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Anders Behring Breivik, accused of masterminding a dual terrorist attack in Norway, can’t stand trial on the grounds of mental incompetence. Experts made this conclusion after a psychiatric examination. They told Norwegian media that the effects of sexual abuse in Breivik’s childhood might have caused this. On Tuesday, forensic psychiatrists who analysed Breivik’s mental state at the time of the terrorist attacks on 22 July presented their conclusion that he was “insane”.
Their report stated, “Breivik suffers from paranoid-schizophrenic disorder. The experts determined that he fantasised that he was a Knight Templar, who committed murder out of love for his people”. The report points up that Breivik displayed an “unhealthy state” during both the preparation and the carrying out of the terrorist acts, and in his communications with doctors. “We have no doubt about it. Now, the court has to decide, we don’t have the last word”, said Dr Torgeir Husby, who conducted the examination. The experts don’t rule out that Breivik’s schizophrenia could be the result of shock from sexual abuse that he suffered at the age of four or five. This opinion was been expressed earlier by anonymous experts, and, on Tuesday, Drs Torgeir Husby and Synne Sorheim stated that these hypotheses sound plausible, even if it’s very difficult to confirm them at this point.
Breivik Might Be Under Compulsory Treatment for the Rest of His Life
If the Oslo District Court agrees with the findings of forensic experts presented on Tuesday, Breivik is likely to spend the rest of his life in compulsory treatment in a closed psychiatric ward. “Every third year, they’d consider an extension of treatment. This would be starting from the original decision of the court”, Prosecutor Ang Beyer said at a press conference about the results of Breivik’s psychiatric examination. It could result in life-long detention, if experts find him a continued threat to society, she added. According to Ms Beyer, 111 people are currently in compulsory treatment in Norway; half of them received such detention for murder or attempted murder.
In the near future, Norway will create a special commission that will examine all the material and make their assessment of the forensic findings. This should happen before Christmas. For its part, prosecutors could theoretically require hire other experts to give them another opinion on Breivik’s sanity. As he stated at the hearing, Prosecutor Sveyn Holden thinks that we should send Breivik for treatment at a secure mental hospital, so, he’s likely to avoid prison. He said, “Psychiatrists describe Breivik as a person who lives in his own fantasy world and all his thoughts and actions are influenced by it. He’s suffered from paranoid schizophrenia for quite a long time, and, at the time of his offence, he considered himself a knight saving humanity“.
The common assumption was that the court would sentence Breivik to 21 years in prison… the maximum penalty in Norway. However, if the court found him guilty of a terrorist act against humanity, the prison term could go up to 30 years. Earlier, Breivik said that he doesn’t consider himself crazy, and his lawyer believes that Breivik deserves some leniency from the authorities, as he voluntarily surrendered to police and cooperated with the investigation. Breivik’s case is supposed to start on 16 April 2012. Authorities at Ila prison, where Breivik is at present, have already announced that they’re going to build a special unit for the famous prisoner in January. It’ll have more thorough-going security measures than the rest of the prison has, according to the journal Aftenposten.
Psychiatrists Synne Sorheim and Torgeir Husby held 12 meetings with Breivik. According to the broadcasting company NRK, their conclusion is 230 pages long. The initial deadline for making a decision about whether to arraign Breivik on charges for his terrorist attack to face criminal prosecution or whether he should be remanded to compulsory treatment was 1 November, but was extended at the psychiatrists’ request to 30 November. According to his lawyer, Geir Lippestad, Breivik was fearful of the psychiatrists’ conclusions. Lippestad said to an interviewer, “He’s afraid that their conclusion would be ‘devastating’”. Earlier reports indicated that Breivik refused to talk with Norwegian psychiatrists and demanded an examination by Japanese specialists, but the court denied his request.
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There were 77 victims in the dual terrorist attack on 22 July in Norway. Firstly, a bomb went off in the government quarter in central Oslo, near the Prime Minister’s Office, which killed eight people. Several hours later, the perp opened fire at a Norwegian Labour Party youth camp on Utøya Island near the capital, there, 69 people died. Immediately after the first interrogation, Breivik confessed to committing the terrorist acts, but he doesn’t consider his actions culpable. Breivik’s trial is due to start on 16 April 2012.
29 November 2011
Voice of Russia World Service
Voices from Russia 
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