07 February,2012 08:45 AM IST | | Agencies
A smirking Anders Behring Breivik, man who murdered 77 people, demanded an award for the carnage
The right-wing extremist who has admitted killing 77 people in the worst peacetime massacre that Norway has ever seen told a court yesterday that he deserved a medal of honour for the bloodshed and demanded to be set free.
Smiling Assassin: Anders Behring Breivik, showing no remorse, raises
his arms to a guard as he arrived at the court yesterday and demanded
to be set free. pic/afp
Anders Behring Breivik smirked as he was led in to the Oslo district court, handcuffed and dressed in a dark suit, for his last scheduled detention hearing before the trial starts in April. He stretched out his arms in what his lawyer Geir Lippestad said was "some kind of right-wing extremist greeting".
Reading from prepared remarks, the 32-year-old Norwegian told the court that the July 22 massacreu00a0-- carried out with a bomb, a rifle and a handgunu00a0-- was a strike against "traitors" he said are embracing immigration to promote "an Islamic colonisation of Norway."
Breivik admitted to setting off the bomb outside the government headquarters in Oslo and opening fire at a youth camp on Utoeya island, but denied criminal responsibility and rejected the authority of the court.
About 100 survivors and relatives of victims watched in disbelief, as Breivik asked to be released, and told the judge he should receive a military honour.
"It wasn't good that he got to say what he wanted to say," said Amel Baltic, a 16-year-old survivor of the Utoeya massacre.
Many survivors have expressed concern that Breivik will use court hearings to draw attention to his extremist views.
Breivik claims he's a commander of a militant organisation aiming to overthrow European governments and replace them with "patriotic" regimes that would deport Muslim immigrants.
