Norway Killer Details Youth Camp Massacre

UPDATE: The trial of Anders Behring Breivik continued Friday as the gunman described in excruciating detail the twin attacks that killed 77 in Norway last summer.

"My whole body tried to revolt when I took the weapon in my hand," he told the court during the fifth day of his trial, describing his shooting spree at a youth camp. "There were 100 voices in may head saying 'Don't do it, don't do it.'"

Breivik then detailed each shooting he could remember. "Some of them are completely paralyzed. They cannot run. They stand totally still. This is something they never show on TV," he said. "It was very strange."

The Associated Press described the testimony as "physically revolting." The Guardian has snippets from his testimony on their live-blog of the trial.

Breivik also told the court that al-Qaida and the Oklahoma City bombings were inspirations for his attacks and that he studied both in great detail. Breivik has previously described al-Qaida is "methodological role models."

Thursday April 19: Anders Behring Breivik said on Thursday that his original plan for last summer's attacks that killed 77 involved the capture and decapitation of former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.

Breivik wanted to film the beheading and post the video on the Internet, he said. However, Brundtland had already left the Labor Party's youth camp on Utoya when Breivik arrived on the island, according to the Associated Press.

When asked about the inspiration for the planned decapitation, Breivik said it was "a strategy from al-Qaida. Primarily it's a psychological weapon," the Guardian reports. Breivik has previously described al-Qaida as "methodological role models."

Breivik planned to kill many more than the 69 he ultimately did at the camp, the AP adds. There were about 600 people at the summer retreat at the time of the attack. "The goal was to kill them all," he told the court.

On day four of Breivik's trial, which will ultimately determine whether he goes to prison or to a psychiatric ward, Breivik outlined other details of his original plan. It was much larger than the actual twin attacks.

As the AFP reports, Breivik had planned three car bombs, followed by shootings at a "far left squatter community," the Dagsavisen daily, and the Socialist Left Party headquarters, killing "as many as possible" at each site. Breivik added, "It was a suicide mission where the probability of survival was equal to zero." 

Breivik also discussed the year he spent playing video games, including "World of Warcraft," for 16 hours a day. He said that he used "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" to actually train for "shooting other people," but played "World of Warcraft" for pleasure, calling it "pure entertainment [that] has nothing to do with July 22," the AFP reports.

Prosecutors argue that Breivik is insane, a verdict that would commit him to psychiatric care indefinitely, but Breivik is insisting otherwise.

Also on Thursday, a German woman claiming to be Breivik's lover was deported from Norway after being denied entry into the trial.

For live updates on the trial, check out the Guardian's live blog of the proceedings.

Wednesday, April 18: Anders Behring Breivik wants either the death penalty or acquittal for his twin terror attacks that killed 77 in Norway last year. 

The Associated Press reports that during day three of his trial Wednesday, Breivik called the maximum 21-year sentence he faces for terror and murder charges "pathetic," and said that the logical sentence for his crimes would be the death penalty.

As CNN explains, the maximum sentence for Breivik's charges is indeed 21 years, but the judge could sentence Breivik under a "preventive detention" provision, which would keep him detained as long as he's considered a threat to the public. Norway does not sentence people to death in peacetime. 

Prosecutors argue that Breivik is insane, a verdict that would commit him to psychiatric care indefinitely, but Breivik is insisting otherwise. On Wednesday, the court examined Breivik's claims about the Knights Templar, a militant anti-Muslim group that Breivik says he represents. Investigators have found little evidence that such a group actually exists. The AP reports that Breivik insists the group does exist, but investigators haven't looked hard enough. 

Obviously, if Breivik is found to have carried out the attacks on behalf of an imaginary group of militants, it would likely undermine his sanity claim.

Tuesday, April 17: On Tuesday, Day 2 of his trial, Anders Behring Breivik continued to use the closely watched proceedings as a soap box, rallying against "multicultural values" and telling the court that he has no regrets for his twin terror attacks that killed 77 people last year.

"I would have done it again," Breivik told the court, reading from a written statement that the court allowed only because he refused to give evidence otherwise, the Guardian explains.

The admitted killer also claimed that the 69 people whom he killed during his shooting spree at a Labour Party youth camp were "not innocent" because they "worked to actively uphold multicultural values." He then proceed to compare the Labour Party youth wing to Hitler Youth.

The Telegraph notes that Breivik's statement was twice the agreed-upon length, and was laden with references to Thomas Jefferson, John Stuart Mill, Mark Twain, Sitting Bull, and Enoch Powell. 

Later Tuesday, Breivik will be questioned on his motives by the defense and prosecution.

Monday, April 16: Anders Behring Breivik's trial began in Oslo, Norway, on Monday. As expected, Breivik admitted to being responsible for the attacks that killed 77 people last July but pleaded not guilty by reason of self-defense.

"I don't recognize Norwegian courts because you get your mandate from the Norwegian political parties who support multiculturalism," Breivik told the court, according to the Associated Press. He added, "I admit to the acts, but not criminal guilt, and I claim legitimate defense." Breivik faces terror and murder charges.

Breivik showed no emotion as the court heard details of the deaths from a bomb attack outside a government building and from the shooting massacre at a Norway youth camp. But when the court watched a 12-minute video Breivik posted online the day of the attacks, "his lips trembled and he wiped away tears, his face red with emotion," the AFP reports. The anti-Muslim video called for the defeat of "Multiculturalism Elites" and the banning of Islam from Europe.

Breivik's plea of self-defense is based on his claim that he carried out the massacre on behalf of his culture in order to protect it from what he believes to be an already-in-progress Muslim takeover, facilitated by the country's left-leaning political parties.

The 10-week trial will determine whether Breivik is sent to prison or a psychiatric ward. For live updates on the trial, check out the AFP or the Guardian.

Tuesday, April 10: Anders Behring Breivik, the man who confessed to a massacre that killed 77 people in Norway last July, is not criminally insane, according to a new psychiatric assessment. The finding contradicts the conclusions of a previous assessment published in November.

Breivik is scheduled to go to trial next week.

The Associated Press reports that the new assessment may mean that prosecutors can seek a prison sentence for Breivik, instead of commitment to a psychiatric ward. The court will take both reports into consideration when determining where Breivik should go. If Breivik is considered to be sane, he'll face 21 years in prison with potentially indefinite extensions.

The earlier assessment diagnosed Breivik as a paranoid schizophrenic and found that he was psychotic both during and after the attacks. In January, a second evaluation conducted by psychiatrists Terje Toerrissen and Agnar Aspaas was approved by the court, prompted by widespread criticism of the initial assessment, as the BBC explains.

"Our conclusion is that he is not psychotic at the time of the actions of terrorism and he is not psychotic now," Toerrissen told the AP. The full report is confidential, so the reasoning for the different conclusion is not clear. 

Breivik is "pleased" with the new assessment, the BBC reports, and has previously insisted that he is sane. His lawyer, Geir Lippestad, told reporters that at trial, Breivik will "regret that he didn't go further."

On July 22, Breivik detonated a fertilizer bomb outside a government building and then shot 69 people at a youth camp for Norway’s governing Labor Party while disguised as a police officer.

Breivik claims to be the leader of a Templar-like right-wing militant group, though investigators have found no evidence that the group actually exists. Breivik, according to a 1,500-page manifesto posted online the day of the attacks, believed himself to be a "crusader" against Islam and "cultural Marxism." Although Breivik has confessed to the massacre, he pleaded not guilty on the grounds that his actions were in self-defense on behalf of his culture.