The gunman on trial for killing 77 people in Norway last year grew frustrated Wednesday with questioning about the militant group to which he has claimed membership.
In the third day of his trial, Anders Behring Breivik said he helped found Knights Templar in 2001, but he accused a prosecutor of trying to "sow doubt" about whether the group really exists.
He said he hoped the prosecutor would focus less on "ridiculing" him and more on the issue at hand. He also refused to provide details about a Serbian militant nationalist he admitted meeting in Liberia in 2001.
Breivik, who has anti-Islamist beliefs, has admitted killing 77 people in attacks last July. But he has pleaded not guilty to terror and murder charges, saying he acted in self-defense.
Eight people died in a car bombing in Oslo, and 69 people were shot to death at a youth camp organized by the ruling Labor party.
On Tuesday, the 33-year-old Breivik described his killings as a "preventative" act to avoid a wider civil war, saying he would do it all over again. He said he was defending his country by carrying out the attacks.
He told the court that he "carried out the most sophisticated and spectacular political attack committed in Europe since the Second World War."
His trial is scheduled to last 10 weeks.
Norway does not have the death penalty, but Breivik could face life in prison or in a mental facility.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
No comments:
Post a Comment