Norway to hear Breivik's case in prison

Norwegian court spokeswoman Irene Ramm said on Tuesday that mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik's case against the government would be heard in the prison where he is serving his sentence.

Breivik sued the Norwegian government over his conditions in custody, which he describes as "torture." He is being held in solitary confinement at the Skien prison in southern Norway.

The Oslo District Court had previously announced that the four-day trial - slated for mid-March - would be held at the prison facility due to security concerns.

"Practical considerations and security issues justify that the case be heard at the Skien prison," the court ruled. It added that by having the trial at the prison, it would allow authorities to further examine the situation on site.

Breivik was sentenced in 2012 to 21 years in prison for a series of bomb and gun attacks that killed at least 77 people. The trial drew attention to Norway's maximum permitted custodial sentence of 21 years - although under Norwegian law, prisoners still deemed a danger to society can be kept in custody indefinitely after serving their time. Breivik is considered likely to spend his natural life behind bars.

On July 22, 2011, Breivik killed eight people in a bomb attack outside a government building in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.

He later traveled to a youth camp on the island of Utoya being run by the left-wing Labor Party. There, he opened fire, killing 69 people, many of them teenagers.

The anti-Muslim militant cited his hatred for Norway's multiculturalism as the basis for the attacks.

Breivik's actions also inspired British citizen Mark Colborne's plans to commit a terrorist attack against "non-Aryans." Colborne was detained indefinitely under British mental health laws last month.

ls/msh (AP, AFP)