A Norwegian mass murderer and extremist sued the state Friday, alleging a violation of his human rights stemming from his ongoing imprisonment in “extreme” isolation, Reuters reported.
Anders Behring Breivik, 44, is “suing the state because he has been in an extreme isolation for 11 years, and has no contacts with other people except his guards,” Breivik’s lawyer Oeystein Storrvik said, per the Reuters news report. Breivik “was moved to a new prison last year, and we hoped that there would be better conditions and that he could meet other people,” Storrvik added.
In addition, Breivik applied again for parole, having been rejected in 2022 as he was still considered a public threat, per Reuters. (RELATED: Norwegian mass shooter cries ‘torture’ over outdated video game console)
Norwegian mass killer Breivik sues the state for “extreme” isolation -lawyer https://t.co/YT9Dx40keT pic.twitter.com/ttDGeKTgYn
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 18, 2023
This is Breivik’s second lawsuit after filing a similar one in 2016, according to Aftenposten, the first to report about the current lawsuit. A lower court initially ruled in his favor, but the state won its appeal against the verdict in 2017.
Breivik is being held in Ringerike prison, a maximum security prison overlooking the island of Utøya in Lake Tyri where he killed 69 people, Aftenposten reported. Breivik has reportedly been in solitary confinement serving Norway’s longest sentence of 21 years for killing 77 people in a July 22, 2011 terror attack.
The state believes his isolation is necessary for security reasons but Breivik alleges his isolation is in violation of human rights, citing the prohibition of torture) and the right to respect for private and family life from Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, respectively.
Breivik’s 21-year prison sentence could be extended if he is still deemed a threat to the public, per Reuters.