camp. Authorities suspect the same person is behind both attacks in Norway.
How exactly events developed in the Norwegian capital is still not entirely clear. One or more bombs were reported to have exploded near a 17-storey building in the government quarter where Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has his office. It was reported that the head of government was injured in the explosion, but this information was soon denied. In the evening, Stoltenberg appeared before reporters, giving the first of a series of press conferences in connection with the attacks.
The explosion damaged several nearby buildings. The wave also broke windows in the Ministry of Oil Industry and in the nearby tabloid editorial office. Verdens Gang. Initially it was reported that an explosive device went off in the editorial building, but this data was not subsequently confirmed.
The fact that the attack occurred at the height of the holiday season contributed to the relatively low number of victims of the explosion. Many government employees were on vacation. However, several members of the government were among the seven killed in Oslo - Stoltenberg announced this during a press conference on Saturday, July 23. In addition, as a result of the explosion, 15 people were injured, two of them seriously. The victims were taken to Oslo University Hospital.
On Friday, Norwegian police declared the incident a terrorist attack. However, exactly how the explosion was organized (and even exactly how many explosions there were) is still unknown. Authorities confirmed that immediately before the attack, a car drove through the government quarter at high speed - therefore, it could be a car bomb. This version was put forward in the Norwegian press immediately after the explosion, but it has not yet received official confirmation.
The second attack became known a little more than two hours after the explosion in the capital. A man dressed in a police uniform opened fire on holidaymakers at a Norwegian Workers' Party youth camp on the island of Utøya, located in the middle of Lake Tirifjord. Initially it was reported that the criminal managed to kill about 20 people, but it later turned out that there were much more victims.
According to eyewitnesses of the attack, the killer appeared at the camp just as the teenagers were getting ready for dinner, having discussed what had happened in Oslo. The criminal arrived on the island by ferry. On the shore, he gathered several vacationers around him, after which he opened fire to kill.
Panic gripped the camp visitors. Realizing what was happening, the teenagers began jumping out of the windows of buildings and throwing themselves into the water, hoping to escape. It is still unknown exactly which of the 84 victims of the attack died at the hands of the criminal, and which drowned in the lake while trying to hide from the fire. On Saturday afternoon, police continued to search the island's shores for more bodies. Those who managed to survive were those who hid in time and were able to remain in the shelter until the killer was captured by the police who arrived in time.
It is also unknown what the killer was armed with. Apparently we're talking about about automatic weapons - otherwise, such an impressive number of victims would be difficult to explain. Local publications write that the attacker had several weapons. According to Verdens Gang, a Glock pistol, a rifle and a shotgun were registered in the criminal's name. In addition, it is possible that the criminal did not act alone. A car with an undetonated explosive device was found on the island. According to one version, it belongs to the attacker.
One way or another, only one person was detained in connection with the incident. The media almost immediately named him: 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik ( Anders Behring Breivik), Norwegian citizen. Police suspect him of involvement in both terrorist attacks on July 22.
About the alleged culprit of the main tragedy in modern history Norway doesn't know very much. Until yesterday evening, Breivik had a Facebook page, but shortly after his arrest it was closed by the site administration. But by Saturday, the criminal was awarded a page in the English-language Wikipedia.
It is reported that Anders Behring Breivik held radical right-wing views and made anti-Islamic statements on social networks. The alleged terrorist also has a microblog on Twitter, in which, however, only one entry was left, and that one is a quote from the statements of the English philosopher John Stuart Mill: “One person who has convictions is worth a hundred thousand who have only interests."
According to investigators, it was Breivik who detonated the explosive device in the government quarter in Oslo, after which he headed to the camp on Utøya. It took him about two hours to travel. At the same time, according to media reports, Breivik has not committed any offenses in the past, except for fines for speeding.
In addition, according to Dagbladet, in recent months Anders Behring Breivik lived on a remote farm where he was engaged in agriculture. As journalists note, this activity could have been used by him as a cover for the acquisition large quantity fertilizers, on the basis of which he subsequently made explosive devices. On the night after the attacks, the farm was searched by the police, but it is unknown whether any semblance of a bomb-making laboratory was found there.
from here
According to Norwegian media, 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, 10 weeks before the series of terrorist attacks, completely legally purchased 6 tons of artificial fertilizers suitable for making explosives in artisanal conditions.
The Verdens Gang newspaper cites testimony from Oddni Estenstad, a representative of the agricultural supply company Felleskjopet, who confirmed that the fertilizers were delivered to Breivik before May 4. At the same time, she emphasized that we are talking about a completely normal volume of purchases for using fertilizers for their intended purpose.
Having learned that the buyer was suspected of carrying out terrorist attacks, the company immediately contacted the police, Estenstad emphasized. Note that it was previously reported that Anders Behring Breivik held a firearms license.
He is suspected of carrying out a bombing near a government complex in Oslo, killing seven people, and an hour after the attack carried out a massacre at a summer camp on the island of Utøya, where about 700 boys and girls were attending a youth forum of the ruling Workers' Party. Total The casualties of both terrorist attacks amount to this moment 91, however, according to some reports, there are missing people.
According to the Norwegian police, the terrorist actively visited Christian fundamentalist sites and held far-right anti-Islamic views.
from here
Norwegian police say that during a search of the area around a youth camp on the island of Utøya, at least 80 people were found dead.
According to a BBC correspondent, the police cannot yet explain how one person suspected of attacking the camp could kill so many people.
from here
Teenagers near Oslo were shot by a freemason and a bodybuilder
Eyewitnesses to the tragedy that occurred in Norway on the island of Utøya near Oslo said that the 32-year-old killer, who, according to the latest data, shot 84 people, looked absolutely calm. According to the girl, who managed to escape only by jumping into the water, the man walked very slowly and confidently and calmly shot everyone who caught his eye.
Local residents claim that about 50 participants of the youth political forum escaped death because they swam from the island in time, and the killer did not pursue them with a weapon in his hands. Before starting his deadly campaign, Anders Behring Breivik, dressed in a police uniform, allegedly said the phrase “I want to get everyone.” Reuters reports this.
Before A. Breivik's Facebook page was blocked by the police, one could learn from his profile that the killer was interested in bodybuilding and Freemasonry and adhered to conservative political views. Norwegian television, however, has already found his connections with far-right radicals. The police claim that A. Breivik is a tall blond man with a Nordic appearance.
from here
The terrorist who killed 85 people at a youth camp of the Workers' Party of Norway on the island of Utøya, and also carried out a bombing in Oslo, turned out to be a fan of Winston Churchill and Immanuel Kant. This was reported by the German TV channel N24. It was previously reported that on July 22, 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik was detained on charges of attacking the camp on Utøya. Police also suspect him of involvement in an explosion in a government quarter in Oslo, which occurred two hours before the attack on the camp. The explosion in the capital killed seven people.
As journalists found out, Breivik’s favorite books are Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason” and Adam Smith’s “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.” The alleged terrorist considers British politician Winston Churchill his idol. In addition, Breivik is a fan of Max Manus, a hero of the Norwegian resistance during World War II.
At the same time, according to Swedish media reported by The Daily Mail, Breivik was a member of the neo-Nazi Internet forum Nordisk, where any topics related to terrorism are discussed.
The criminal lived on a farm near Oslo, where he grew melons and beets. As for music, he prefers classical and trance. It is also reported that Breivik was an avid World of Warcraft player.
In addition, in the past Anders Behring Breivik was once a member of the Norwegian conservative Progress Party. As reported by TV2, party chairman Siv Jensen announced this on July 23.
“I learned that he was a member of our party this morning,” Jensen said in an interview with television reporters. “It is terrible and seems completely unbelievable. Our thoughts today are with those affected by this tragedy.”
Norwegian journalists managed to find out that Anders Behring Breivik was a staunch nationalist and an open opponent of the coexistence of different cultures. At the same time, former party comrades describe him as a calm and quiet person.
The Progress Party is the second largest party in the Norwegian parliament (the ruling Workers' Party currently controls the majority of seats).
from here
Norwegian police are searching for a second suspect in connection with an attack on a youth camp on the island of Utøya. The television and radio company Norsk rikskringkasting reported this on July 23, citing sources in law enforcement agencies.
“We are currently trying to establish whether the camp attacker had an accomplice who remains at large,” police told NRK.
Earlier, 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik was detained in connection with the attack on the camp of the Workers' Party of Norway on the island of Utøya, during which, according to the latest data, 84 people were killed. The police suspect him of involvement in the terrorist attack in Oslo, which occurred two hours before the attack. The explosion in the government quarter killed seven people and injured more than ten.
During a survey of the territory of the island of Utøya, the police discovered a car with an unexploded explosive device. It was initially assumed that the car belonged to Breivik, but the media suggested that the criminal could not have acted alone.
Currently, Anders Behring Breivik is in custody and has been charged with terrorist activities. If found guilty of both attacks on July 22, Breivik faces up to 21 years in prison.
from here
The perpetrator and organizer of terrorist attacks in Norway, Anders Behring Breivik, lives in Oslo in an apartment located in a 4-story building.
The terrorist is 32 years old and runs a vegetable farm. Breivik has several firearms for which he had a permit. The permits were issued to him in connection with his membership in the shooting club.
Norwegian police said Breivik was apparently not a member of any far-right organization, has no criminal record, and was not known to police until yesterday. All police could find in the past were a few minor offenses.
A police spokesman said Norwegian security forces were keeping an eye on neo-Nazis, but Breivik was not part of that circle.
After Breivik’s arrest, police found far-right statements on his Facebook page, including those directed against Muslims.
On his Twitter page, Breivik left a quote from the philosopher Jon Stewart: “One person with faith is equal in strength to 100 thousand those who have only interests.”
Ynet quotes a Norwegian police officer interviewed by the AP news agency: “He came to us out of nowhere.”
11:05 Norwegian police say Breivik is cooperating with the investigation.
It was also revealed that he was a regular visitor to three far-right Internet sites and sympathized with fringe right-wing Christian organizations.
Norwegian police continue to investigate a series of terrorist attacks on Friday in Oslo and at a summer camp on the island of Utøya, 35 kilometers from the Norwegian capital. The explosion near the government complex in Oslo, which killed 7 people, appears to have been a diversionary maneuver, just a prelude to the main massacre.
Just 30 minutes, according to investigators, it took 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik to shoot almost 100 people at a summer camp where a forum of the ruling Labor Party's youth movement was taking place. According to the latest data, at least 84 people were killed, more than 15 victims were hospitalized with injuries. Most of the victims are teenagers.
Breivik was arrested on Friday evening on the island of Utøya, his apartment in Oslo was searched, and the terrorist's computer was seized. Police officials say he regularly interacted with like-minded people on Christian fundamentalist websites and held far-right and anti-Muslim views.
Everything suggests that the criminal carefully prepared for the action. Breivik's account on the social network Facebook was destroyed, and his microblog on Twitter.com was carefully cleaned up: he left only one single entry - “One person with his faith is equal in strength to 100,000 who have only interests.” (A distorted aphorism from John Stuart Mill: “One man of strong faith is equal in strength to ninety-nine others who have only interests,” editor’s note)
On the destroyed Facebook account of the criminal it was indicated that he adheres to conservative Christian views, among his interests - Games World Of Warcraft and Modern Warfare 2, bodybuilding and market analytics. He also indicated that he studied economics and religion. Both accounts on the social network Facebook and Twitter were opened at the same time: July 17.
He shot at teenagers and young adults gathered at a youth forum on the island of Utøya with a weapon he had purchased legally from a gun shop and was in possession of a firearms licence.
from here
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map
The island of Utøya is located 32 kilometers from Oslo and is the traditional site of a youth summer camp, which is organized annually by the ruling Workers' Party. In July 2011, according to various sources, from 500 to 600 participants gathered for the rally. These are mainly teenagers aged 14-18 years.
In general, it looks like a camp a la Seliger
Judging by the faces of the victims shown on TV channels, there were many teenagers of non-indigenous nationality (Arab, black and Bangladeshi, judging by their appearance). It is believed that the nationalist decided to “draw the government’s attention” to the problem with Muslim immigrants. The blond beast was fond of Hunting.
Island 300x300 meters. An eyewitness says the killer had a pistol and an automatic rifle similar to an M-16. The guy was very lucky; he lay pretending to be dead. The killer shot him from a couple of meters and wounded him in the shoulder. He also says that the killer walked around and methodically calmly killed with single shots. The police arrived about 2 hours later. Some tried to talk to the killer, went to him and immediately got shot.
Elise, 15 from Norway, Østfold, was hiding under a rock while the perpetrator stood on the rock and shot at the youth. She spoke in whispers on the phone to her mother and father while he was shooting.
She took off her outer clothing because it was bright in color and could be seen by the criminal. She wrapped herself in just a towel. And I was only thinking about running away. She was barefoot... Doesn't want to give her last name.
from comments on NRK
She said the man shot those on land first. When they tried to hide in the forest, he shot along all the paths. -Then he shot everyone who tried to swim away, says Elise.
Eliza says that the man who shot was Norwegian.
He shot and shot, Elise says. Although she helped the girl who was shot twice in the stomach. Eliza doesn't dare say how many died, but she believes there are more than ten dead.
The police, according to news channels, arrived only 45 minutes later.
But some people shouted that the police were in no hurry to go to Sagra...
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Last Friday, July 22, 2011, in Norway, one of the calmest and most prosperous countries in the world, the largest event since the Second World War occurred, for which it was completely unprepared.
Norwegian police have reduced the total number of victims of the two terrorist attacks from 93 to 76 people. Anders Breivik, who shot 68 people on the island of Utøya, told a Norwegian investigator that he was ready to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Review of last Friday's events.
Explosion in the center of Oslo
An explosion near a complex of government buildings in the center of Oslo, where the Prime Minister's office is located, occurred on July 22 at 17.22 Moscow time. According to updated data, 8 people died as a result of the explosion. A bomb exploded between, presumably, a parked car.
(Photo by Morten Holm | AFP):
Injured, central Oslo, July 22, 2011. (Photo by Per Thrana | Reuters):
An explosion in central Oslo damaged several buildings, including the Prime Minister's office, July 22, 2011. (Photo by Fartein Rudjord | AP):
In small, quiet and calm Norway there has never been anything like this. For example, living in Russia, it is difficult to imagine that until that day almost any person on the street could calmly and without being searched go into the office of the country's leading officials. This is evidenced by Russian correspondents who have worked in Norway for many years. It was another, incomprehensible to us, quiet world. Now, perhaps, a lot will change, and the level of security in the country will be completely different.
(Photo by Thomas Winje Oijord | Reuters):
Broken windows of a government building in central Oslo, July 23, 2011. (Photo by Vegard Grott | Reuters):
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg visits the site of a bomb explosion in central Oslo, July 26, 2011. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images):
Execution on the island of Utøya
On the tragic day, there were about 700 people in the camp on the island. (Photo by Vegard Grott | Reuters):
A few hours after the explosion in the center of Oslo, a man in a police uniform opened fire on an island near the Norwegian capital at a youth camp for activists of the ruling Labor Party.
Quiet Norway was absolutely not ready for such events. This may explain the fact that the police arrived at the scene of the tragedy only an hour and a half later after a shooting was reported.
The Norwegian police explained their slow actions: “The employees of the nearest department, where they were the first to learn about the tragedy, were prevented from getting to the island by the lack of transport.” To the question “Where were the island police?”, the main office of the police department also did not find an answer.
On July 22, 2011, while the police were getting to the island of Utøya, according to the latest data, Anders Breivik, constantly changing clips, shot 68 people in 1.5 hours. The Norwegian police were simply not prepared for a lone terrorist.
The photo was taken from a helicopter approaching the island. It shows Anders Breivik walking with a weapon among the dead, July 22, 2011. (Photo by Marius Arnesen | Reuters):
Some tried to swim to escape the island, but the water temperature was too cold, July 22, 2011. (Reuters Photo):
After 1.5 hours, special forces arrived on the island, July 22, 2011. Shooting people Anders Breivik immediately surrendered.(Jan Bjerkeli | Reuters):
Some survivors from the island of Utøya, They say there were two shooters. Evacuation of casualties and wounded, July 22, 2011. (AFP Photo | Getty Images):
Rescuers search for the bodies of those who may have drowned while fleeing the island in cold water, July 23, 2011. (Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand | AFP):
An impromptu memorial on the shore of a lake opposite the island of Utøya, July 24, 2011. (Photo by Fabrizio Bensch | Reuters):
Day of Remembrance
Yesterday, July 25, 2011 in Norway on the streets largest cities Hundreds of thousands of people came out. Many carried torches in memory of the dead. The main mourning events took place in Oslo. At least 100 thousand people took to the streets of the city.
(Photo by Odd Andersen | AFP | Getty Images):
Among the dead was policeman Trond Berntsen, half-brother of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, wife of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, heir to the Norwegian throne. (Reuters Photo):
On Saturday, Anders Breivik was charged with terrorism. The maximum penalty he faces under Norwegian law is 21 years in prison. His trial is being held behind closed doors. It should also be said that by our standards, prisons in Norway look like good sanatoriums.
The terrorist himself stated at the first court hearing that his goal was “not to kill as many as possible.” more people, but to send a clear signal about the problems in the country” to others, in particular, one of his motives was “Islamic colonization of Europe.” Breivik will spend the next 8 weeks, while the preliminary investigation continues, in one of the Norwegian prisons. All contact with the outside world, including reading newspapers, television, radio and dating anyone, is prohibited. (Photo by Jon-Are Berg-Jacobsen | AP):
The father of Norwegian Anders Breivik, accused of committing acts of terror in Oslo and on the island of Utøya, said that it would be better for his son to commit suicide. Jens Breivik, who lives in a small French village, said this in an interview with the Norwegian TV channel TV2. The retired diplomat admitted that he still cannot believe what happened and never intends to communicate with his son again.
Flowers and the Norwegian flag near Oslo Cathedral, July 24, 2011. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton | Reuters):
I arrived in Oslo on Sunday, July 24th. A minute of silence, announced exactly at noon, found me at passport control. For a minute all traffic froze, people stopped, then everything started working as usual again.
Torchlight processions were planned across the country on Monday to honor the victims. Since such a procession promised to be especially numerous in Oslo, the torches were replaced with flowers. (Photo by Rustem Adagamov):
Next to the building where the editorial office of the VG newspaper is located, there is still broken glass and fragments of window frames lying around. This building is located next to the government quarter where the explosion occurred and which is now completely cordoned off by police, July 25, 2011. (Photo by Rustem Adagamov):
By six o'clock every passerby in the center of Oslo had flowers in their hands, and it seemed that the whole city was gathering in the square near the city hall. There were a lot of people, but there was not a hint of panic, disorder, or aggression. People came with children (and in an ordinary Norwegian family there are three of them), dogs, and went to the square in large friendly groups. A small stage was installed on the square, powerful sound speakers were raised on cranes, and a giant video screen was installed. (Photo by Rustem Adagamov):
I got to the stage, called the policeman and showed him my press card. Without any hope, however, that I would be allowed into the enclosed space. Surprisingly, after looking at the card and looking me up and down, the policeman nodded: “Come in, you can.”
It was absolutely amazing, of course, because members of the royal family, the prime minister, and famous politicians were expected here. For the next two hours, I walked here completely unhindered, was at arm's length from Prime Minister Stoltenberg and the Crown Prince - no one pulled me back, stopped me, or checked the contents of my pockets and bag.
Within an hour after the end of the working day, more than 150,000 people gathered in the square - a boundless sea of people flooded the square near the city hall, and all the surrounding streets, almost the entire center of Oslo, July 25, 2011. (Photo by Rustem Adagamov):
From the royal family, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit came to the square along with Princess Märtha Louise. “The mother of all Norwegians” also arrived, former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Bruntland, who almost became a victim of a terrorist - she left the island that Friday shortly before Breivik appeared there, July 25, 2011. (Photo by Rustem Adagamov):
The square raised its flowers to welcome Crown Prince Haakon as he took the stage. (Photo by Rustem Adagamov):
Entering the stage, the Crown Prince read a quatrain of his own composition. (Photo by Rustem Adagamov):
Crown Prince Haakon: “It is in our power to decide to stick together - this concerns each of us, this concerns both me and you,” July 25, 2011. (Photo by Rustem Adagamov):
Similar meetings of people took place throughout the country. Yesterday I was able to see once again what amazing people live in Norway.
People ask me, will Norway change after the terrorist attack? Everyone who came out to the squares and streets of the country yesterday wants it to remain the same, and I am sure that it will be so, July 25, 2011. (Photo by Rustem Adagamov):
(Photo by Paula Bronstein | Getty Images):
Flowers near the island of Utøya, where 68 people were killed, Norway, July 24, 2011. (Photo by Frank Augstein | AP):
In contact with
Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people, was put on trial in a building very close to where he carried out the worst terrorist attack in Norwegian history last summer. The trial opened with unprecedented security measures and a huge crowd of journalists, in front of whom Breivik, it seems, began to put on a real performance from the first seconds.
Anders Breivik entered the hall smiling. And as soon as the handcuffs were removed, he put his fist to his chest and threw out his hand in a Roman military salute, which the audience perceived as Nazi. The killer considers the trial a comedy. He admits that he killed, but does not consider himself guilty. He says he acted in self-defense.
“I do not recognize the Norwegian court. You are working on the instructions of political parties that promote multiculturalism,” Breivik said.
Breivik insists: he, allegedly, a knight of the Templar Order, saved Europe from Islam. And if he answers to anyone, it will be before a military tribunal. It was also because of these words that he was first declared insane, which meant, possibly, lifelong compulsory treatment. A repeated examination, however, did not find any signs of insanity. The doctors wrote: in love with myself.
And indeed, when the prosecutor asked to play the video that Breivik managed to post on the Internet before committing the crime, the killer began to cry. Although previously not a single muscle flinched at the sight of footage of what he had done. The accused enjoys the role of a TV star - the hearings are broadcast live to the whole world.
Bulletproof glass separates Breivik from the relatives of the dead. They try not to show the faces of prosecution witnesses in the broadcast. One of them, on the eve of the hearing, went to Utøya for the first time since the tragedy to relive that nightmare again before giving testimony. Hussein Kazemi collided with Anders Breivik twice. The first time in the dining room, I received three bullets. The second was when he was hiding in the rocks. A man with a rifle in a police uniform approached him and asked: “Did you see the shooter?” It was Breivik.
"There was blood everywhere. He looked at me, I looked at him. I don't know what happened, I can't swim, but I jumped into the water," Kazemi recalls.
For more than an hour, Breivik methodically shot defenseless teenagers locked in small island. Most of them were ethnic Norwegians. They were relaxing at a youth camp of the workers' party, which pursues a policy of multiculturalism. When people died on Utøya, the police were drawn to the center of Oslo, where Breivik detonated a bomb.
The killer is now in Ila prison near Oslo. Breivik is allowed to call friends and correspond with fans. And his cell resembles an apartment.
“He has three rooms at his disposal. In one he sleeps, in the other he has an office, he can work on his personal computer there, and in the third room there are exercise machines, where he can train,” said Helen Bjerke, senior adviser to Ila prison.
A film is already being made about Breivik. A small American film studio promises to release the story of the Utøya massacre in less than six months. Perhaps this will happen even before the judge renders a verdict.
According to Norwegian law, the maximum term of imprisonment under the article of terrorism under which Breivik is accused is 21 years. This means, if he is still considered sane, he will be released from prison when he turns only 53, having served no more than three months for each of the murders he committed. The trial of the killer who shocked the whole world will last at least 10 weeks.
Breivik will be taken to and from court every day on different routes, including different time. The police fear that the convoy may be attacked, because too many people want him dead.