Anders Behring Breivik, who goes on trial April 16 for the July 22 terrorist attacks he admits carrying out, has written a lengthy new document blasting a report by court-appointed psychiatrists who have determined he’s insane. Breivik claims he’s not insane, and that the psychiatrists were under political pressure to declare him so.
Breivik’s defense attorney, Geir Lippestad, confirmed Wednesday that his client has authored the lengthy, “comprehensive” document that harshly criticizes the work of psychiatrists Torgeir Husby and Synne Sørheim. Lippestad said Breivik believes 80 percent of their conclusions are incorrect and based on things he never said.
Lippestad otherwise declined to go into detail about the document’s contents, or why Breivik believes he’s of sound mind, even though that means he risks a lengthy jail term instead of psychiatric care. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that Breivik is trying to send his document to various media outlets.
“We have read his report and offered our advice,” Lippestad told NRK. “He has a right to send it out, but we have no overview of where he’s sending it.”
Breivik is likely to go through the document when he testifies at the beginning of his trial. Lippestad said Breivik is expected to clarify why he did what he did, and that he will also talk about his own ideology.
Views and News staff
