Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in 2011, made a Nazi salute at the opening of an appeal case on his prison conditions on Tuesday, repeating the provocative gesture he made in the lower court hearing.
The state had filed an appeal after a district court in Oslo last April concluded the 37-year-old’s rights had been violated and he was subjected to “inhumane” and “degrading” treatment in prison, in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In prison, Breivik has a 3-cell complex where he can play video games and watch TV on two sets. He also has a computer without Internet access, gym machines, books and newspapers. But the district court judge pointed to his prolonged isolation — he has been held apart from other inmates for five-and-a-half years for security reasons — and a lack of measures to compensate for the severe regime.
On the first day of the appeals case hearing held in the gymnasium of the Skien prison where he is incarcerated, Breivik, known for provocative antics, arrived in court making a Nazi salute at the media members present, a gesture certain to upset families of the victims and which he also made at the opening of the district court hearing.
The judge immediately reprimanded him. “It’s offensive to the dignity of the court and disturbing given what we are here to examine,” judge Oystein Hermansen said. Wearing a dark suit, with a shaved head and thick brown beard with a touch of grey, Breivik agreed to comply.
On July 22, 2011, Breivik, disguised as a policeman, gunned down 69 people, most of them teenagers, at a Labour Party youth camp on the small island of Utoya, tracking them down for more than an hour, where they were trapped by the cold waters of the lake.
Earlier that day, he killed eight people with a bomb he detonated at the foot of government building in Oslo.
It was the bloodiest attack on Norwegian soil since the end of WW II.
In August 2012, Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in prison, which can be extended indefinitely if he is still considered a threat.
The three appeals court judges are also to rule on another point, raised by Breivik himself.
The lower court in April had also determined that the state was within its rights to closely monitor and filter the prisoner’s correspondence to prevent him from forming a network capable of carrying out new attacks.
Breivik claims this violates his right to privacy.
The hearing is expected to last for six days.

Source: Arab News