The Oslo City Court (Tingrett) ordered confessed terrorist Anders Behring Breivik to submit to a new psychiatric examination on Friday. Meanwhile, police sought the removal of a court-appointed attorney in the case, for allegedly leaking confidential information to the media.
Breivik had refused to cooperate with a new psychiatric evaluation ordered in December, after massive public criticism of the initial evaluation that determined Breivik to be insane. Breivik had also disputed the insanity evaluation, and bashed the court-appointed psychiatrists’ report. He therefore wouldn’t speak to the new psychiatrists appointed by the court, Agnar Aspaas and Terje Tørrisen.
Security concerns
They wanted Breivik to be committed to Norway’s main psychiatric hospital west of Oslo, Dikemark Sykehus. Police objected, citing security reasons, and the court went along, ordering that Aspaas and Tørrisen observe and examine Breivik at the prison where he’s being held, Ila Fengsel.
Medical personnel from Dikemark will “have the opportunity to work closely with Breivik,” Gøran Nilsson of Ila Fengsel told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). The psychiatrists had hoped to observe Breivik interacting with other prisoners or patients at Dikemark, but that won’t be allowed.
It remained unclear whether Breivik will communicate with the medical personnel, and security measures will be high. His own defense attorneys are only allowed to communicate with him from behind a glass wall in the prison.
Lawyer caught leaking
Meanwhile, police have asked the court to basically fire one of the many attorneys appointed as legal counsel for Breivik’s victims (called bistandsadvokater in Norwegian), on the grounds the attorney has leaked confidential information in the case.
A series of leaks from police questioning of both survivors and Breivik prompted police to investigate their source. They claim they could trace how copies of confidential documents delivered to the attorneys could have been distributed further, and thus traced the leaks to one of the more than 170 attorneys representing survivors, victims’ families and others involved as plaintiffs in the case.
The court will rule on the request next week.
Views and News from Norway/Nina Berglund
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