Friday, July 29, 2011

Norway Terror Attack Suspect Faces Second Interrogation

The suspect - Anders Behring Breivik


CNN - Police are preparing to interview Anders Behring Breivik, the suspect in last week's terrorist attacks in Norway, for a second time on Friday.


Anders Behring Breivik is the suspect for the twin terror attacks in Norway. He's suspected of detonating a bomb outside governments buildings and opening fire at summer camp. Breivik appeared in court on Monday.


Breivik, who is being kept in solitary confinement at Ila Prison, near Oslo, was last interviewed Saturday, a day after a bomb blast outside government buildings in the Norwegian capital and a mass shooting on the island of Utoya claimed at least 76 lives. The prison held Nazi prisoners during World War II. "We are giving him pillow, sheet and shelter for a few weeks," the prison governor said.


Police attorney Pal-Frederick Hjort Kraby said police had since gained a considerable amount of new information and were ready to question Breivik again at police headquarters. He is likely to face more interrogations in the coming weeks.


Meanwhile, the search for more victims of Friday's shooting rampage on Utoya island has ended, Police Chief Johan Fredriksen said Thursday. However, later in the day, the police website said the search in the water around the island was ongoing. More than 50 investigators remained on the island and will likely remain there for several more weeks, officials said.


A key question is whether Breivik acted alone. "At this moment in time we don't think there are more people involved in this action, and we don't know whether there are more bombs," said Janne Kristiansen, director of the Norwegian intelligence police. But she downplayed the possibility of further carnage. "We think, more than likely, he has been on his own and nothing is going to happen here," she said. "So people should go on living their lives."


Technicians and explosives experts were still trying to figure out how big the bomb was that rocked a government building in downtown Oslo, killing eight people. Authorities had not yet determined whether the building could be restored or would need to be rebuilt, Kristiansen said.


She said Breivik acted lawfully during his preparations, registering his weapons and using his farm as a front to collect the fertilizer that powered the bomb. His meticulousness extended to his communications with others, even in his Internet messages, which were "very moderate," she said. 
"He has been what we call a lone wolf," she added. "With a lone wolf, they always operate alone, having no accomplices anywhere, and this is, obviously, what he has done."
But, she added, "We believe that he might have had contacts in the rest of the world and we're investigating this."


His primary goal: "The focus from the world press, which he now has," Kristiansen said. "He's totally evil, and he's using us, and he's using you -- especially the media -- to bring forward his voice."


Sixty-eight people are confirmed dead in the attack on the island, where a summer camp for the Labour Party's youth movement was taking place. As of Thursday, authorities had released the identities of 41 of the dead.


Breivik has admitted carrying out the bombing in Oslo, in which eight people died, and the shootings on Utoya, his lawyer and a judge have said. He has also pleaded not guilty.


He currently has contact only with his lawyer and the prison staff who take him food, Kraby said. The investigation is complex and it will likely be months before Breivik comes to trial, the lawyer added.


The suspect had spent a lot of time and money preparing for the attacks, the lawyer said, so it was important to be careful.


A government spokesman on the Justice Committee, Jan Bohler, predicted Breivik would receive an unconditional sentence, meaning one that would extend well beyond the theoretical maximum of 21 years set by Norwegian law, thereby ensuring he does not ever get out of prison. Norway does not have the death penalty.



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