(Photo credit: Anadolu Agency – EPA/Lise Åserud)
Elham Asaad Buaras
Anders Breivik, the far-right anti-Muslim terrorist who slaughtered 77 people in Norway in 2011, is suing his country’s government again for human rights violations to force an end to his isolation in prison.
According to his lawyer, Oystein Storrvik, the 43-year-old extremist has been in solitary confinement since his 2012 conviction.
The Norwegian daily Aftenposten reports that Storrvik sent a notice to the Ministry of Justice on August 25 stating that no one may be “tortured” or subjected to “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Breivik claims the lengthy isolation and restrictions on contact with the outside world are violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Breivik was transferred to Ringerike Prison in Skien earlier this year, but Storrvik reported no progress in human contact. “He has no contact with anyone other than prison guards,” his lawyer said, adding it violated his human rights.
In January, Breivik was denied parole, with the judge ruling that he must remain in prison. According to them, he remained a potential threat, and there is a “clear risk” that he may resume his behaviour. He professed white supremacist views and flashed Nazi salutes during the opening day of the hearing while claiming to have renounced violence.
Breivik has served ten years of the 21-year sentence for a bomb and gun attack, which left dozens wounded.
On July 22, 2011, after months of preparation, Breivik set off a car bomb outside the government headquarters in Oslo, killing eight people.
He then drove 24 miles to the island of Utøya, where he opened fire on the annual summer camp of the left-wing Labour Party’s youth wing. Sixty-nine people there were killed, most of them teenagers, before Breivik surrendered to police.
On the day of the attacks, Breivik emailed a compendium of texts entitled 2083: A European Declaration of Independence, describing his militant ideology. In them, he stated his opposition to Islam and blamed feminism for a European “cultural suicide.”
The text called for the deportation of all Muslims from Europe, and Breivik wrote that his primary motive for the attacks was to publicise his manifesto.
Breivik was declared sane at his trial, although the prosecution argued he was psychotic. In lieu of appealing his sentence, he unsuccessfully sued the government for human rights violations for denying him the right to communicate with sympathisers.
Breivik tried again, and in 2016, he was successful. While incarcerated, he complained about being isolated from other prisoners, being strip searched frequently and handcuffed.
The terrorist also complained about the quality of the prison food, having to eat with plastic utensils and being unable to communicate with sympathisers.
