THE VERDICT OF THE trial of Anders Behring Breivik, the man who confessed to carrying out the attacks which killed 77 people last July, won’t be delivered until at least a month after the trial ends, according to Oslo District Court.
The court issued a notice today saying that the verdict “cannot be expected sooner than 20 July. Another possible date for the judgment is 24 August.”
The trial is scheduled to run until 22 June.
Eight people were killed in a car bomb explosion in Oslo on 22 July. Within hour, 69 more people – many of whom were teenagers – were killed in a shooting rampage on the nearby island of Utoya, where the Labour Party was holding a youth camp. Breivik has admitted carrying out both attacks, but denies criminal responsibility.
Two separate psychiatric reports came to different conclusions on Breivik’s sanity. If this trial finds him sane, he faces 21 years in prison and a term extension at the end of that period if a judge deems him a threat to society. If he is found insane, he faces compulsory committal to a psychiatric facility.
Speaking at the court recently, Breivik indicated that if he is deemed sane by the court, he will not appeal the verdict.
- Additional reporting by the AP
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