Dry Skin, Cold Coffee, and Nazi Salutes: Norway’s Mass Murderer Sues the State

Anders Breivik, the far-right Norwegian who killed 77 people in two terrorist attacks in July 2011, went back to court on Tuesday. This time, the courthouse was a makeshift set-up in the Skien prison’s gym, about 80 miles from Oslo. And it wasn’t the mass murderer facing charges. Breivik, who walked into the gym making a Nazi salute, was there to sue the Norwegian government.

Breivik said he was being treated inhumanely at Skien, where he complains that he is denied lotion for dry skin, his coffee is served cold, and he isn’t given butter for his bread. He’s made public complaints about his treatment in letters to European newspapers, and this time is focusing his lawsuit on solitary confinement. He is serving a 21-year sentence but will probably have that extended so long as he is still considered a danger to society.

Breivik’s lawyer, Oystein Storrvik, said in court Tuesday that his client has suffered from memory loss and has been unable to concentrate on his studies due to the stress of being left alone for so many hours each day. The 37-year-old has been allowed to enroll in university courses remotely from his prison cell.

“This case is about something much more than what many people think, just a lawsuit brought to allow Breivik back into the spotlight to explain himself,” Storrvik said.“This case is simply about his detention conditions for the rest of his life.”

Besides being in solitary confinement, Breivik probably couldn’t ask for a much nicer set-up than what Norway has already given to him. He has three cells, which are used for living, studying, and exercising, and also has a television, computer, and game console. He does not have Internet access, but he is able to make his own meals and do laundry on his own — freedoms that would be unthinkable in an American prison.

Breivik is suing Norway for what he claims are two breaches of European convention on human rights, including inhuman punishment and respect for private and family life.  After being imprisoned in 2011, Breivik saw his mother only once, and for just five minutes, before she died of cancer in 2013.

Unsurprisingly, the lawyers defending the state aren’t sympathetic to his complaints.

“Put simply, Breivik is an extremely dangerous man,” said Marius Emberland, one of those lawyers. “It’s unpleasant and it’s supposed to be unpleasant to serve a long sentence.”

The case, which is being broadcast on national television, will conclude on Friday. Due to the special circumstances surrounding the case, there is no jury. Instead, a single judge, Helen Andenaes Sekulic, will decide the case. She already seems frustrated with Breivik: On Tuesday, she instructed him not to repeat the Nazi salute, although Breivik said it was more of an old Norse gesture than anything else.  

Photo credit: HEIKO JUNGE/AFP/Getty Images