January 13, 2012

Norway court orders new psychiatric tests on Breivik

A court in Norway has ordered a new psychiatric evaluation of mass killer Anders Behring Breivik after an earlier report found him legally insane.
Judge Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen said in Oslo that the new evaluation was necessary because of widespread criticism of the initial findings.
On the basis of the earlier report, Breivik would be placed in psychiatric care instead of prison.
His twin attacks on 22 July left 77 people dead and 151 injured.
He set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, before travelling to the lake island of Utoeya where he shot young activists of the ruling Labour Party who were attending a summer camp.
On the same day, he published on the internet a lengthy manifesto in which he outlined his hostility to Muslim immigration and multi-culturalism.
New experts
"Due to the gravity of this case, the criminal responsibility [of Breivik] must be examined again," Judge Arntzen told reporters.
Two new experts, Agnar Aspaas and Terje Toerrisen, were named to evaluate the killer's sanity.
Last week, an expert team of four psychiatrists monitoring Breivik said they believed he was not psychotic, contradicting the findings of the psychiatrists initially appointed by the court.
According to a report submitted by prosecutor Svein Holden, the expert team concluded Breivik was neither psychotic nor schizophrenic, and did not need drugs.
Nor did they regard him as being at high risk of committing suicide.

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