Killed 77 people

Breivik release: this is how the court ruled

Fjotolf Hansen, formerly Anders Behring Breivik, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the terrorist attacks in Oslo and Utøya on July 22, 2011. 77 people lost their lives in the attacks.(Bild: APA/AFP/NTB/Beate Oma Dahle)

The Norwegian right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik must remain in prison until further notice. The competent Norwegian court has rejected Breivik's application for early release.

According to the NTB news agency, the ruling by the district court of Ringerike, Asker and Bærum states that the risk of recidivism has not diminished since Breivik's conviction in 2012. It is positive that the right-wing terrorist has begun to take part in rehabilitative measures. However, these have not yet had any effect.

Breivik intends to appeal against the verdict
According to the agency, Breivik's lawyer said that his client intends to appeal against the decision.

Breivik, who now calls himself Fjotolf Hansen, killed a total of 77 people in the Oslo government district and among predominantly young people on the island of Utøya on July 22, 2011. In 2012, he was sentenced to 21 years' preventive detention with a minimum term of ten years - the highest sentence known to Norwegian jurisprudence at the time.

Since the minimum term expired, he has been allowed to apply to the court at regular intervals to see whether he can be released early. His first attempt failed at the beginning of 2022.

Experts: Breivik is not mentally ill
During this latest trial, for the first time since Breivik's conviction in 2012, there was a new assessment of the right-wing terrorist's mental health. The experts came to the conclusion that the 45-year-old was not psychotic or mentally ill.