Norway’s mass killer Breivik charged with terrorismMarch 7, 2012 - 19:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The anti-Islam militant whose bomb attack and shooting massacre shocked Norway last summer was formally charged on Wednesday, March 7 with terrorism and the premeditated murder of 77 people as officials prepared for a trial to start next month, Reuters reported. Prosecutors said they would initially seek a sentence of psychiatric care for the admitted killer but might demand 21 years in prison - Norway’s nominal maximum - if an initial diagnosis of psychosis is contradicted in a second examination. Anders Behring Breivik, 33, has admitted carrying out a July bomb attack that killed eight people at government headquarters in Oslo and a gun massacre hours later that killed 69 people at a Labour Party summer camp. His targets were “traitors” with immigrant-friendly attitudes, he said at a preliminary court hearing. “The defendant has committed highly serious crimes of a dimension we have no previous experience with in our society in modern times,” prosecutor Svein Holden told reporters. He said the killings included “aggravating circumstances” but did not amount to crimes against humanity under Norwegian law. There had been speculation Breivik might face a crimes-against-humanity charge, with a maximum 30-year sentence, but legal experts said Norway’s law applies to widespread, systematic atrocities rather than the acts of an individual. Prosecutors and police formally presented the charge sheet to Breivik in prison earlier on Wednesday. While the maximum conventional prison sentence for murder in Norway is 21 years, courts are permitted to extend custody indefinitely after that if a violent, sane convict is considered likely to repeat his crimes. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |