Mass killer Breivik makes Nazi salute at start of court case in Norway
SKIEN, Norway – Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik kicked off his return to court by making a Nazi salute Tuesday during his bid to improve conditions inside the Norwegian prison where he is being held in isolation for massacring 77 people in bomb-and-gun attacks.
Appearing in the public eye for the first time since his conviction nearly four years ago, the 37-year-old Norwegian and his lawyers are trying to convince a judge that his prison conditions are "inhuman" and violate the European Convention on Human Rights.
The government has rejected his claims, saying he is being treated humanely and with dignity despite the severity of his crimes.
Breivik is the only inmate in a high-security wing of Skien prison, 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Oslo. His mail correspondence is strictly controlled and he's not allowed to communicate with other right-wing extremists. But he has three cells at his disposal, one for sleeping, one for studying and one for working out, and daily access to an exercise yard, authorities said.
In violence that stunned Norway on July 22, 2011, Breivik set off a bomb in Oslo's government district and then carried out a shooting massacre at the summer camp of the left-wing Labor Party's youth organization on Utoya island. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum under Norwegian law, but his term can be extended as long as he's considered a danger to society.
Even his lawyer said Tuesday that means Breivik is likely to be imprisoned for the rest of his life.