Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik has left journalists, family members and survivors in tears after telling a courtroom of his deadly rampage in horrific detail.
Breivik advised people to leave the courtroom, which few reportedly did, before embarking on a highly detailed 90-minute discussion of the Utoya island killings.
There were tears in the eyes of those present on the fifth day of his trial for killing 77 people as he described shooting teenagers "paralysed with fear", reported the Guardian.
Breivik said he could "not remember smiling" during the attacks. He also described "sparing" a boy who was weeping hysterically because he was "too young".
His "enthusiastic" testimony included his memory of firing at children attempting to make themselves invisible against the edge of cliffs, calmly shooting a boy in the head as he listened to his iPod.
Breivik also claimed he attempted to call the police to surrender, but couldn't get through so carried on killing.
Earlier he told the courtroom "under normal circumstances I am a very nice person".
The 33-year-old shocked the court when described deliberately "dehumanising" himself in a five year programme of preparation for the attacks, reports the BBC.
When asked by the victims' lawyer why he was not showing any empathy, Breivik said he was putting up a "mental shield" to protect himself.
"I can choose to remove the mental shield, but I am choosing not to do it... because I would not survive," he said, reports AP.
He described his acts as "gruesome and barbaric" and said that using technical language to describe his strategy allowed him to carry on with his testimony.
Onlookers on Monday were stunned when he performed a far-right salute upon entering the courtroom. However Breivik has now agreed to a request from his own lawyers to drop the salute, after families of his 77 victims urged the Norwegian killer to stop the gesture.
Prosecutors showed images of Breivik taken from his manifesto. A badge on the uniform read "Marxist Hunter"
Officials organising the trial have decided not to broadcast footage of him giving his testimony, focussing only on the courtroom. Some Norwegian newspapers have taken the decision not to post any pictures of him while he delivers his defence.
Describing al-Qaida as "inspirational" he said that in the run up to 22 July he studied the group's attack on the World Trade Centre as well as far-right extremist Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the Oklahoma city bombings in 1995, killing 168 people.
He said he scoured the Internet for bomb making guides, telling the court: "I have studied each one of their actions, what they have done wrong, what they have done right".
During the trial he told the judge: "I do not recognise the Norwegian courts"
Breivik planted a car bomb outside government buildings in Oslo, killing eight people on 22 July last year. After the bomb exploded, he drove to the island of Utoya, where he opened fire on a Labour youth camp, killing 69 people.
On Thursday, Breivik told the court he also planned to execute Norway's former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, who had visited the island ahead of the massacre, adding he wanted to post a film of her beheading online.
As Breivik has admitted to the killings, the trial is focused on whether or not the killer is sane. His defence team have said the extremist would like to be found legally sane.
Breivik faces a 21-year jail sentence if found guilty. He said: "I consider 21 years of prison as a pathetic punishment."
Norway does not carry the death penalty.
The killer has maintained he carried out the attacks to protect Norway from being taken over by Muslims. He told the court on Tuesday he "would do it all again because he was motivated by goodness, not evil."
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Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik has left journalists, family members and survivors in tears after telling a courtroom of his deadly rampage in horrific detail.
Breivik advised people to leave ...
Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik has left journalists, family members and survivors in tears after telling a courtroom of his deadly rampage in horrific detail.
Breivik advised people to leave ...
OSLO, Norway — You would have forgiven Norwegians for showing more outrage against confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik. When he walks in to court...
La cinquième journée du procès d'Anders Breivik devait être "la plus difficile" pour les familles des victimes, selon son avocat. Après avoir donné des détails...
Few people have anything good to say about Anders Behring Breivik, the confessed perpetrator of the 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway that killed 77 people....
OSLO - Anders Breivik a affirmé jeudi qu'il avait l'intention d'enlever puis de décapiter l'ancien Premier ministre norvégien Gro Harlem Brundtland lors de la tuerie...
If there is one thing I learned over my journeys, and meetings, it is that there are no easy answers, no black and white; but it is natural to demand them. I say: beware what you wish for. We must be vigilant, and on guard, for those who promise such answers and peace through hatred.
The trouble in the east end of London at the weekend is evidence of English Defence League's intolerance but also the intolerance of the UAF and their unwilling to hold a political discourse with members of the far-right.
Even though Tower Hamlets is just a short tube or bus ride from Westminster it is disappointing that no members of the government bothered to stand shoulder to shoulder with their local neighbours in the face of threats and intimidation from the English Defence League on Saturday.
Anders Breivik has been relating a harrowing account of the events surrounding the massacre of 77 innocent victims in Norway, but the testimony to date has, perhaps surprisingly given its raw detail, not really yet resolved any of the questions as to his motivation or mental state.
There remains some unanswered questions that few dared to ask, such as: how isolated are Breivik's political views? How many people, though firmly condemning his murderous act, share his concerns regarding the so-called 'Islamization' of Europe? Is he a deviant exception or a disquieting symptom?
Anders Breivik seems to think that bringing what one witness called "a blanket of death" to a tiny island full of life and hope wasn't poisoning a paradise, but shining a light into hell.
The new psychiatric report on the mental state of suspected terrorist Anders Behring Breivik released two days ago ensures his sanity will be the key issue in the forthcoming Norway massacre trial. Have the psychiatrists made the correct diagnosis of Breivik?
When a country is shaken by violence, most people expect it to react in kind with force. So what about the most recent act of terrorism in the news -- Anders Behring Breivik's rampage in Norway?
A funny thing happened to me as I surveyed all the tragedies that have filled our newspapers over the past few weeks. I discovered that I was slowly becoming inured to the murder of children and the loss of human life.
I dont support the death penalty, but 21 years is a joke, it should be (at least) 21 years per victim, he should never be released. This guy even if released in 21 years time (he would be about 50 then) would consider to be a danger to the public.
SGillLondonUK: I dont support the death penalty, but 21 years is
Yes he is a sociopath, they generally get a "buzz" from the notoriety. I think the reality of his situation will sink in once the tv cameras have gone, and he is no longer the centre of attention. I do think however the media is giving him what he hoped for, the judge should turn of the cameras
SGillLondonUK: Yes he is a sociopath, they generally get a "buzz"
As a qualified motor engineer, I can diagnose this person's problem. He has Narcissistic Personality Disorder. (look it up) He is outwardly Mr Nice Guy, actually he is cold, emotionless,
controlling, manipulative. Nothing is ever his fault (blame shifting). His cunning excuse is that he was protecting his Country. He is not insane, but seriously twisted. I can almost see it in his ever so nice dealings with his defence lawyers, I guess he's got them well fooled Lock him up in solitary forever so he can do no more controlling or murdering. Where can I send my bill?
Sailor_bill: As a qualified motor engineer, I can diagnose this person's
I am a Medic, and Mitchison is right - this guy has all the hallmarks of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Its not a psychosis - just a massively twisted personality.
We all have some disordered traits - they make up our personality but are not extreme or pathological. In some people they become pathological. The result is people like Breivik.
crumpets: I am a Medic, and Mitchison is right - this
Do you not think he's also due a full 33yr service? definitely something wrong under the bonnet....and where he's going he'll need a lube job for sure!
MichaelMuesli: Do you not think he's also due a full 33yr
Yeah i think the same thing. The thing i dont understand is why this guy is being tried for murder, since he attacked a government building he should be tried as a terrorist, just as timothy mcvee was after the Oklahoma bombing.
SGillLondonUK: Yeah i think the same thing. The thing i dont
If you understand his reason for taking other people's lives, you are lost indeed. All I hear is empty, inhuman justification for the murder of children. Just because HE fears other people, other ethnicities, doesn't mean we all have to! Don't follow the evil reasoning of this man.
mmartini54: If you understand his reason for taking other people's lives,
there is no excuse for him taking lifes,thats not what i meant,but the way we are being invaded with no regulation,would make any proud person worry for our future !!
jagman_mk2: there is no excuse for him taking lifes,thats not what
Really? So you don't think certain peoples have the right to their own land? So it was ok for North America to be colonised against the wishes of the Native Americans? What about the colonisation of India and Africa by the British?
I'm sorry but I don't follow that idea. Ancestry and heritage matter. Hundreds of thousands of people gave their lives in two World Wars (and many wars previous) to defend this country from invasion. I don't intend to besmirch their memory by agreeing to the handing of it over to anyone and everyone.
gisburne: Really? So you don't think certain peoples have the right
you know he had plastic surgery and he was happy with the results.
I haven't been able to find early pictures of him on the net to confirm one way or the other.
Susan_Shaffer: you know he had plastic surgery and he was happy
I know he is portraying himself as a right-wing, facist. but do you think he really believes his own propaganda? I think he is saying (and doing) anything to get airtime. This guy just wanted to be on tv, get his 15 minutes of fame.
SGillLondonUK: I know he is portraying himself as a right-wing, facist.
I'll bet he has a breaking point, somewhere he realizes the monster he has become. McVeigh never did though, although I don't remember if McVeigh was so cogent, or even confessed until proven guilty.
NoMercy: I'll bet he has a breaking point, somewhere he realizes
Yeh he seems quite lucid - like he is holding back his emotions because somewhere he knows how aweful it is what he has done. I agree that he will break. This man is not psychotic, just extremely motivated and full of hatred.
In all honesty, there is a big difference in profile between Breivik and McVeigh. McVeigh appeared almost developmentally stunted - not fully able to comprehend the gravity of his crimes and their consequences. Breivik seems different - I think he will crack too.
crumpets: Yeh he seems quite lucid - like he is holding
Well the only emotion he's shown so far is when his manifesto was being shown, and he seems to be getting a bit impatient/on edge when the prosecutor is questioning how true it is about his meetings with others in London, Liberia and Serbia.
He is without doubt very clever and calculating, but i personally think he's a total psychopath who is very delusional.
MichaelMuesli: Well the only emotion he's shown so far is when
oh I don't know. If you pretend for a minute that you believed that your home was about to be overrun by something you're frightened of or disgusted by, I suppose you could say he acted rationally. I mean it's not like he was killing those people in order to skin them and wear their faces as hats or something. I don't think he's legally insane, but rather that he 'got the wrong end of the stick' somewhere....and took it way further than it's logical conclusion. Perhaps if he was obsessed with his idea of invasion enough, he might believe it? Like if someone were to tell a child they were ill often enough then the child would think they were? I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself properly at all. I in no way sympathise with mass murder! Just in case anyone's going to turn around and demand I be arrested :) But I just don't think he sounds insane. His reaction was crazy (insert stronger synonym if you wish because I know there's very many that are suitable) but if you spend so much time alone thinking and thinking about something....everything goes out of control.
Jessica_Maybury: oh I don't know. If you pretend for a minute
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Huffington Post UK | By Felicity Morse Posted: 20/04/2012 13:11 Updated: 20/04/2012 15:43