The Norwegian gunman responsible for committing the double terror attacks on Friday is due to make his first appearance in court
Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian gunman responsible for carrying out the atrocities on Friday, is due to make his initial appearance in court today.
Breivik has already admitted to committing the double terror attacks, first a bombing in the capital, Oslo, and then the mass shooting on an island youth camp. He is yet to accept criminal responsibility for them.
He is responsible for killing almost 100 people in the worst day of violence Norway has seen in peaceful times.
Breivik, 32, is expected to appear in court an hour after a minute’s silence has been observed in Norway to remember those who were killed.
There have already been calls for a media blackout so that Breivik is not given the publicity to voice his extremist views.
Breivik's lawyer, Geir Lippestad, revealed yesterday to the Norwegian media: ‘He [Breivik] thought it was gruesome having to commit these acts, but in his head, they were necessary.’
Since the attacks, images have been found online of far- right Breivik wearing a wetsuit and carrying an automatic weapon.
A 1,500-page document has also been discovered, which was put online hours before the attacks began. The manifesto reveals how he meticulously and callously planned the attacks for over eight years.
Now known to hold extremist views against immigration and multiculturalism, Breivik targeted buildings in Oslo connected to Norway’s governing Labour Party, as well as the youth camp on Utoeya island, which was also run by the party.
Today, with four people still missing, searches continue in the water surrounding the island, with the thought that they could have drowned trying to escape the hail of bullets.
Even as Breivik starts his trial today, police say they have not ruled out more people being involved in the terror attacks after eyewitness reports suggested a possible second shooter.
