海角大神

A psychiatric report has declared Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik sane, making it more likely that the man who has confessed to twin terror attacks last summer in Norway鈥檚 worst peacetime atrocity may serve prison time.

The 310-page report counters the first forensic report from November that controversially deemed Mr. Breivik paranoid schizophrenic, and therefore criminally not punishable for a car bomb in front of Oslo government buildings and a shooting rampage at a Labor party youth summer camp at the nearby island of Ut酶ya. The two attacks killed 77 people altogether.聽

Psychiatrists Agnar Aspaas and Terje T酶rrisen concluded in the second report that Breivik was 鈥渘ot psychotic, unaware or severely handicapped at the time of the acts,鈥� nor was he psychotic during examinations. However, there was a 鈥渉igh risk of repetition of violence.鈥�

鈥淭he defendant does not have a serious mental illness involving significantly weakened capacity for realistic evaluation of his relations with the outside world,鈥� the Oslo District Court said in a press statement summarizing the confidential report.

The report changes the whole momentum of the trial.聽The judges, who have the final say in determining Breivik's sanity, now have the option of questioning the first report and concluding that he is sane.聽They will base their decision on both reports, as well as the evidence during the 10-week trial, set to start next week.

It also presents the possibility that prosecutors will seek a 21-year prison sentence for terror and murder acts for Breivik, instead of the current plan to seek having him聽committed to a mental institution.聽Although both the prosecutor and defense will be arguing for Breivik to be tried as sane, Breivik has not accepted criminal responsibility for the attacks.

鈥淚t is clear that this is an important premise for the case,鈥� said Svein Holden, Oslo public prosecutor, after receiving the thick copies of the second psychiatric report earlier today.

Experts suspected that the new set of psychiatrists would come to a different conclusion than the first set, given that they observed him night-and-day for three weeks in jail. The initial conclusion, which deemed Breivik paranoid schizophrenic, was quite controversial.聽Many pundits questioned how someone who had meticulously planned an attack over so many years could have been deemed psychotic.

The defense plans to argue Breivik is sane. He himself claims he is sane and condemned the first psychiatric report for lies and errors in a 38-page letter to select Norwegian media last week. He said he knew what was right and wrong, but that he 鈥渁cted instinctively,鈥� and that being declared insane was a 鈥渇ate worse then death.鈥�

Breivik was 鈥渟atisfied鈥� with today鈥檚 report and said it was 鈥渁s expected,鈥� according to Geir Lippestad, Breivik鈥檚 defense attorney, after meeting with his client today in prison. Lippestad added his client felt it was important to be deemed sane so that his ideology would 鈥渟tand stronger.鈥澛犫�淣ow we have an important argument for Breivik to be recognized as sane,鈥� he said during a press conference outside Ila prison. 鈥淚t would have been more difficult if the report concluded otherwise.鈥�

Breivik bent on proving his sanity

Breivik鈥檚 defense team plans to call in more than 30 witnesses to prove his sanity, primarily through medical experts. It also plans to call in academic experts on extremists, as well as right-wing and Islamic extremists such as Mullah Krekar, the founder of terrorist organisation Ansar al Islam. The point is to prove that others who are not insane share Breivik鈥檚 extreme ideological thinking about the war between Islam and 海角大神ity.

鈥淭he whole case boils down to the reality orientation that the accused has,鈥� Mr. Lippestad recently told the members of the Norwegian Foreign Press Association. 鈥淚t鈥檚 obvious he has a reality orientation that is especially unusual. There is no doubt about that. But is there nonetheless a little degree of reality in it? That is the question.鈥�

Breivik has defended his acts that day as a 鈥減reventive attack on traitors鈥� because the Labor-led coalition government was promoting the 鈥淚slamic colonization鈥� of Norway. In his political manifesto, released online shortly before the killing spree, he describes himself as a Knight Templar in a crusade against the Islamic takeover of Europe.

Breivik is scheduled to give his opening testimony in the first five days of the trial, which will begin April 16. His defense team will present its evidence in June, followed by testimony from the forensic psychiatrics. The judges鈥� decision on Breivik鈥檚 sanity is expected sometime in July.

鈥淚f sane, the guilt is clear,鈥� says Kristian Anden忙es, a criminal law professor at the University of Oslo. 鈥淸The defense] then will only argue that there are some moments that are to his advantage. These arguments will not have any effect on the outcome of the trial.鈥�

鈥淭he self-defense argument will be regarded as nonsense,鈥� he added.