From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Norwegian mass murderer still ‘a very dangerous man,’ prosecutor warns at parole hearing
OSLO, Norway — A prosecutor in Norway says that a far-right extremist who killed 77 people in 2011 still is “a very dangerous man” and therefore a poor candidate for release after 10 years in prison, as Norwegian law permits.
On the final day of a three-day parole hearing, prosecutor Hulda Karlsdottir says in her closing argument that Anders Behring Breivik “has not shown any genuine remorse in court” and his behavior there is part of a “PR stunt.”
“In the clear view of the prosecution, Breivik’s request for parole should not be granted,” Karlsdottir says.
Breivik professed white supremacist views and flashed Nazi salutes on the hearing’s opening day, while claiming to have renounced violence. He repeats again today, as he is given the last word, that he is refraining from violence.
His lawyer Øystein Storrvik says in his closing arguments that Breivik should be released to prove that he is reformed and no longer a threat to society, and that is not possible to prove while he is in total isolation.
Storrvik calls it “a paradox that a person is treated so badly in prison that he never gets better. He never gets out.”
A psychiatrist who has observed him since 2012 testified yesterday that Breivik can’t be trusted. A prison official told the judges hearing the parole request “there is an imminent danger” that, if released, Breivik would again commit serious crimes.
