Anders Behring Breivik’s human rights violated, says Oslo court

Norwegian authorities have violated mass killer Anders Behring Breivik’s human rights by holding him in solitary confinement in a three-cell complex where he can play video games, watch TV and exercise, a court in Oslo ruled.

The Oslo district court said Breivik’s solitary confinement for killing 77 people in 2011 bomb-and-gun massacres breached the European Convention on Human Rights’ ban on inhuman treatment.

“The prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment represents a fundamental value in a democratic society. This applies no matter what — also in the treatment of terrorists and killers,” the court said.

The court ordered the government to pay Breivik’s legal costs of €36,000. However, it dismissed Breivik’s claim that the government had also violated his right to respect for private and family life.

Breivik had sued the government, saying his isolation from other prisoners, frequent strip searches and the fact he was often handcuffed moving between the three cells at his disposal violated his human rights.

During a four-day hearing at the Skien prison where he is serving his sentence, he also complained about the quality of the food, having to eat with plastic utensils and not being able to communicate with other right-wing extremists.

The government rejected his complaints, saying he was treated humanely despite the severity of his crimes.

Breivik’s attacks shocked Norway on July 22, 2011. After months of meticulous preparations, he set off a car bomb outside the government headquarters in Oslo, killing eight people and wounding dozens.

He then drove to Utoya island, where he opened fire on the annual summer camp killing 69 people mostly teenagers.