In addition to costing 77 lives, the murderous attacks carried out by confessed terrorist Anders Behring Breivik will be costing the Norwegian state tens of billions of kroner over the coming years. Legal fees alone from all the lawyers involved have topped NOK 65 million (nearly USD 11 million) already.
The figures emerged during Friday’s court proceedings, when a verdict that can amount to life imprisonment for Breivik was handed down following his 10-week trial last spring. Judge Arne Lyng referred to testimony that it has cost more than NOK 600 million to re-locate all the government ministries uprooted by Breivik’s bombing of government headquarters on July 22 last year. Costs are ongoing, as the ministries are forced to rent temporary quarters all over town, instead of being housed in the government-owned complex.
Meanwhile, it’s been estimated that it will cost as much as NOK 10 billion, probably more, to re-build the government complex, a process that can take as long as 10 to 12 years.
The cost of the legal case against Breivik has cost NOK 165 million so far, because of the need to rebuild the city courthouse to accommodate his trial, arrange for video links to courthouses all over the country and cover the travel and legal costs of victims’ families, survivors and others directly affected by the attacks.
Breivik’s defense attorneys alone have sent in bills amounting to nearly NOK 11 million, with another NOK 50.7 million going to the attorneys provided at state cost to victims.
The cost of incarcerating Breivik is expected to be about NOK 5 million a year because of the special high-security “prison within a prison” needed to house him because of the danger he poses. That’s reported to be the same as what’s normally used to accommodate 15 prisoners.
Views and News staff
