Anders Behring Breivikthe far-right who killed 77 people in 2011, He is going through depression with suicidal tendencies, due to his “strict prison conditions”stated his lawyer at the beginning, this Monday, of his lawsuit against the Norwegian State. He maintains that his prolonged isolation is a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits “inhuman” and “degrading” treatment“.
Breivik, who is now 44 years old, has been isolated from other inmates in high-security facilities for more than 11 years. “The main damage related to Breivik’s isolation is that he no longer wants to live. It can be called depression,” said the lawyer Oystein Storrvik to the court, convened for security reasons in the gymnasium of the Ringerike prison, where his client is being held.
“Sometimes he’s more or less suicidal,” Storrvik added, citing an incident in which Breivik, who Storrvik says now he takes Prozac to spend his days in prisonshout: “Kill me! Please kill me”. The far-right appeared at Monday’s session dressed in a dark suit, gray beard and shaved head. Refrained from provocative gestures which he had done on previous occasions, such as Nazi greetingsand was passive throughout the entire process on Monday, he detailed AFP.
The killer has access to several rooms, including a kitchen, a TV room and an exercise room
On July 22, 2011, Breivik detonated a bomb near government offices in Oslo, killing eight people, before shooting dead 69 others, mostly teenagers. at a summer camp of the youth wing of the Labor Party (centre-left progressive) on the island of Utoya. In 2012 he was sentenced to 21 years in prison, renewable if he continues to be considered a threat.
“He will never come out, he is very aware of it”Storrvik told the court, arguing that Norwegian authorities had not implemented sufficient measures to compensate for Breivik’s relative isolation. “Can they impose a life sentence (de facto) and deny him any human contact while he serves his sentence?” he questioned the court.
In 2016, Breivik sued the Norwegian state for the same reasons that on this occasion, and a lower court ruled in his favor before the higher courts ruled in favor of the State. In 2018, the European Court of Human Rights dismissed his case as “inadmissible.”
The Oslo court prohibited Breivik’s testimony from being broadcast for fear of his provocations, such as Nazi salutes
The Norwegian State argued that Breivik’s isolation is relative and that his prison conditions are justified, due to the risks he poses and faces. “An extraordinarily dangerous inmate requires extraordinary security measures“state lawyer Andreas Hjetland stated in court.
In addition, The Oslo court prohibited Breivik’s testimony, scheduled for this Tuesday, from being broadcast in the media of communication for fear that he could use it as a platform for his political opinions. In the past, Breivik has used her public appearances as platforms to vent her political ideology and provocations, which have been painful for survivors and victims’ families.
“Many are fed up and are trying to keep their distance from all this,” he told the AFP Lisbeth Kristine Royneland, head of a support group for the families of the victims of the mass murder carried out by Breivik. “Naturally, people feel that this is a burden because it brings back memories”said another member of the group, Merete Stamneshagen, who lost her 18-year-old daughter on the island.
He escaped again from the “Fito” prison, one of the most dangerous criminals in Ecuador who decrees a curfew
Breivik’s life in isolation: games, pets and hobbies
Norway prides itself on having a humane prison system, which aims at rehabilitation rather than punishment. In Ringerike Prison, located on the shores of the lake that surrounds the island of Utoya, Breivik has access to several rooms, including a kitchen, a TV room with a games console, and an exercise room. Prison officials also honored his request to have a pet, providing him three parakeets.
The Three Parakeets by Anders Behring Breivik The television room on the first of the two floors of Breivik’s cell
The killer’s human interaction is mainly limited to contacts with professionals such as guardians, lawyers and a chaplain, “without any possibility of having real friendships”said Storrvik. Citing another article of the Human Rights Convention that guarantees the right to correspondenceBreivik also called for restrictions on the entry and exit of letters to be relaxed.
“Prison conditions do not approach the level of human rights violations,” the state lawyer insisted. “On the contrary, It could be said that prison conditions are especially humane“he insisted. The State highlighted that Breivik enjoys “a wide range of activities”, such as cooking, playing, walking, playing basketball and studying. His cell has two floors and a private bathroom.
ML / ED