Far-Right extremist Anders Breivik was today due to argue for his sanity as his trial heard witness statements about his killing spree.
The Norwegian mass killer has said being committed to a mental institution would be a fate worse than death and he would do “anything to prevent it.”
Breivik, 33, has admitted killing 77 people in two attacks last July but denies criminal responsibility. He claims he was defending Norway against multiculturalism when he killed eight people by detonating a car bomb near a government building in the capital Oslo, before shooting 69 others at a Labour party youth camp on nearby Utoya island.
The crux of his trial is to determine whether he is sane. If so, he will be jailed.
The court in Oslo will discuss two psychiatric reports giving opposing views on his mental state. Breivik listened intently yesterday as a witness likened the chaos after he detonated the 2,100lb fertiliser car bomb to a “war zone”.
Relatives of the dead sobbed as forensic experts explained the massive injuries to four of the eight victims and said more than 100 body parts were found.
Breivik smiled when a security guard, who was inside the government building when the bomb exploded, called his motive “totally absurd”.
Police operations leader Thor Langli told the court that when he heard about the Utoya shootings, he started thinking they could be the work of the bomber.
“I could not imagine there being two people with so many crazy ideas.”
The case continues.
