Anders Breivik, the Norwegian mass murderer convicted of killing dozens in a series of 2011 terrorist attacks in Oslo, gave a Nazi salute at his parole hearing on Tuesday.
Breivik, 42, is currently serving the eleventh year of his 21-year prison sentence but became eligible to apply for early release this month.
Appearing in Telemark District Court early on Tuesday to ask a judge to grant him parole, Breivik appeared with a shaved head, making the white supremacist gesture and carrying signs featuring racist slogans, which he was eventually forced to put away.
Prosecutors argued that the mass shooter and bomber still presents a danger to the public. They are seeking to have his parole denied. The court is expected to rule on the matter within the week, according to foreign news reports.
Killer Promotes Racist Ideology at Parole Hearing
Breivik strode into the Notodden courthouse early Tuesday morning bearing a printed sign, reading: “Stop your genocide!!! [sic] Against our white nations!!!”
The same slogan appeared on a slip of paper attached to the lapel of his suit jacket, as the mass murderer outstretched his arm to perform the Nazi salute.
The white supremacist imagery is nothing new for Breivik, who specifically cited his racist beliefs in a manifesto before killing 77 and injuring hundreds more in the 2011 Norway attacks. Despite appearing before Judge Dag Bjørvik to ask for an early end to his prison sentence, the 42-year-old showed no remorse for or disavowal of his actions during this week’s hearing.
“I don’t want to see anything of the kind when the prosecutor speaks,” Judge Bjørvik reportedly told the convicted terrorist.
Tuesday’s shocking gesture isn’t the first time Breivik has made the Nazi salute during court proceedings. He reportedly gave the same salute in a 2016 hearing about the apparently “inhuman” conditions at the prison where he was then living.
Before that, the killer gave an almost identical salute in his infamous sentencing hearing — the same court date where he said he regretted not killing more people in his terroristic spree.
No Parole for Anders Breivik, Say Prosecutors
At the Tuesday parole hearing, state prosecutors argued against the terrorist’s early release.
“Our position is that it is necessary with [continued] confinement to protect society,” government attorney Hulda Karlsdottir told Reuters. “The main topic here is the danger associated with release.”
While Breivik claims he’s no longer a violent militant, he’s been explicit that he would continue to rally for white supremacist causes if released from prison.
“I am asking for understanding for that one can be a Nazi without being militant”, he told the court this week.
“If parole is denied, I will continue to work for white power and the far right through legal means,” he said, adding that he will work to spread his racist beliefs for the rest of his life.
For their part, the families of the dozens killed by Breivik in 2011 worry that the terrorist is using court proceedings to do just that.
“The only thing I am afraid of is if he has the opportunity to talk freely and convey his extreme views to people who have the same mindset,” said Lisbeth Kristine Røyneland, who runs a support group for surviving relatives of Breivik’s victims.
Breivik’s parole hearing is the first since he was sentenced to prison for 21 years in 2012 — under Norwegian law, he was not eligible for early release until he had served a full decade behind bars.
Despite only being handed a 21-year sentence, the killer could be kept in state custody indefinitely, if prosecutors can convince the courts that he still presents a danger to the public.
