A two-person psychiatric panel has found that Behring Breivik was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and has done so for several years.
The panel handed in its report today and due to the enormous interest in its work, some of the findings were presented in a press conference. The report will now be subjected to a quality review by the psychiatric group of the Board of Forensic Medicine.
Norway massacre: Breivik declared insane
Breivik, 32, is due to stand trial on 16 April for a hearing scheduled to last around 10 weeks.
It is unclear if the conclusions of the report – if approved by the panel – will prevent the trial from going ahead in its current form.
It will almost certainly mean that Breivik is detained into psychiatric care rather than receiving a lengthy jail term.
Before the report was made public, a lawyer for the victims said it did not matter what the conclusion was as long as Breivik was not allowed to go free.
“What will happen in the case, no matter what the conclusion, is that he (Breivik) will of course be incarcerated,” John Christian Elden said.
[Mr. Elden is a lawyer for several of the victims.]
Han har en fullstendig manglende empati og ikke i stand til å ta inn over seg ofrenes eller samfunnets perspektiv.
Breivik skal ha blitt gradvis verre i årene forut for terrorangrepet og endt med total funksjonssvikt, sosialt, praktisk og yrkesmessig.
My translation:
He has a totally lacking empathy and is incapable of understanding the perspective of the victims or of society.
Breivik has gradually deteriorated in the years prior to the terror attack and ended up with total functional failiure – socially, practically and professionally.
(from this article
The finding would suggest that a future conviction would not result in a jail sentence. Instead, if found guilty, Behring Breivik would be committed to psychiatric treatment. Persons committed to such treatment will normally have their case reviwed every 3 years to assess whether there is any danger of repeat offenses or to society at large.
Needless to say, the finding, with its consequences for the future trial, has already caused an uproar. English language links are very few at the moment, but headlines in Norwegian online papers this afternoon are quite unanimous. A number of victims and their supporters express disappointment.
– Jeg må si jeg er skuffet. Ut fra hvordan han oppførte seg, virket det ikke slik på meg. Jeg var til stede under fengslingsmøtet og hørte ham erkjenne og innrømme det han har gjort. Jeg vet at han ikke blir en fri mann, men nå blir han bare husket som en mentalt syk mann, og ikke som en som overdrev sin politiske overbevisning, sier Lindhagen Nilssen til Aftenposten.no.
My translation:
I have to say I am disappointed. From the way he acted, it did not seem that way to me. I was present during his arraignment and heard him admit what he had done. I know that he will not be a free man, but now he will simply be recalled as a mentally sick man, and not one who exaggerated his own political convictions, says Lindhagen Nilssen to Aftenposten.no.
(Interview with one of the AUF members present at Utøya during the shooting – Aftenposten article)
Twitter is down in Norway – it is being speculated that these news contributed to that.
UPDATE (20.20 CET): Behring Breivik has been informed of the report and its contents tonight. “I feared that this would happen [Jeg fryktet at dette ville skje.]” In his own words, according to a prosecutor.
Han ble fornærmet over diagnosen han i dag fikk i de sakkyndiges rapport, som konkluderer at han lider av paranoid schizofreni, og dermed er strafferettslig utilregnelig. – He was insulted by the diagnosis he received today in the experts’ report which concluded that he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and, thus, is criminally insane [not accountable to the law].
