this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2024
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A lawsuit launched by far-right fanatic and mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik accusing the state of abusing his human rights has opened in Norway.

Breivik, who killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage in 2011, appeared in a court set up in the high-security jail in which he is serving his sentence on Monday. By accusing Norway’s Ministry of Justice of breaching his human rights, he hopes to force the authorities to end his years in isolation.

The 44-year-old killer’s lawyer laid out an argument that the conditions of his detention violated his human rights.

“He has been isolated for about 12 years,” Oeystein Storrvik told the hearing. “He is only in contact with professionals, not with other inmates.”

In earlier court filings, Storrvik had argued the isolation had left Breivik suicidal and dependent on the anti-depression medication Prozac.

Breivik claims the isolation he has faced since he started serving his prison sentence in 2012 amounts to inhumane punishment under the European Convention on Human Rights. He failed in a similar attempt in 2016 -17, when his appeal was denied by the European Court of Justice.

The extremist, who distributed copies of a manifesto before his attack, is suing the state and also asking the court to lift restrictions on his correspondence with the outside world.

He killed eight people with a car bomb in Oslo then gunned down 69 others, most of them teenagers, at a Labour Party youth camp. It was Norway’s worst peacetime atrocity.

Breivik spends his time in a dedicated section of Ringerike prison, the third prison in which he has been held. His separated section includes a training room, a kitchen, a TV room and a bathroom, pictures from a visit last month by news agency NTB showed.

He is allowed to keep three budgerigars as pets and let them fly freely in the area, NTB reported.

read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/8/far-right-mass-killer-breivik-sues-norway-for-human-rights-abuse

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[–] PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 126 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Cool. It is his right to do so.

Given the fairly decent conditions he's reported to be living in, and Norway's efforts to give him every avenue to rehabilitate, I very much doubt this case will get very far.

As always, the only winners in pointless stuff like this are the solicitors and lawyers.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 31 points 10 months ago (4 children)

I feel like the point of the lawsuit is not in good faith necessarily. He is, in a way, showing off. "I committed mass murder in the name of fascism, and my cell is nicer than your flat." It's a form of stochastic terror, the way I see it.

[–] PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 13 points 10 months ago

Yeah that's a fair comment. He's always taken every opportunity to get back into the news and give himself a platform for spouting his bollocks, but it's a legal avenue he appears to be entitled to explore so go wild I guess.

If anything, it just reminds me of what a giant tosser he is every time he makes the headlines.

[–] Omega_Haxors@lemmy.ml 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

To be fair, "my cell is better than your flat" is the result of decades of americans being "it is what it is" sheep rather than slicing some mfers. Whoops, no they do actually slice some mfers... in support of the very people oppressing them. For fuck sake.

[–] Tvkan@feddit.de 1 points 10 months ago

He isn't suing because of the amenities, but because he is being socially isolated. It's not about the quality of his cell at all.

[–] Syndic@feddit.de 1 points 10 months ago

I wouldn't put it past him. He was very outspoken about how he wants Norway to get a harsher justice system. So him still getting the same rights as every other prisoner is him loosing.

[–] Potatisen@lemmy.world 30 points 10 months ago

Why are you being down voted when all these American, single lane thoughts are rising to the top?

Let him scream and wail all he wants. He's had chances to change, he didn't, the court will take that into account. He's just pursing every avenue available to him. If he ever does change in the future, he'll be royally fucked because he already screamed wolf.

[–] honeynut@lemm.ee 57 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] tree@lemmy.zip 56 points 10 months ago

Yeah he did a Nazi salute before his most recent parole hearing and then was like I've learned to be a pacifist Nazi let me go please

[–] teamevil@lemmy.world 45 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Fuck this asshole...he's living in beautiful conditions because they are attempting to rehabilitate someone who's not interested.....I say we swap him with poor fucks in the US who could be rehabilitated but we won't try and let him live in some real consequences for the hate he spewed.

[–] explodicle@local106.com 9 points 10 months ago

Unfortunately he'd have a very easy time finding friends in American prison.

[–] arc@lemm.ee 24 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

Breivik is the sort of murderer, where there is absolutely zero doubt about his guilt, where the crimes themselves are heinous, and where he should never see the outside of a jail cell ever. If Norway had voted to throw him down a mineshaft, or imprison him in a windowless cell where he was fed slops for the rest of his life I couldn't care less.

But Norway isn't like that and he is being treated exceptionally well by any standard for his category of offence. His pathetic narcissistic legal whining to the courts will go nowhere and he'll stew in prison for as long as they can legally hold him. I think authorities would be relieved if he made good on his threats since it spares them the concern of what happens if he is eventually released.

[–] Che_Donkey@lemmy.ml 5 points 10 months ago

It is his form of entertainment & probably feels like this gives him a stage & relevance. Piece of shit should never see the outside of his cell, and all his court appearances should be via cctv.

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Hold on, hold on, hold on... Are you telling me this piece of shit isn't going to spend the rest of his life in prison??? What do you mean for as long as they can hold him??

[–] pazzeda@sopuli.xyz 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Well, once his life sentence is up, (in Norway it is 21 years), he can be sentenced by a court to an extension of 5 years at a time if they feel it necessary. And I think he will be facing many such extensions.

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Good to know.

[–] arc@lemm.ee 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Norway has life sentences that mean 21 years. they might hold him indefinitely with extensions while he is a danger to society. But this POS could become enfeebled, or sick, or feign remorse in which case he might get released. I expect his freedom will be very brief and painful however.

[–] Syndic@feddit.de 2 points 10 months ago

Thanks for that comment. Way to many people hearing this would want Norway to change their justice system to the worse to make the life of one horrible person worse. Luckily Norwegians do understand how good their system is and don't want to destroy it for such petty reasons like vengeance.

[–] Aidinthel@reddthat.com 17 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I'm honestly surprised he's still alive. I know executions aren't legal in Norway, but I would have thought that someone would have killed him by now.

[–] tree@lemmy.zip 36 points 10 months ago (1 children)

He's alive and he got sentenced 21 years which was the maximum sentence, I'm not familiar with Norwegian law enough, but I assume they will somehow extend it when it expires in the 2030s, don't see how someone like this could be trusted to not do something else comparable especially since he has basically shown no remorse for his actions.

from a quora search

He's going to be in prison the full 21 years. After this, there will be a parole review, where they can decide to hold him for a further 5 years. After that 5 years, the same thing will happen again and again and again.

https://www.quora.com/Is-there-any-chance-that-Anders-Breivik-will-ever-be-released

[–] neidu2@feddit.nl 36 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Noggie here. He wasn't sentenced to 21 years in prison (which is, as you state, the maximum prison sentence here), but something that I think best can be translated to "21 years of detention/containment" which is more of a healthcare/psych approach. While this usually involves prison as well, unlike a normal prison sentence, this can be extended to however long is deemed necessary with no maximum duration.

Let him rot.

[–] Evotech@lemmy.world 30 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

He's been in isolation the entire time. Never with the rest of the prison population. And the cameras actually work in Norwegian prisons.

[–] YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Normally not into the state killing people, but they should just kill this fucker.

[–] Syndic@feddit.de 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Luckily Norwegians do understand and respect their justice system better than people like you and don't want to introduce such a shitty tool of vengeance just for one guy. Especially since that very fucker wanted Norway to get a much harsher justice system in the first place. Them granting him the same rights every other prisoner in Norway has, is winning against his ideology of hatred.

And the success of their justice system, especially when compared to countries who use death penalty and other punitive measures such as state sanctioned rape, speaks for itself. Many countries could learn a lot from Norway.

[–] 100_percent_a_bot@lemmy.world 15 points 10 months ago

Sorry buddy, to get to complain about human rights you actually have to be human.

[–] HowMany@lemmy.ml 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I've seen video of the cell he's "suffering" in. Mother of god would my existence be that pleasant and well attended.

[–] Rootiest@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Yeah if he thinks he has it so bad send him over to a prison in the southern US for a bit, bet he'll be missing his "inhumane treatment" back home

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 11 points 10 months ago

They should use this guy for scientific experiments instead of the poor little animals

[–] crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

Human rights abuse fuck the fuck off fucker

[–] DarkDarkHouse@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 10 months ago

Breivik suicidal because of his conditions and not because he killed 77 people tells you much about the man.

[–] pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe -4 points 10 months ago (2 children)

People like him are why Norway's system is immoral.

It's immoral to tell a community they owe something to someone actively trying to destroy it. The community is allowed to put its best interests above threats to it, and that is the only moral mindset.

The garbage people spew to justify letting Norway harm everyone else by essentially enabling this scumbag is simply immoral, and always has been.

[–] enitoni@beehaw.org 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Hi, Norwegian here. Care to explain what you're talking about? This country is far from perfect but your rhetoric is confusing and feels a little undeserved.

[–] pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It's obvious what I am talking about and your attitude is therefore clearly disingenuous and in bad faith, but you can go ahead, take the last word and play dumb for internet points if you want. I don't have time for your shit today.

[–] enitoni@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Ok. Or you could answer my question instead of assuming I'm being disingenuous for wanting to understand you. If this is how you act towards people simply for asking a question then block me.

And no, it's not obvious. It's not obvious at all.

[–] ThePac@lemmy.ml -4 points 10 months ago

Surgically install a GPS tracker on his body, give the public his whereabouts, and let him go.