Breivik promised ‘humane’ jail
Norwegian killer could have access to gym, school and library
OSLO, NORWAY— Those expecting Anders Behring Breivik to spend the rest of his days alone in a cramped cell will be disappointed when the far-right fanatic receives his sentence Friday for killing 77 people in a bomb and gun rampage last year.
If declared insane, the confessed killer will be the sole patient of a psychiatric ward that Norway built just for him, with 17 people on staff to treat him.
If found mentally fit, he will remain isolated, for now, in the highsecurity prison where he disposes of three 8-square-metre cells: a bed room, an exercise room and a study.
Officials at Oslo’s Ila Prison say the ambition would be to eventually transfer Breivik to a section with other prisoners, who have access to a school that teaches from primary grades through university-level courses, a library, a gym, work in the prison’s various shops and other leisure activities.
It’s all about a philosophy of humane prison treatment and rehabilitation that forms the bedrock of the Scandinavian penal system.
“I like to put it this way: He’s a human being. He has human rights. This is about creating a humane prison regime,” said Ellen Bjercke, a spokeswoman for Ila Prison.
Dealing with an unrepentant killer responsible for Norway’s worst massacre since World War II puts the system to, perhaps, its most challenging test yet. During his trial, Breivik, 33, coolly described how he set off a car bomb that killed eight people and injured scores in Oslo’s government district on July 22 last year. Then he unleashed a shooting rampage that left 69 people dead, mostly teenagers, at the summer camp of the governing Labor Party’s youth wing. The youngest victim was 14.
In testimony deeply disturbing to the bereaved, the self-styled antiMuslim militant said he was acting in defence of Norway by targeting the left-wing political party he accused of betraying the country with liberal immigration policies.
Since Breivik’s guilt is not in question, the key decision for the Oslo district court Friday is whether to declare him insane after two psychiatric teams reached opposite conclusions on his mental health.
Its ruling will be read in a courtroom custom-built for Breivik’s trial at a cost of 40 million kroner ($6.8 million).
Prison officials say the special measures for Breivik are justified because he presents a security risk that Norway’s prison and justice systems previously didn’t have the infrastructure to deal with.