- Anders Breivik admits carrying out bomb attack and shooting
- Claims there are two other terror cells ready to launch attacks
- Gunman will be remanded in custody for eight weeks
- Court rules that he banned from contact with outside world for a month
- Mass murderer arrived in convoy of armoured police cars
- Police reduce death toll from 93 to 76
Anders Breivik today told a court his terror network had two more cells at large as he appeared in court charged with mass murder.
Wearing a red jumper, the 32-year-old killer admitted responsibility for the attacks but denied that he was guilty of any criminal charges.
He claimed he had not been trying to kill as many people as possible but instead wanted to send out a 'sharp signal to the people' and to 'stop the takeover of Muslims and Marxists.'
Accused: Anders Breivik (in the red jumper) arrives in court to face charges of mass murder today;
Police presence: Breivik was escorted by a number of officers as he was driven to the courthouse'
Justification: Breivik told the court he had carried out mass slaughter to give people a 'sharp signal'
Breivik was driven to the Oslo hearing in an armoured police convoy. A huge crowd of people were gathered outside the courthouse and jeered as the cavalcade arrived.
Some attempted to bang the cars in fury and screamed 'traitor'. Police eventually bundled Breivik into the building through an underground tunnel, avoiding the full fury of the crowd.
He was taken into 828, on the eighth floor of the building - closed to the public to avoid giving Breivik a platform for his extremist views - at around 1.45pm for a hearing that lasted just 35 minutes.
Judge Kim Heger ruled that Breivik should be remanded in custody for eight weeks. He will be held in isolation for a month.
The prosecution asked that he should not receive letters or visitors, a request which was also granted.
Lawyers said that Breivik was co-operative, adding that he claimed to have been acting alone. However, investigators have not yet ruled out that anyone else was involved.
Escort: An convoy of armoured cars believing to be carrying Norwegian gunman Anders Breivik drives through Oslo on the way to court;
Outriders: Breivik arrived at court without incident despite fears of a possible revenge attack;
Breivik had asked for an open hearing so he could give a lengthy speech explaining his actions which he had prepared.
He had also asked to be allowed to wear uniform. Both these requests were denied though Judge Heger did allow him to read aloud from his pre-prepared statement for several minutes.
Speaking after the case, the judge said gave a brief summary of the hearing to reporters.
'The accused has made statements today that require further investigation, including that "there are two more cells in our organisation",' the judge said.
He added that there was a serious risk he could tamper with evidence if set free.
In a statement released early this morning, Judge Heger had also explained his reason for closing the courtroom.
'Based on information in the case the court finds that today's detention hearing should be held behind closed doors', he said in a statement.
ALIOMBA AVEE HIVI ,AKANYIMWA.... |
In court: Breivik has asked to wear uniform for the hearing but Judge Kim Heger (pictured today,) denied the request'
No entry: The doors of the courthouse in Oslo stand closed as journalists and members of the public crowd outside;
Lockdown: Angry crowds had hoped to get a glimpse of Breivik has he arrived at court but he was taken to a back entrance;
'It is clear that there is concrete information that a public hearing with the suspect present could quickly lead to an extraordinary and very difficult situation in terms of the investigation and security.'
This afternoon, police announced that they had over-counted the number of people killed in the shooting spree on Utoya, dropping the figure from 86 to 68.
The overall toll in the attack now stands at 76 instead of 93 - still one of the worst modern mass murders in peacetime.
Police spokesman Oystein Maeland said that higher, erroneous figure emerged as police and rescuers were focusing on helping survivors and securing the area, but he did not immediately explain more about how the overcounting occurred.
This afternoon, police announced that they had over-counted the number of people killed in the shooting spree on Utoya, dropping the figure from 86 to 68.
The overall toll in the attack now stands at 76 instead of 93 - still one of the worst modern mass murders in peacetime.
Police spokesman Oystein Maeland said that higher, erroneous figure emerged as police and rescuers were focusing on helping survivors and securing the area, but he did not immediately explain more about how the overcounting occurred.
Police also raised the toll from a bombing outside the government's headquarters in Oslo before the shooting spree, from seven to eight.
Closed hearing: Security guards at the entrance of the court in Oslo where Anders Behring Breivik is due to appear later today '
Huge interest: Journalists queue inside the building to try and get a space in court;
Reporters and locals had thronged the square outside the courthouse for their first glimpse of the killer since the assault.
When one car drove through the crowd, people hit its windows and one person shouted an expletive, believing Breivik was inside.
Peaceful, liberal Norway has been stunned by the bombing in downtown Oslo and the shooting massacre at a youth camp outside the capital, which the suspect said were intended to start a revolution to inspire Norwegians to retake their country from Muslims and other immigrants.
He blames liberals for championing multiculturalism over Norway's 'indigenous' culture.
Breivik has admitted carrying out the massacre but has told police that he is not guilty of any crime.
His lawyer Geir Lippestad told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that Breivik had requested to appear in a uniform during the hearing, but didn't know what kind.
The gunman had also asked for an open hearing for his first appearance so that he could explain his atrocities to the public.
Dead: Trond Berntsen the step-brother of the Crown Princess of Norway( on the top), was a security guard at the event. Tore Eikeland, 21, was described as one of Norway's most promising young politicians;
Missing: Hanne Kristine Fridtun, Jamil Rafal Yasin and Tarald Mjelde have not been seen since the shooting on Friday'.
Prosecutors want Breivik detained for an initial eight weeks - normally this is in solitary confinement with no access to news, letters or visitors, except a lawyer.
His custody can be extended before his trial on terrorism charges. Police have said a trial could be a year away.
The hearing has generated a debate about freedom of expression, with many Norwegians opposed to allowing a man who has shaken the nation's psyche to expound his radical views.
More than 60,000 people have signed up to a Facebook page called Shut The Doors On Monday, calling on the court to deny Breivik the publicity he craves.
Another Facebook group called Boycott Anders Behring Breivik carried the message: 'He has planned this stage, to get propaganda. Do NOT let him get that freedom...Boycott all media describing the Norwegian terrorist and his beliefs.'
If found guilty, Breivik faces a staggeringly lenient jail term as 21 years is the longest sentence available to judges in Norway's benevolent justice system.
In England and Wales, repeat killers can be told they will die behind bars with a 'whole life' tariff, and killers who use a knife or gun face minimum terms of 25 and 30 years.
But in Norway, few killers serve more than 14 years.
Even those given the maximum term can be released after two-thirds of their sentence, and many are given unsupervised weekend parole after just one third
Only in exceptional cases, if officials consider a prisoner is still highly dangerous, will sentences be extended for additional five-year blocks.
Norway’s incarceration rates – the number of people jailed per head of population – are among the lowest in Europe. Some 66 are behind bars for every 100,000 citizens, less than half the figure for the UK.
The age of criminal responsibility is 15, compared with ten in England and Wales.
Lack of jail spaces means some offenders can wait weeks or even months before being locked up.
Many spend this time at home, often in the heart of the communities where they committed their crimes.
In one notorious case, two boys who killed a five-year-old girl were back at school within two weeks.
The six-year-olds, who have never been named, punched, kicked and beat their playmate Silje Redergard in 1994, a year after the killing of James Bulger in Bootle, Merseyside.
James’s killers Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were jailed, then released with new identities, and remain on licence for the rest of their lives. Venables is back behind bars after admitting child pornography offences.
By contrast, Norway’s system saw the little girl’s killers given extensive counselling and therapy to help them get over what happened.
They still live in the suburb of Trondheim where the shocking offence took place.
His custody can be extended before his trial on terrorism charges. Police have said a trial could be a year away.
The hearing has generated a debate about freedom of expression, with many Norwegians opposed to allowing a man who has shaken the nation's psyche to expound his radical views.
More than 60,000 people have signed up to a Facebook page called Shut The Doors On Monday, calling on the court to deny Breivik the publicity he craves.
Another Facebook group called Boycott Anders Behring Breivik carried the message: 'He has planned this stage, to get propaganda. Do NOT let him get that freedom...Boycott all media describing the Norwegian terrorist and his beliefs.'
If found guilty, Breivik faces a staggeringly lenient jail term as 21 years is the longest sentence available to judges in Norway's benevolent justice system.
In England and Wales, repeat killers can be told they will die behind bars with a 'whole life' tariff, and killers who use a knife or gun face minimum terms of 25 and 30 years.
Comfort: Relatives of the victims gather to observe a minute's silence opposite Utoya island;
Unimagined horror: The killings were the worst massacre carried out by a single gunman in history
Even those given the maximum term can be released after two-thirds of their sentence, and many are given unsupervised weekend parole after just one third
Only in exceptional cases, if officials consider a prisoner is still highly dangerous, will sentences be extended for additional five-year blocks.
Norway’s incarceration rates – the number of people jailed per head of population – are among the lowest in Europe. Some 66 are behind bars for every 100,000 citizens, less than half the figure for the UK.
The age of criminal responsibility is 15, compared with ten in England and Wales.
Lack of jail spaces means some offenders can wait weeks or even months before being locked up.
Growing tributes: Thousands of flowers have been left outside in cathedral square in Oslo to mark the deaths of so many;
Many spend this time at home, often in the heart of the communities where they committed their crimes.
In one notorious case, two boys who killed a five-year-old girl were back at school within two weeks.
The six-year-olds, who have never been named, punched, kicked and beat their playmate Silje Redergard in 1994, a year after the killing of James Bulger in Bootle, Merseyside.
James’s killers Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were jailed, then released with new identities, and remain on licence for the rest of their lives. Venables is back behind bars after admitting child pornography offences.
By contrast, Norway’s system saw the little girl’s killers given extensive counselling and therapy to help them get over what happened.
They still live in the suburb of Trondheim where the shocking offence took place.
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