By Lilith Foster-Collins
News Reporter
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Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right extremist responsible for a 2011 bombing and shooting that left 77 people dead in Norway, appeared in court Tuesday for a parole hearing.
This marks his second attempt to secure freedom after more than a decade behind bars.
Breivik, now 45, is serving Norway's maximum 21-year sentence for a bombing in Oslo and a shooting spree on Utøya island targeting a Labor Party youth camp.
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Norwegian law allows prisoners to request parole after 10 years of incarceration.
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Far-right Views
Breivik arrived at the court dressed in a black suit and displaying a "Z" shaved into his head, a symbol associated with support for Russian military action in Ukraine, and he also carried a poster with a political message.
Prosecutor Hulda Olsen Karlsdottir argued that Breivik remains ideologically committed to his far-right views, posing a "qualified and real" risk of committing further violence if released.
"There is no indication that his political thinking has shifted," Karlsdottir said during the hearing, as reported by Norwegian news agency NTB.
Ringerike Prison: Xbox, Armchairs and Parakeets
Breivik has been held in isolation since his conviction in 2012. He has repeatedly claimed his treatment violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
Courts have rejected these claims.
Breivik has been held in Ringerike prison for two years, in a two-story unit equipped with a fitness room, kitchen, and TV lounge.
Breivik has access to an Xbox, several armchairs and black and white pictures of the Eiffel Tower on the wall.
Three parakeets fly around the complex.
Authorities in Norway have insisted Breivik has the same rights as any other prisoner, arguing that treating him differently would undermine the principles that underpin Norwegian society, including the rule of law and freedom of speech.
Failed Parole Bid in 2022
Tuesday's hearing took place in a makeshift courtroom inside the prison gymnasium, a similar setting to his failed parole bid in 2022.
At the time, Breivik told a parole judge he had renounced violence even while he professed white supremacist views and flashed Nazi salutes.
Breivik didn't express any remorse in 2022, saying only that he cries for victims on "both sides" in what he described as a culture war.
Breivik has used previous court hearings to disseminate conspiracy theories of an ongoing genocide against white people in the West.
Breivik's meticulously planned attacks began with a bombing in Oslo, killing eight, and escalated with a shooting rampage on Utøya island, where 69 young activists were murdered.
During the criminal trial, Breivik has said he considered the victims traitors for embracing multiculturalism and that he regretted not having killed even more.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press
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