Norway prays for the victims
Source: Agencies |
July 25, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Norway was in mourning yesterday for the 93 people killed in a shooting spree and car bombing by a man who saw his attacks as "atrocious, but necessary" to defeat liberal immigration policies and the spread of Islam.
In his first comment via a lawyer since his arrest, Anders Behring Breivik, 32, said he wanted to explain himself at a court hearing today about extending his custody.
"He has said that he believed the actions were atrocious, but that in his head they were necessary," Geir Lippestad said.
The lawyer said Breivik had admitted to Friday's shootings at a Labour Party youth camp and the bombing that killed seven people in Oslo's government district a few hours earlier.
However, "he feels that what he has done does not deserve punishment," Lippestad said. "What he has said is that he wants a change in society and in his understanding, in his head, there must be a revolution."
Oslo's acting police chief Sveinung Sponheim confirmed to reporters that Breivik would be able to speak to the court. It was not clear whether the hearing would be closed or in public.
"He has admitted to the facts of both the bombing and the shooting, although he's not admitting criminal guilt," Sponheim said, adding that Breivik had said he acted alone.
Police were checking this because some witness statements from the island spoke of more than one gunman, Sponheim said.
The violence, Norway's worst since World War II, has profoundly shocked the usually peaceful nation of 4.8 million people.
King Harald and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg were among mourners at a service in Oslo cathedral, where the premier spoke emotionally about the victims, describing the events a "national tragedy."
Tearful people placed flowers and candles outside the cathedral. Soldiers with guns and wearing bullet-proof vests blocked streets leading to the government district.
Police said Breivik surrendered when they arrived on the small island of Utoeya in a lake northwest of Oslo after he had shot dead at least 85 people, mostly young people attending a summer camp of the youth wing of Norway's ruling Labour Party.
About 650 people were on the island when Breivik, wearing a police uniform, opened fire. Police said it took them an hour from when they were first alerted to stop the massacre, the worst by a single gunman in modern times.
A person wounded in the shooting died in hospital, raising the death toll to 93, Norway's NRK television said. Police say some people remain missing. Ninety-seven people were wounded.
Anti-Islamic
Breivik posted a 1,500-page anti-Islamic manifesto, written in English, on Friday, describing his violent philosophy and how he planned his onslaught and made explosives.
The killings would draw attention to the manifesto entitled "2083 - A European Declaration of Independence," Breivik wrote.
"Once you decide to strike, it is better to kill too many than not enough, or you risk reducing the desired ideological impact of the strike," he added.
The manifesto posted by Breivik, a self-styled founder member of a modern Knights Templar organization, hints at a wider conspiracy of self-appointed crusaders and shows a mind influenced by the imagery of online gaming.
At Oslo cathedral, Britt Aanes, a 42-year-old priest, said the fact that Breivik was Norwegian had affected people deeply. "In one way, I think it was good that it was not a Muslim terrorist group behind this," she said.
In his first comment via a lawyer since his arrest, Anders Behring Breivik, 32, said he wanted to explain himself at a court hearing today about extending his custody.
"He has said that he believed the actions were atrocious, but that in his head they were necessary," Geir Lippestad said.
The lawyer said Breivik had admitted to Friday's shootings at a Labour Party youth camp and the bombing that killed seven people in Oslo's government district a few hours earlier.
However, "he feels that what he has done does not deserve punishment," Lippestad said. "What he has said is that he wants a change in society and in his understanding, in his head, there must be a revolution."
Oslo's acting police chief Sveinung Sponheim confirmed to reporters that Breivik would be able to speak to the court. It was not clear whether the hearing would be closed or in public.
"He has admitted to the facts of both the bombing and the shooting, although he's not admitting criminal guilt," Sponheim said, adding that Breivik had said he acted alone.
Police were checking this because some witness statements from the island spoke of more than one gunman, Sponheim said.
The violence, Norway's worst since World War II, has profoundly shocked the usually peaceful nation of 4.8 million people.
King Harald and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg were among mourners at a service in Oslo cathedral, where the premier spoke emotionally about the victims, describing the events a "national tragedy."
Tearful people placed flowers and candles outside the cathedral. Soldiers with guns and wearing bullet-proof vests blocked streets leading to the government district.
Police said Breivik surrendered when they arrived on the small island of Utoeya in a lake northwest of Oslo after he had shot dead at least 85 people, mostly young people attending a summer camp of the youth wing of Norway's ruling Labour Party.
About 650 people were on the island when Breivik, wearing a police uniform, opened fire. Police said it took them an hour from when they were first alerted to stop the massacre, the worst by a single gunman in modern times.
A person wounded in the shooting died in hospital, raising the death toll to 93, Norway's NRK television said. Police say some people remain missing. Ninety-seven people were wounded.
Anti-Islamic
Breivik posted a 1,500-page anti-Islamic manifesto, written in English, on Friday, describing his violent philosophy and how he planned his onslaught and made explosives.
The killings would draw attention to the manifesto entitled "2083 - A European Declaration of Independence," Breivik wrote.
"Once you decide to strike, it is better to kill too many than not enough, or you risk reducing the desired ideological impact of the strike," he added.
The manifesto posted by Breivik, a self-styled founder member of a modern Knights Templar organization, hints at a wider conspiracy of self-appointed crusaders and shows a mind influenced by the imagery of online gaming.
At Oslo cathedral, Britt Aanes, a 42-year-old priest, said the fact that Breivik was Norwegian had affected people deeply. "In one way, I think it was good that it was not a Muslim terrorist group behind this," she said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
