Far-right killer Breivik ‘must stay in jail’ court rules

A NORWEGIAN court has ruled that a far-right extremist who murdered 77 people in 2011 must remain in prison indefinitely because he still “has the ability to commit new serious crimes”.

Anders Breivik faced a parole hearing at Telemark District Court where he professed white supremacist views and flashed Nazi salutes, while claiming to have renounced violence.

The court concluded that he remains a potential threat.

“Because his psychiatric condition is unchanged, there is an obvious risk that he will fall back on the behaviour that led up to the terrorist acts on July 22, 2011,” the court said in its ruling.

The ruling also said he “used extreme violence as a tool to achieve his own political goals” and the court “has no doubt that (Breivik) still today has the ability to commit new serious crimes that may expose others to danger”.

Breivik is serving Norway’s maximum 21-year sentence for setting off a bomb in Oslo’s government district and carrying out a shooting massacre at a summer camp for left-wing youth activists.

He was declared sane at his trial, although the prosecution argued that he was psychotic. He did not appeal against his sentence but unsuccessfully sued the government for human rights violations for denying him the right to communicate with sympathisers.

Breivik could be held longer than 21 years under a provision that allows authorities to keep criminals in prison for as long as they are considered a menace to society.

During a hearing last month, prosecutor Hulda Karlsdottir argued Breivik is still “a very dangerous man” and “has not shown any genuine remorse in court”.

She told Norwegian news agency NTB the court’s decision to keep him in prison is “well founded”. A psychiatrist who has observed him since 2012 said Breivik cannot be trusted, and a prison official told hearing “there is an imminent danger” that, if released, Breivik would again commit serious crimes.

Breivik’s lawyer Oystein Storrvik said his client should be released to prove he is reformed and no longer a threat to society, and that is not possible to prove that while he is in total isolation.

Mr Storrvik also said: “(It is) a paradox that a person is treated so badly in prison that he never gets better. He never gets out.”

Breivik can appeal the ruling.