Norway's Breivik resists prosecution's attempts to delve into his past
| Oslo
Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik refused to answer questions today, hindering the prosecution's attempts to understand what led him to carry out last summer's twin terror attacks that left 77 people dead. 聽聽
During his second day of testimony, Mr. Breivik answered vaguely and declined to comment about secret meetings with nationalists in London and Liberia in 2002 and聽accused prosecutors of trying to 鈥渄elegitimize鈥� him and disprove his contact in 2002 in Liberia with a Serbian military hero and the establishment of Knights Templar at a meeting in London.
The questioning is part of the prosecutor鈥檚 attempt to dissect earlier events in Breivik's life that led him to write his ideologically-charged manifesto 鈥�2083: A European Declaration of Independence鈥� and later kill 77 people by placing a car bomb outside the government buildings in Oslo and gunning down Labour party youth at their summer camp on the island of Ut酶ya.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important for us to know what鈥檚 true and what鈥檚 been invented,鈥� said Inga Bejer Engh, Oslo public prosecutor, during her confrontational cross-examination today.
Prosecutors have questioned the existence of Knights Templar, a group Breivik claims was formed in 2002 to 鈥渉elp unite all militant nationalists,鈥� and his contact with other cells of the group. Breivik today maintained that he met with three others in London during May 2002 after a visit to Liberia, where he posed as a Norwegian UNICEF worker in order to get into the country and as a blood diamond smuggler in order to gain credibility to meet with a Serbian nationalist.
鈥淜nights Templar is a leaderless network, made to be self-driven cells,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or militants, (Knights Templar) is meant to be a version of al-Qaeda.
鈥淵ou assume that the cover (in Liberia) is what really happened, even though you haven鈥檛 interviewed the people I have been in contact with down there,鈥� he added.聽
According to Breivik, he met in London under the codename 鈥淪igurd the Crusader鈥� (a nod to 12th century Norwegian King Sigurd Magnusson) with his English mentor 鈥淩ichard the Lionhearted鈥� and two others. It was then he says that he was asked to write a compendium that would 鈥減rovide the foundation for a new movement in Europe.鈥� He also admitted to have contacts with two cells in Norway, but declined to give the names of people he had met because it 鈥渃ould lead to their apprehension.鈥�
Breivik is expected to continue his testimony until April 23. Geir Lippestad, Breivik鈥檚 defense attorney, has stressed the importance of Breivik鈥檚 testimony in establishing his client鈥檚 sanity. Breivik himself wants to be considered sane so that his ideology would 鈥渟tand stronger,鈥� according to Mr. Lippestad.
Breivik鈥檚 mental standing is the focus of this historic case, which addresses Norway鈥檚 worst peacetime atrocity. Prosecutors based the recommendation in their indictment that Breivik be sentenced to compulsory mental care on the first forensic psychiatric report, released in November, that deemed him 鈥減aranoid schizophrenic鈥� and hence criminally not punishable for his actions. However, a second forensic report last week concluded he was 鈥渘ot psychotic.鈥�
The two conflicting reports make it possible for prosecutors to change the indictment recommendation and instead seek the maximum criminal sentence of 21 years. The defense plans to argue Breivik is sane, but not guilty because he acted in 鈥渟elf defense.鈥�
Breivik told prosecutors today he thought it was 鈥渞idiculous鈥� that Norway could only sentence him to 21 years and that he had more respect for capital punishment.
鈥淣o, I don鈥檛 want [capital punishment], but I would have respected that,鈥� he said, adding that if Norway doubled the current maximum sentence it would 鈥渟erve his cause鈥� and 鈥減rove Norway had thrown their principles out the window."
