SKIEN, Norway (AP) – A Norwegian court on Tuesday is reviewing a government appeal against a ruling that the isolation of mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik was inhumane and violates his human rights.
The 37-year-old right-wing extremist, who killed 77 people in a bomb and shooting rampage in 2011, sued the government last year, saying his solitary confinement, frequent strip searches and the fact that he was often handcuffed during the early part of his incarceration violated his human rights.
In a surprise decision in April, the Oslo District Court sided with Breivik’s claims that his isolation in the maximum security Skien prison breaches the European Convention on Human Rights.
It ruled that “the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment represents a fundamental value in a democratic society. This applies no matter what – also in the treatment of terrorists and killers.” It also ordered the government to pay Breivik’s legal costs of 331,000 kroner ($41,000).
However, it dismissed his claim that his right to respect for private and family life was violated by restrictions on contacts with other right-wing extremists.