Mass Murderer Sues Norwegian Government for Violating His Civil Rights

Anders Breivik, the mass murderer who killed 77 people during a rampage in 2011, has successfully sued the government of Norway for violating his civil rights by keeping him in solitary confinement and searching him.

CNN reported:

Mass killer Anders Breivik’s human rights breached in prison, court rulesNorwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik has won part of his lawsuit against the state over his solitary confinement in a high-security prison, a court announced Wednesday.The Oslo district court found the 37-year-old’s treatment in prison violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, prohibiting “inhuman or degrading treatment,” and ruled that his conditions must be eased.The court also ordered the government to pay legal costs of 331,000 kroner ($40,600) for the right-wing extremist, who killed 77 people in a shooting rampage and bombing attack in 2011.Norway has the right to appeal the ruling. It has not announced whether it intends to do so.The court dismissed Breivik’s claim that the government had violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees respect for “private life” and correspondence.The ruling outlined areas of concern in regard to the conditions of Breivik’s confinement, which, taken as a whole, constituted a breach of his rights.These included the duration of his isolation, and inadequate consideration of the mental impact of the regime. It also said the routine nude checks Breivik had to go through were not sufficiently justified from a security perspective.

Watch the video below to see the conditions in which Breivik lives. Norway prison cells look like ivy league dorm rooms:

Breivik lives quite comfortably for a man in prison. The Daily Beast reports:

All the Fun Things Anders Breivik Can Do in His ‘Inhumane’ PrisonBreivik’s private prison compound consists of three personal cells: “one for living, one for studying, and a third for physical exercise,” according to Agence France Presse.The studying space is important for Breivik: in 2015 he enrolled in political science courses at the University of Oslo. A university representative will visit his cell to teach the classes, as Breivik is not allowed to access the Internet on his in-cell computer.Yes, he has a personal computer in his cell. He also has a personal television and a Playstation 2, which he deemed insufficient, threatening to go on a hunger strike if it was not upgraded to a Playstation 3, AFP reported in 2014.Breivik’s grievances extended to the quality of the rubber pens in his cell.“If it were theoretically possible to develop rheumatism, I am convinced that this rubber pen would be capable of causing it,” Breivik wrote in a letter obtained by the New Yorker. “It is a nightmare of an instrument and I am frustrated by its use.”From the confines of his three-room cell, Breivik is able to do his own laundry and cook, even making a gingerbread house for a prison competition, the BBC reports. He has access to an exercise yard, newspapers, and phone calls.

It’s a pity his victims can’t comment on the situation.

Featured image via YouTube.

Tags: civil rights, Criminal Law

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