Norway massacre suspect pleads not guilty

Added by Nigel Shelbourne on July 25, 2011

Anders Behring Breivik, the 32-year-old Norwegian suspect in last week’s massacre in Norway pleaded not-guilty in an Oslo courtroom on Monday.

Breivik admitted his role in last week’s attacks and entered a not guilty plea, which implies he acted in self-defence. He also warned of other cells of similar-minded people waiting to commit similar crimes.

A Norwegian court denied the suspect’s request to have a public hearing so he could make a potentially ideological statement, likely reflecting the 1,500 page manifesto he released on Friday. A judge summarized the suspect statements stating, “The objective for the attacks was to hand people a powerful message. The accused wanted to cause the Labour Party as much damage as possible, so that recruitment would be limited in the future”.

According to the judge, the accused said, “The operation was not about killing as many as possible, but to provide a significant signal that simply could not be misunderstood. As long as the Labour party maintains their ideological line of politics, whereby they deconstruct Norwegian culture and ‘mass-import’ Muslims, they must be held accountable for treason. One cannot allow one’s country to be colonized by Muslims.”

Breivik will be held without bail for eight weeks, with four weeks in complete isolation, until his trial begins.

Police across the continent began investigations into those who may be linked to the plot. Police arrested one person in Wroclaw, Poland for selling chemicals that were used in the construction of the car bomb used in last week’s attacks. The suspect’s father, who lives in France was placed under police guard; his Father says he has not been in contact with his son since 1995.