Mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik is getting ready to take Norway’s Ministry of Justice to court, claiming that his prolonged imprisonment in solitary confinement is tantamount to “torture.”
Breivik, who was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the two separate terrorist attacks he executed on July 22nd, 2011, which left 77 dead and wounded more than 300. Many of his victims were teenagers attending a political summer camp on the island of Utøya.
The far-right extremist intends to file his lawsuit before Easter, his lawyer Geir Lippestad told Norway's Dagbladet newspaper. Mr Lippestad said this Breivik’s decision had come after appealing to prison authorities for two years to end his isolation.
“The central part of the lawsuit is that he is in practice still sitting in solitary confinement, and that this is the time that it should cease,” Mr Lippestad said.
Breivik’s case hinges on his belief that his conditions are contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Article Three, which states that no one should be subjected to "torture, inhuman or degrading treatment".
“Prolonged isolation becomes a form of torture,” Mr Lippestad said, adding, “Human rights also apply to him.”
Breivik’s suit claims the mass murderer, responsible for Norway’s worst ever terrorist attack, is not seeking a lighter sentence or easier punishment; his legal team says that the isolation he is sitting in will be damaging to his health, and that he wants contact with other inmates.
Last December, the authorities at the Ila detention and security centre where he has been since his arrest in 2011 decided to ban Breivik from posting letters, as it was suspected he was trying to establish a militant anti-Islamic organisation.
His lawyer says the killer is now also forbidden from even sending simple pleasantries on postcards, and that he spends his time writing a new book and preparing for his upcoming trial. He has completed one manuscript, which he keeps in his cell and is not allowed to send out to anybody.
