Mass murdered and far-right advocate of Nazi racial policies Anders Breivik is taking the Norwegian government to court, claiming the solitary confinement that his been his life since the 2011 massacre is an abuse of his human rights.
Breivik, who killed 77 people in 2011, has been in strictly enforced solitary confinement since his 2012 conviction and has had no contact whatsoever with other inmates, according to lawyer Oystein Storrvik.
The Aftenposten daily said Storrvik sent a notice on Thursday to the Justice Ministry.
Earlier this year, Breivik was moved from one prison to another, but Storrvikk told Norwegian news agency NTB there has been no progress in terms of human contact.
“He has no contact with anyone other than prison guards,” said Storrvik, adding that it was a violation of human rights.
Heil Hitler salutes
In January, Breivik, 43, faced a parole hearing before the three-judge Telemark District Court where he professed white supremacist views and flashed Nazi salutes on the hearing’s opening day, while also claiming to have renounced violence.
The court ruled Breivik must remain in prison because he is still a potential threat and there is “an obvious risk” he could return to behaviour that led to the massacre.
Breivik is serving Norway’s maximum 21-year sentence for setting off a bomb in Oslo’s government district and carrying out a shooting massacre at a summer camp for left-wing youth activists.
Breivik could be held longer than 21 years under a provision that allows authorities to keep criminals in prison for as long as they’re considered a menace to society.
He was declared sane at his trial, although the prosecution argued that he was psychotic. He didn’t appeal his sentence but unsuccessfully sued the government for human rights violations for denying him the right to communicate with sympathisers.
In 2016, Breivik successfully sued the Norwegian government for human rights abuses, complaining about his isolation from other prisoners, frequent strip searches and the fact that he was often handcuffed during the early part of his incarceration.
He also complained about the quality of the prison food, having to eat with plastic utensils and not being able to communicate with sympathisers.
-AAP
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