Monday, July 25, 2011

Norway gunman faces court hearing

The man blamed for Friday's twin terror attacks in Norway is due to make his first appearance in court.
Anders Behring Breivik, 32, admits carrying out a massacre on an island youth camp and a bombing in the capital Oslo in which at least 93 people died.
He is said to be linked to far right, anti-Islamic organisations, and to have spent years planning the operation.
Norway will observe a minute's silence for the victims at 1200 local time (1000 GMT).
Mr Breivik is set to appear at the hearing an hour later. He has said he will explain his actions to the court. Earlier he described the attacks as "gruesome but necessary".
But it is not clear if the court session will be open or closed to the public. A judge is set to rule on a police request for the hearing be held behind closed doors.
There have been calls for a media blackout of the trial so as not to give Mr Breivik a platform for his views.
Under Norwegian law he faces a maximum of 21 years in jail if convicted, although that sentence can be extended if a prisoner is deemed a threat to the public.
Police said that while the suspect has admitted to the killings, he has not accepted criminal responsibility for them.
His lawyer Geir Lippestad told Norwegian media on Sunday: "He thought it was gruesome having to commit these acts, but in his head they were necessary.
"He wished to attack society and the structure of society."
Mr Breivik's lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said the attack had been planned "for some while"

Still pictures of the suspect, wearing a wetsuit and carrying an automatic weapon, appeared in a 12-minute anti-Muslim video called Knights Templar 2083, which appeared briefly on YouTube.
A 1,500-page document written in English and said to be by Mr Breivik - posted under the pseudonym of Andrew Berwick - was also put online hours before the attacks.
The bomb in Oslo targeted buildings connected to Norway's governing Labour Party, and the youth camp on Utoeya island was also run by the party.
'Dum-dum bullets' Bodies of those killed on the island were moved to a morgue in Oslo in Sunday, as more details emerged about the killings and the police operation which led to Mr Breivik's apprehension.
Police said officers trying to get to the island had been delayed because they had difficulty finding a suitable boat to take them there, and there were no police helicopters close enough.
The gunman was arrested an estimated 90 minutes after the massacre began. Police say he still had a lot of ammunition, and hospital sources said he had used dum-dum bullets, designed to disintegrate inside the body and cause maximum internal damage.
One of the first victims on the island was an off-duty police officer who had been hired by the camp organisers to provide security authorities revealed, Reuters news agency reported.
At least seven people were killed in the bomb attack on the government quarter in Oslo. Soon afterwards, 85 people were shot dead as the gunman, dressed as a policeman, ran amok on the nearby island of Utoeya. An 86th victim from the island shooting died in hospital on Sunday.
At least four people from the island camp shooting are yet to be found; it is thought some may have drowned after swimming out into the lake to escape the hail of bullets.
In Oslo, police said the death toll could rise further as bodies or body parts were in buildings damaged by the bomb but still too unstable to search.
Police say they are not searching for a second attacker but have not ruled out more people being involved, after eyewitness reports suggested a possible second shooter.
'National tragedy' Memorial services were held across the country on Sunday.
Norway's King Harald V and his wife Queen Sonja attended the service, along with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, laying single white flowers outside as they entered.
Mr Stoltenberg told the mourners that the two days since the attacks took place felt like "an eternity - hours, days, and nights filled with shock and angst and crying".
As many of those in the cathedral wept, he said: "Each and every one of those who've left us is a tragedy - together, it's a national tragedy."
Throughout the day people continued to pour into the square outside the cathedral, laying flowers and candles at a memorial for the victims.

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