Anders Behring Breivik ruled sane, gets 21 years

Norwegian authorities have ordered extremist Anders Behring Breivik to serve 21 years in jail.

At 10:00 local time on Friday (24 August) in Oslo, Judge Wenche Arntzen said that there had been a unanimous decision that Breivik was sane and would be given the country’s maximum penalty. Despite Breivik himself asking to be found sane, lawyers Svein Holden and Inga Bejer Engh had sought an insanity ruling.

The announcement marked the conclusion of Norway’s most high profile criminal case in history and comes nearly a year after Breivik admitted to setting off a bomb in the centre of Oslo before going on a shooting spree on nearby Utoeya Island, killing 77 people in total.

Those in attendance also heard Judge Arntzen describe the events of 22 July 2011 as well as the extremist political motives cited by the 33-year-old attacker.

Despite the 21-year sentence, the case will be reviewed in 10 years’ time. However, experts say it is likely he will remain in prison for the remainder of his lifetime as he must be deemed safe to return to society before being released.

Breivik testified during the trial that he would have liked to have killed even more civilians during the attacks last year.