Defence to argue Breivik was accountable for actions

Feb 17, 2012, 9:59 GMT

Oslo - The man who has admitted to killing 77 people in bombing and shooting attacks in Norway last year has instructed his defence to argue that he was accountable for his actions at his pending trial, his defence team said Friday.

Anders Behring Breivik is 'convinced that he is sane and is adamant that he does not agree with the assessments in the first (psychiatric) report,' attorney Geir Lippestad told Oslo daily Dagbladet. 'We have to act according to his instructions,' Lippestad said.

In November, two court-appointed psychiatrists concluded that Breivik was legally insane and suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

They were later backed by a panel of psychiatrists and psychologists from the Norwegian Board of Forensic Medicine. But other experts have questioned the diagnosis, sparking a national debate.

Earlier this week Norway's Supreme Court upheld a ruling that Breivik should undergo a new psychiatric assessment. Oslo district court judge Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen on January 13 said a second opinion on Breivik's mental health was needed.

The new assessment was to be conducted at the prison where he is in custody, and completed prior to the trial due to open April 16.

Breivik was prepared to cooperate with the new experts, another of his attorneys said.

He has requested that, before meeting him, they should read transcripts of the police interviews and the 1,500-page tract he posted on the internet prior to the July 22 attacks. This would ensure that they have 'the necessary background,' attorney Tord Jordet said.

'He wants to prove he is sane and wants a thorough assessment,' Jordet said, adding that Breivik wanted the new sessions to be taped.

Breivik has admitted to detonating a bomb in a government district in Oslo that killed eight people on July 22, and later shooting dead 69 at a Labour Party summer camp on an island near the capital.

He said his actions were designed to punish the government for its pro-immigration policies.