A chapter of a terror case that haunted Norway for 13 months ended Friday as confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was declared sane and sent to prison for bomb and gun attacks that killed 77 people and injured 200 others last year.
After deliberating for two months, a five-judge panel in Oslo's district court handed down a sentence of "preventive detention" of at least 10 years and a maximum of 21 years for the right-wing extremist. However, such sentences can be extended under Norwegian law as long as an inmate is considered dangerous.
The sentence may seem too little in the circumstances, but that was the maximum that Norwegian laws allow for. It was the first incident of this type in this quiet northern European country, and perhaps now that the dust has settled legislators, will look into ways to make penalties for such heinous crimes harsher.
Breivik, a 33-year-old Norwegian on a mission to expel Muslims from Europe, set off a car bomb that killed eight people outside government headquarters in Oslo and then killed 69 others in a shooting rampage on Utoya island, where young members of the governing Labour Party had gathered for their annual summer camp.
Breivik's guilt was never in question. He admitted to the attacks and nothing in the criminal investigation suggests that there was anyone else involved. He rejected criminal charges out of principle, saying he doesn't recognise the court's authority because it represents a political system that supports multiculturalism. But that argument did not sway the court, and his claim that the killings were justified to protect Norway from becoming overrun by Muslims was rejected too.
The key question for the Oslo court to decide, was whether Breivik was sane enough to be held criminally responsible for the attacks. If declared insane, he would have been committed to involuntary psychiatric care, indefinitely. But Breivik was deemed sane by the judges and sentenced to “preventive detention.” Unlike a regular prison sentence — which can be no longer than 21 years in Norway — the confinement option can be extended for as long as an inmate is considered dangerous to society. It also offers more programs and therapy than an ordinary prison sentence. Norway, like nearly all of Europe, doesn't have the death penalty.
Legal experts say it's unlikely that Breivik will ever be released but no one can say that for sure. One thing is certain though: it won't happen for as long as Norwegian authorities consider him dangerous to society. In theory, a patient committed to involuntary psychiatric care should be released if he recovers from the mental illness. But if he's still considered dangerous, he can be transferred to prison under a rarely used Norwegian law.
Breivik could challenge a “preventive detention” sentence every five years. One of the reasons Breivik's attacks were presented in such gruesome detail during the trial was so that the horror of Oslo and Utoya would be well-documented for the day Breivik asks to be released.