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Anders Behring Breivik is in solitary confinement. |
OSLO - Self-confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was ordered to remain in pretrial detention for eight weeks yesterday during a closed court hearing in which he was cut off from making statements irrelevant to the case, a judge said.
The 32-year-old right-wing extremist has confessed to setting off a bomb in downtown Oslo and massacring dozens at an island youth camp outside the city, killing 77 people on July 22.
The Oslo District Court approved a police request to keep Breivik in custody on terror charges for another eight weeks - four of them in solitary confinement - as they prepare a formal indictment.
Breivik appeared at the hearing calm and composed, dressed in a black suit and with his feet shackled, police prosecutor Christian Hatlo said.
Judge Anne Margrethe Lund said she stopped Breivik “on a few occasions’’ when he tried to make statements during the court hearing, his third since being arrested after the carnage on Utoya island.
Breivik’s defense lawyer ,Geir Lippestad ,said his client tried to address the court but declined to give details, citing a gag order.
The ruling means police can continue to hold Breivik in custody until Nov. 14, when a new detention hearing will be held.
They can only hold him in isolation until Oct. 17 because decisions on solitary confinement must be reviewed every four weeks.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
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