Breivik Not Insane - Judge

Norwegian police file image of Anders Behring Breivik, who is accused of killing 77 people in a shooting rampage. Photo by CNN

There is no reason to believe that Norway mass murder suspect Anders Behring Breivik is insane, a district court judge said Monday at the first public court hearing.

There is also no evidence he had accomplices in the bomb and gun rampage in which he is accused of killing 77 people this summer, the judge said.

Anders Behring Breivik, dressed in a dark suit, appeared in court in Oslo before survivors of the attacks, relatives of his victims and reporters.

The 32-year-old right-wing extremist has been in custody since the 22 July attacks in Oslo and at a youth camp on the island of Utoeya.

Breivik will be held in custody for a further 12 weeks, with visits and correspondence controlled by the authorities for the first eight, and a ban on media for the first four.

More than 500 people packed into a court in Oslo, Norway, to see the suspect's first public appearance, said Irene Ramm, head of press for the Oslo court.

A woman whose daughter was killed in the massacre said she could not understand "how a human being could do something like that."

"That's why I had to be here today. I don't understand, so I had to see, had to be here," said the woman, who was identified only as "Carina" on Norway's TV2. "He looked cold, completely cold," she said.

He was not allowed to deliver a speech he had prepared, the station reported.

Breivik said he did not recognize the authority of the court on the grounds that he opposes the multi-cultural society it is part of, TV2 said.

He was stopped on several occasions when he started referring to himself as Commander of the Knights Templar, a title he used in his 1,500-page manifesto, the station reported.

"I interrupted Breivik during today's hearing because I only wanted to hear him about matters relating to today's hearing," Judge Nesheim said. "This was not the main trial where he gets to explain himself. I did not want to give him the opportunity to use this hearing as a platform for him to express his views."

Previous hearings on his continued detention have been held in private.

Breivik has admitted that, disguised as a police officer, he planted a car bomb that exploded close to government offices, killing eight people.

He then drove to the island of Utoeya where the ruling Labour Party's youth movement was hosting a summer camp.

In a shooting spree that lasted more than an hour, he killed 69 people - mostly teenagers.

The attacks have traumatised Norway, which is seen as one of the most politically stable and tolerant countries in Europe.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!