THE 32-YEAR-OLD Norwegian man arrested on suspicion of Friday’s bombing in Oslo and a gun attack on a youth retreat campsite has admitted responsibility for the attacks, but claimes he is not criminally responsible.
His lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said that Breivik had described the attacks as “gruesome but necessary”. Lippestad also said his client claimed he had wanted to attack Norwegian society in order to change it.
Breivik has been charged with terrorism offences and is due to appear in court tomorrow, where he says he will explain his actions.
Police have been investigating eyewitness claims that a second person was involved in the Utoya island shootings, but Breivik says he acted alone in both attacks.
A farm supply store told police Breivik had bought six metric tonnes of fertiliser, which can be used in explosives, and five tonnes have been found at the farm Breivik moved into about a month ago.
Manifesto
A 1,500-page manifesto attributed to Breivik was discovered yesterday, according to Norwegian media.
The document outlines how to get explosives and calls for a Christian war to defend Europe against Muslim domination, the New York Times reports.
The manifesto documents months of planning ahead of the attacks and outlines aims to kill or injure over a million people in a battle for the “political and military control of Western European countries”:
The time for dialogue is over. We gave peace a chance. The time for armed resistance has come.
The document is signed with what appears to be an Anglicised version of Breivik’s name – Andrew Berwick – and the author claims to have spent three years writing it. The Associated Press reports that the document also contains images of Breivik in various outfits and poses, including this one:
Search for victims
Meanwhile, Norwegian authorities continue to search for victims today and the death toll, which currently stands at 77* after one of the shooting victims died in hospital this morning, may rise. At least four people are missing from the campsite and police say they have been unable to thoroughly search buildings which were seriously damaged by the blast in Oslo.
A suspected unexploded device discovered on Utoya on Friday later proved to be a fake.
Police said they were delayed in getting to the scene of the shootings because they didn’t have immediate access to a helicopter and then couldn’t find a boat to travel the short distance to the island.
The gunman surrendered to armed police when they arrived – about 90 minutes after the shooting started.
- Additional reporting by the AP
[*Note: Originally this article reported the death toll had reached 93, as reported by Norwegian authorities. The toll was more recently revised down to 77]
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