Norway’s most prolific peacetime killer is claiming his prison life in solitary confinement is illegal.
Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in 2011 and is now “suicidal” according to his lawyer, appeared in court Monday in his lawsuit against Norway over his prison conditions.
As he entered the gymnasium of the Ringerike prison where the five-day trial was being held, Breivik was clad in a dark suit with his head shaved.
He refrained from making provocative gestures as he has done on previous occasions.
The now 44-year-old has been held apart from other inmates in various high-security facilities for over 11 years.
He argues that his extended isolation is a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits “inhumane” and “degrading” treatment.
On July 22, 2011, Breivik set off a van bomb near government offices in Oslo, killing eight people, before gunning down 69 others, mostly teens, at a Labour Party youth wing summer camp on the island of Utoya.
He was sentenced in 2012 to 21 years in prison, which can be extended as long as he is considered a threat.
