Anders Behring Breivik has won a part of his lawsuit against the Norwegian state. The Norwegian mass murderer accused the state of violating his human rights in his solitary confinement in a high-security prison.
According to The Guardian, Oslo District Judge Helen Andenaes Sekulic said in her decision that the Norwegian state violated article 3 of the convention. She said that the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment represents a fundamental value in a democratic society. She added that these fundamentals "apply to no matter what" regardless of the crime the person committed. She also ordered the government to pay Breivik's legal cost of 331,000 kroner or $40,600.
The decision of the judge was based on several factors including Breivik's isolation and the lack of consideration of the mental impact of the system. The judge also found out that the routine nude inspections were not clearly justified according to security perspective, Q13 Fox wrote.
The gymnasium at the Skien prison served as a courtroom during Breivik's hearings. Breivik gave his testimony, alleging the Norwegian authorities of instituting sadistic plans of killing him. His lawyer, Oystein Storrvik said his client has already shown signs of emotional damage as evidenced by the psychiatric reports.
As reported by the New York Times, Storrvik asked the court to maintain strict legal rules and look beyond the popular cry of the masses. He compared his client's condition to a terrorist known as "The Jackal" who has been allowed to see several lawyers, marry one of them and even also publish a book from his cell.
Observers, on the other hand, are concerned that maybe Breivik will use his appearance in court in order to publicize his extremist ideology. Breivik's crime was considered the deadliest attack in Norway since World War II. Breivik killed 8 people after detonating a bomb in Oslo and shot 69 young people who attended the Labor Party youth camp. Breivik believes that the rise of multiculturism in Norway was because of the Labor Party's influence.
