Norwegian killer’s ‘inhumane’ cell nice as chic Hub digs
The three-room, prison-cell suite where Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik is held, was deemed inhumane by a court in that country — accommodations a local realtor says would fetch top dollar here.
“That’s a really nice college dorm room. You’re looking at renting in the Back Bay you could get $3,000 to $4,000 a month,” said real estate agent Dan Fox, of MerryFox Realty who sells homes on the North Shore.
Fox said sale price depends on square footage, but a suite with its own bathroom and room for a treadmill as well as entertainment would likely command $1,100 per square foot in the South End or Back Bay.
Breivik has also complained about the quality of the prison food, having to eat with plastic utensils and not being able to communicate with sympathizers.
The government has rejected his complaints, saying he is treated humanely despite the severity of his crimes and that he must be separated from other inmates for safety reasons.
Breivik had carefully planned the attacks on July 22, 2011. He set off a car bomb outside the government headquarters in Oslo, killing eight people and wounding dozens. Dressed in a police uniform, Breivik then drove to the island of Utoya, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away, where he opened fire on the annual summer camp of the left-wing Labor Party’s youth wing. Sixty-nine people there were killed, most of them teenagers, before he surrendered to police.
Breivik gave a Nazi salute when he appeared for the court hearing yesterday where the government is appealing a lower court decision in April that labeled his prison suite “inhumane.”
Judge Oystein Hermansen asked him not to repeat the salute, saying it insulted the dignity of the court.
“It also disturbs what we are dealing with here,” Hermansen said, brushing aside attempts by Breivik to defend his action.