Mass killer says he deserves medal of honour

Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik told a court he deserved a medal of honour for the murder of 77 people and demanded to be set free.

Breivik, who has been declared criminally insane, smirked as he was led into Oslo district court, handcuffed and dressed in a dark suit, for his last scheduled detention hearing before the trial starts in April.

He stretched out his arms in what his lawyer Geir Lippestad said was “some kind of right-wing extremist greeting”.

The 32-year-old Norwegian told the court that the July 22 massacre — carried out with a bomb, a rifle and a handgun — was a strike against “traitors” he said were embracing immigration to promote “an Islamic colonisation of Norway.”

Like in previous hearings, Breivik admitted to setting off the bomb outside the government headquarters in Oslo and opening fire at a Labour Party youth camp on Utoya island, outside the capital, but denied criminal responsibility and rejected the authority of the court.

About 100 survivors and relatives of victims watched in disbelief, as Breivik asked to be released, and told the judge he should receive a military honour for Norway’s most deadly peacetime attacks.

“It wasn’t good that he got to say what he wanted to say,” said Amel Baltic, a 16-year-old survivor of the Utoya massacre. “It made me irritated.”

Many survivors have expressed concern that Breivik will use court hearings to draw attention to his extremist views.

A psychiatric evaluation found Breivik criminally insane, but a second evaluation was ordered amid criticism against that diagnosis. Breivik has refused to cooperate with psychiatrists in the second review.

Unlike the only previous public hearing, Breivik this time agreed to let himself be photographed before the proceedings began.

Lippestad, the defence lawyer, suggested Breivik’s latest remarks foreshadowed what is to come in the trial, scheduled to start on April 16: “It’s a preparation for the trial. Much of this case is about his personality.”

Breivik claims he is a commander of a militant organisation aiming to overthrow European governments and replace them with “patriotic” regimes that would deport Muslim immigrants.

Police have not found any trace of this supposed network of “Knights Templar” and say Breivik carried out the attacks on his own.