A Norwegian court has said no to Anders Behring Breivik's request for parole. He intends to appeal. Here's what happened at the hearing.
Telemark district court has announced that Anders Behring Breivik has been denied parole. He “appeared to be devoid of empathy and compassion for the victims of the terror,” according to the judge.
Breivik shocked Norway and the world back in July 2011 by setting off a car bomb in central Oslo, before going on a shooting spree at a political camp for young people on the island of Utøya. 77 people died in total.
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He was given the maximum possible sentence under Norwegian law of 21 years, although this can be extended by a court if it's deemed necessary. The law in Norway also gives detainees the opportunity for parole, which will be judicially assessed. This was Breivik's first parole hearing.
Three-day parole hearing
The hearing took place just six month after the 10-year anniversary of the terror attacks, meaning the events were fresh in the mind of many.
The case lasted for three days in Skien prison, where Breivik is held. At the prison, a gymnasium was converted into a temporary courtroom.
Breivik arrived every day at the hearing with Nazi posters and other fascist materials. He tried to catch the attention of the press with a message that there was “a genocide of whites” taking place.
Despite Breivik's behaviour in the courtroom, he claimed that he now distances himself from violence:
“I ask for understanding that you can be a Nazi without being militant. Today, I strongly dissociate myself from violence and terror as well as the objectives in the manifesto. I hereby give you my word of honour that this is behind me forever,” said Breivik during the hearing.
The verdict
As had been widely expected, the court denied Breivik the possibility of parole.
Read more: Utøya Memorial Gets Go-Ahead
“The accused appeared to be devoid of empathy and compassion for the victims of the terror. He verbally expressed grief over those affected. But at the same time, he defended and possibly legitimised his actions by saying that most of those affected on Utøya were not children, but people with “leadership positions”. This despite the fact that he must know that among those killed were children as young as 14 years old,” stated the decision.
The court stated they cannot assume that he is no longer violent, despite his claims in court.
“His verbal assurances and his words of honour are of little value, even if he should mean it as he says it. After this, the court has concluded that the risk of violence for the accused is qualified and real, and the same today as when the sentence of detention was handed down in August 2012,” stated the decision, which continued:
“Based on what emerged during the main trial, it is assumed that there is a significant risk that the accused, upon parole now, will have few opportunities to function in a normal society.”
“There is a significant risk that failure to function will lead to stress and frustration. Given 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.”
Breivik intends to appeal
Several Norwegian newspapers have spoken to Breivik's legal counsel. According to NRK, Breivik intends to appeal the decision.
“I have reviewed the result with my client, and he has expressed that he wants to appeal. I do not have much more to say than that,” said Øystein Storrvik.
