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Norway's ‘most dangerous’ prisoner who killed 77, moves court to end isolation in jail
Breivik is lodged in Ringerike prison in Norway. He has to spend time in a dedicated section of the jail.
A convict named Anders Behring Breivik who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011, has approached court to end his isolation in prison. Breivik has cited violation of human rights in his appeal in the court. In 2011, Breivik first killed eight people with a car bomb in Oslo and then shot dead 69 others at a Labour Party youth camp in the country. It was Norway's worst peacetime atrocity.
Breivik's lawyer Oeystein Storrvik argued his case on Monday, highlighting that he had been isolated for nearly 12 years. The lawyer pleaded the court to end Breivik's isolation as he only comes in contact with prison professionals whose duty is to maintain their distance. Storrvik claimed that Breivik was suffering from severe depression due to being lodged in a completely locked world.
“He has been isolated for about 12 years ... He lives in a completely locked world,” Storrvik told the hearing as quoted by news agency Reuters.
"He is in a deep depression. He does not wish to be alive anymore," added Storrvik.
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Breivik is lodged in Ringerike prison in Norway. He has to spend time in a dedicated section of the jail. The isolated section includes a training room, a kitchen, a TV room and a bathroom. He is allowed to keep three birds as pets who fly freely in the area.
Meanwhile, lawyers representing Norway's justice ministry justify his isolation from the rest of the prison population, due to the continuing security threat he poses. In the court filing, the lawyers argued that his isolation was "relative" and highlighted he has contacts with guards, a priest and health professionals.
"Breivik is Norway's most dangerous prisoner. He is unpredictable and has killed many in serious terrorist acts ... The conditions set around him are a consequence of that," lawyer Andreas Hjetland told reporters on Monday as quoted by news agency Reuters.
