Anders Behring Breivik: ‘I’m surprised I wasn’t stopped’

Norway gunman told lawyer he expected to be killed before he reached Utøya island The man behind Norway’s terror attacks has told his lawyer he was surprised he was not stopped straight after he bombed Oslo city centre, and that he expected to be killed before he reached the island where he shot dead 68 people. Anders Behring Breivik was a “very cold” man who had taken drugs to keep himself awake during the shootings, the lawyer, Geir Lippestad, told a press conference yesterday. Breivik, who has confessed to killing 76 people in the atrocities in Oslo and on Utøya island, told Lippestad he was at war with the world, and that killing was justified in a war. “He was a little surprised he succeeded – in his mind succeeded,” Lippestad said. “He was expecting to be stopped earlier by the police or someone else during the actual day. He was surprised that he reached the island. “He thought he would be killed after the bombing, after the action in the island, and he also thought he would be killed at the trial. He believes someone will kill him.” Breivik also claimed that he was part of an anti-Islam network that has two cells in Norway and “several” more abroad. Asked to explain Brievik’s mindset, Lippestad said: “He says he is sorry he had to do this but it is necessary. He looks upon himself as a warrior. And he started this war, and takes some kind of pride in that. “He believes this is the start of a war that will go on for 60 years,” Lippestad said. “He believes the other cells will continue the war.” Lippestad said that after several meetings with his client, he believed Breivik was mentally ill. “This whole case indicated that he is insane,” Lippestad said of the 32-year-old, who denies he is a criminal. The lawyer, a member of Norway’s Labour party whose youth wing was targeted by Breivik, said he did not know why the killer had chosen him to represent him. He added that if his client were to refuse to take psychological tests he would quit from his defence. Two psychiatric experts will now evaluate Breivik’s mental state. According to Lippestad, Breivik remains unaware of the revulsion his attacks have sparked and does not know the number of people he killed last Friday. Detained in isolation, a request by the suspect for a copy of the WikiLeaks files was reportedly rejected by the authorities last night. It also emerged the Utøya Island massacre was, partly, drug-fuelled. Lippestad said the gunman had taken unspecified drugs in order “to be strong, to be efficient, to keep him awake” during the shootings. Focus continues to intensify on links between UK far-right groups and Breivik with London, the city where the suspect claimed to have launched his so-called organisation to “save Europe from Muslim takeover”. Johan Fredrikson, the chief of Oslo police, said that despite an international investigation, including involvement by British police, they still had no evidence that there was an accomplice or network behind the attacks. Breivik’s claims that he was surprised not to have been stopped earlier will add to pressure on police, who have been criticised for taking more than an hour to reach Utøya island. It emerged on Tuesday that the nearest police helicopter available was not able to intervene during the massacre because its pilots were on holiday. Teenagers trapped on the island during the shootings last Friday claimed that they were told to stay off the line because authorities were dealing with the earlier Oslo bombing, according to relatives and local reports. Ambulances heading to the island to help the wounded were said to have been held up as police attempted to secure the area. But Fredrikson said on Tuesday evening it had taken police 47 minutes once they were notified to get counter-terrorism officers to the island and another two minutes on the island until Breivik surrendered. “I can’t see how this could have gone any faster. We would do it the same way if we had the same situation again,” he said. Broader questions have since emerged concerning the failure of Norwegian intelligence over the attacks. Breivik was allegedly placed on a watch list after buying fertiliser in Poland that may have been used to build the Oslo bomb. It is thought that no further action was taken. On Tuesday officials confirmed they have opened an investigation into a Polish chemist after he admitted supplying chemicals to Breivik. The internal security agency in Warsaw said that a Polish man faces up to eight years in prison for selling to Breivik via the internet “substances that could be potentially dangerous to the life and health of many people”. The device that exploded on Friday had a devastating ferocity. Since the blast, the justice minister, Knut Storberget, has revealed that employees from his department still remain missing in the ruins of the capital’s government building. Anders Behring Breivik Norway Europe The far right Mark Townsend Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 26, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.