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Anders Behring Breivik

November 14, 2011 by · Comments Off on Anders Behring Breivik 

Anders Behring Breivik, Norway mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik claimed in his first court appearance Monday that he was the “commander of Norway’s resistance movement.” The anti-Muslim militant who killed 77 people in attacks in Norway on July 22 also attempted to address survivors and victims’ relatives but the court denied his request.

Breivik acknowledged carrying out the massacre but refused to plead guilty in his first public court appearance since the attacks.

Speaking Monday at a court just two blocks from where he detonated a huge home-made bomb before shooting 69 people at the ruling Labor Party’s summer camp, he rejected the court’s authority to hear his case.

“I am a military commander in the Norwegian resistance movement and Knights Templar Norway. Regarding the competence [of the court], I object to it because you received your mandate from organizations that support hate ideology [and] because it supports multiculturalism,” Breivik told the court.

“I acknowledge the acts but I do not plead guilty,” Breivik told the court.

The killings shattered a nation known for its open society, peace and relative prosperity, sparking a debate about immigration and security.

The hearing was the first opportunity for the media, surviving victims and victims’ relatives to hear Breivik, 32, speak publicly.

The hearing, required under Norwegian law to keep a suspect in prison before trial, was Breivik’s fourth.

Some 120 people were admitted to the courtroom, while hundreds of others squeezed into overflow rooms equipped with video links. The building was picketed by a group of protesters holding a banner that read “No speakers’ platform for fascists.”

The court extended Breivik’s custody for a further 12 weeks. He will likely remain in prison until he goes to trial on April 16.

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