Norwegian confessed mass killer Anders Breivik told a court in Oslo on Monday that questions about the 1,500-page manifesto he posted online before the rampage are an attempt to portray him as insane.
Breivik, who murdered 77 innocent people last July, claims to have carried out the attacks on behalf of the Knights Templar – an alleged network of militant nationalists fighting the "Muslim colonization" of Europe that he founded with three other people in London.
The trial against Breivik began last Monday with two professional judges, as well as three lay judges - local politicians who are appointed for four-year terms and participate on an equal basis in deciding guilt and sentencing. The key issue to be resolved during the trial, expected to last 10 weeks, is Breivik's mental state. The 33-year-old Norwegian said he would do "anything to prevent" committal to a psychiatric hospital.
“This case is very simple, that I am not a psychotic case and I am sane,” Breivik told the court on Friday. “I understand that when you see something too extreme, you might think it is irrational and insane. But you must separate political extremism from insanity,” the New York Times quoted Breivik as saying.
He said he had "lost absolutely everything" on July 22, 2011, all his family and friends. “When people say they have lost their most beloved, I also lost my entire family, I lost my friends. It was my choice. I sacrificed them, but I lost my entire family and friends on July 22. I lost everything. So to a certain extent, I understand,” the New York Times quoted Breivik as saying.
“I have never experienced anything so gruesome. It was probably even more horrendous for those I was hunting. But it was necessary. Yes, it was necessary. The July 22 operation was necessary.”
Monday was the last scheduled day of testimony from the confessed killer before the court begins to hear from witnesses.
