21-year term ends agonising chapter in Norway’s history

A chapter of a terror case that has haunted Norway for 13 months has closed with confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik being declared sane and sent to prison for bomb and gun attacks that killed 77 people and injured 200 others last year.

After deliberating for two months, a five-judge panel in Oslo’s district court handed down a sentence of “preventive detention” of at least 10 years and a maximum of 21 years for the right-wing extremist.

However, such sentences can be extended under Norwegian law for as long as an inmate is considered dangerous. Breivik, a 33-year-old Norwegian on a mission to expel Muslims from Europe, set off a car bomb that killed eight people outside government headquarters in Oslo and then killed 69 others in a shooting rampage on Utoya island, where young members of the governing Labour Party gathered for their annual summer camp.

Breivik says he would appeal an insanity ruling but accept a prison term. Here are some questions and answers about the case.

Q: Was Breivik’s guilt in question?

A: Essentially, no. He admitted to the attacks and nothing in the investigation suggested there was anyone else involved. He rejected criminal charges out of principle, saying he did not recognise the court’s authority because it represents a political system that supports multiculturalism. That claim did not sway the court, nor did claims that the killings were justified to protect Norway from becoming overrun by Muslims. Breivik probably knew these were hopeless arguments, because he did not spend long on them in the trial, focusing instead on trying to prove he was a political terrorist, not a madman.

Q: What were the possible outcomes of the trial?

A: The key question for the court to decide was if Breivik was sane enough to be held criminally responsible for the attacks. If declared insane, he would have been committed to involuntary psychiatric care indefinitely. But Breivik was deemed sane and sentenced to “preventive detention”. Unlike a regular prison sentence — which can be no longer than 21 years in Norway — “preventive detention” can be extended for as long as an inmate is considered dangerous to society. It also offers more programmes and therapy than an ordinary prison sentence. Norway has no death penalty.

Q: So what happens to Breivik now?

A: Breivik will be taken back to Oslo’s Ila Prison, where he has been held in isolation for most of the time since his arrest. The prison built a psychiatric ward just for Breivik in case he was declared insane.

Q: What are the conditions like at Ila? Is it like a two-star hotel?

A: Outside Scandinavia, it may seem that way, though prison spokeswoman Ellen Bjercke pointed out that the biggest hardship of being incarcerated lies in the fact that you cannot leave. The conditions inside are secondary to the loss of freedom, she said. Norway takes pride in its humane penal system, and living conditions in Norwegian prisons are probably far better than in most other countries. For example, other prisoners at Ila have access to school that offers courses from primary grade to university level courses, a library, a gym, work in the prison’s various shops, and other leisure activities. Because Breivik is held in isolation without contact with other prisoners, he does not have access to those things. In compensation, Ila has given him three cells instead of one, each about 8sq m. One has gym equipment, another has a bed, and the third a desk with a laptop. For at least one hour a day, he has access to a courtyard surrounded by barbed wire.

Q: Will Breivik ever get out?

A: Legal experts say it’s unlikely Breivik will ever be released, but nobody can say for sure. One thing is certain though: It will not happen for as long as Norwegian authorities consider him dangerous to society. Breivik can challenge a “preventive detention” sentence every five years. One of the reasons Breivik’s attacks were presented in such gruesome detail during the trial was so that the horror of Oslo and Utoya would be well-documented for the day Breivik asks to be released. “Legally speaking, he could of course theoretically be a free man in some years,” said Lasse Qvigstad, a former Oslo chief prosecutor. “But realistically speaking, he would be incarcerated for perhaps the rest of his life.”

Q: How does the appeals process work?

A: In Norway, both prosecutors and the defendant can appeal all or parts of the ruling. Breivik’s lawyer said on Thursday that he would appeal if declared insane but would accept a prison term. An appeals trial would likely be held early next year.

Q: So why did Breivik want to be sent to prison? Wouldn’t he get off easier with an insanity ruling?

A: Breivik wants to be seen as a political terrorist, or as he calls himself, a “militant nationalist”. During the trial he said that being sent to an insane asylum would be the worst thing that could happen to him, and accused Norwegian authorities of trying to cast him as sick to deflate his political views. His lawyers say Breivik is already at work writing sequels to the 1,500-page manifesto he released on the internet before the attacks.