There is an imminent danger that Anders Behring Breivik will commit a serious crime after imprisonment, according to the prosecution, which will ask the court to keep him imprisoned.
“After the end of imprisonment, the accused will in all probability still have the will and ability to commit many and very brutal murders,” it is stated in the terror verdict against Anders Behring Breivik.
In it, the Oslo District Court points out that he believes violence is necessary to achieve his political goals.
“This means that even after serving 21 years in prison, the accused will be a very dangerous man,” the judges concluded, with reference to the forensic psychiatrists’ assessment.
Ten years after the massacres on July 22, when the minimum period of the custodial sentence expired, the 42-year-old convicted of terrorism exercised his right to seek parole.
The question Telemark District Court must answer when Breivik’s petition is to be processed on January 18 is whether the man who killed 77 people is still so dangerous that society needs extra protection against him. The court has set aside four days for the case.
May demand release
Anders Behring Breivik was sentenced in the summer of 2012 to 21 years in prison for the terrorist acts on Utøya and in the government quarter. The minimum term was set at the maximum of what the law allowed, which was ten years when the sentence was handed down.
His actions show “what extreme violence he has the ability and willingness to commit,” the district court points out. “The accused has further stated that there will be more terrorist attacks, which is also stated in his manifesto. The thought of extreme violence and murder is obviously stimulating for the accused.”
He has served time in full isolation in a specially built ward, where he has been the only inmate, in Skien prison since September 9, 2013.
Although Breivik has stated that he is no longer militant and that he refrains from violence, he has publicly performed right-wing extremist greetings and hand gestures on almost every occasion.
Not to be trusted
Randi Rosenqvist, who is a security psychiatrist in prison and has written several risk assessments about him, has on several occasions warned against trusting Breivik. She does not want to elaborate now on how she assesses Breivik but confirms that she will testify in court.
“I will account for the psychological development Breivik has undergone during the time he has been in custody,” she told NTB.
Detention is an open-ended form of punishment – reserved for the most dangerous criminals. In theory, a detainee could be detained for the rest of his life. When the maximum period has expired, the court can extend the sentence an unlimited number of times if the prosecuting authority so requests and the conditions are met.
Similarly, prisoners have the right to request a new, judicial assessment as soon as the minimum time has elapsed.
Opposes release
State Attorney Hulda Karlsdottir opposes Breivik being released on parole and has issued a new indictment.
“As we assess it, based on the material we have received from the Prison and Probation Service, which deals with him on a daily basis, and a new risk assessment made by a psychiatrist, we believe there is still a danger that Breivik will commit new, serious crime,” Karlsdottir told NTB when it became clear that Breivik would want to be released on parole.
She has not answered NTB’s questions about specific aspects of the assessments.
Breivik’s defense counsel, lawyer Øystein Storrvik, has previously confirmed that Breivik will use the opportunity to apply for parole. He has not given any recent comments in connection with the case now coming to court.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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Obviously.
How much time and bureaucratic rice bowl money was utterly wasted on this exercise?
If Norway had capital punishment, we wouldn’t have had to be regularly reminded of his – its – existence … and the tragedy … like this.