Breivik trial: live report

Prosecutors in the trial of mass killer Anders Behring Breivik want him locked up in a psychiatric ward for cold-bloodedly ending the lives of 77 people in a double spree of death last July. Giving their summing up at the end of the 33 year-old's 10-week hearing, they accepted that the confessed killer's sanity has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt. If the five Oslo judges hearing the case take a different view and conclude that he is criminally sane, prosecutors want them to sentence Breivik to Norway's maximum penalty of 21 years in prison, which can be extended for as long as he is considered a danger to society. The trial will resume tomorrow when Breivik's lawyers will summarise the defence case and Breivik himself will address the court for up to an hour. Watch out for AFP's Live Report tomorrow on the hearing. This Live Report is now ending. Read on for full details of today's hearing. 1311 GMT: Mass killer Breivik makes his nationalist salute in reaction to the prosecution's closing arguments calling for him to be locked up in a mental ward instead of prison. Breivik stands up and touches a clenched right fist to his chest before stretching his arm out in a nationalist salute like the one he made on the first days of his trial in April but stopped doing on request from his lawyers. Police then put handcuffs back on the killer and lead him out of the court. 1308 GMT: Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway last July, should be locked up in a psychiatric ward instead of prison, the prosecution says, arguing his sanity has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt. 1257 GMT: BREIVIK MAKES A NATIONALIST SALUTE AT END OF PROSECUTION'S CLOSING ARGUMENTS 1256 GMT: IF NOT SENT TO MENTAL WARD, BREIVIK SHOULD GET 21 YEARS IN PRISON: PROSECUTOR 1252 GMT: Something prosecutor Holden says amuses Breivik. The killer of 77 people smiles widely, revealing a fine set of teeth. 1250 GMT: NORWAY PROSECUTORS SEEK PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT NOT PRISON FOR BREIVIK. 1249 GMT: Holden says that Breivik has throughout the trial continued to insist, but without providing details, that Knights Templar exists despite "overwhelming evidence" to the contrary. The prosecutor says there is "perhaps an argument for saying (the network) was a delusion." It is difficult to see Breivik's insistence on the existence of the Knights Templar as a "simple lie", says Holden. 1243 GMT: Looking back at AFP photos of Breivik taken during the 10 weeks of the trial, they show he has worn a number of different suits and various different ties, though always in restrained colours. His appearance fits in with his wish to present himself as a man in full control, rather than a psychotic person needing treatment. 1240 GMT: The prosecutor says it would be hard to disagree with Husby and Soerheim's conclusions. 1237 GMT: Holden discusses the "delusions" mentioned in a report by the first two expert psychiatrists, who found that Breivik had paranoid schizophrenia. 1234 GMT: Breivik has kept his narrow beard neatly trimmed, giving his round face a distinctive look as if he wants the world to have a clear mental image of the Norwegian mass killer. 1231 GMT: It has been apparent throughout the trial how conscious Breivik is of the image he presents to the people of Norway and around the wold following his trial. He has always dressed smartly, today included. as if seeking to justify his claim he is a reasoning crusader, rather than a madman. 1229 GMT: Holden addresses the criticism of the first court ordered expert report, that found Breivik criminally insane and discusses its description of many of Breivik's arguably political ideas as "paranoid delusions." 1223 GMT: Prosecutor Holden regularly raises his head from his notes to cast his eyes over Breivik. The killer looks back unperturbed. 1222 GMT: Breivik is writing things down on yellow post-its, in a tiny neat script, AFP's Pierre-Henry Deshayes has noticed. 1217 GMT: Breivik shakes his head in disgust as Holden describes the conclusions of the first psychiatric report that found him to be psychotic. 1215 GMT: Amongst reasons for declaring Breivik sane, Holden notes that medical staff in the prison where the killer was initially held foundf a total absence of symptoms of psychosis. "This is a very strong argument," the prosecutor says. 1211 GMT: Holden goes through the arguments for finding that Breivik was sane when he slew 77 people. Next the prosecutor will weigh the evidence that Breivik was insane when he perpetrated the killings. 1205 GMT: Prosecutor Svein Holden is a slim fit-looking man with closely cropped and greying hair. Beneath his legal gown he wears a dark suit, white shirt and blue tie, just like Breivik except that Holden's is patterned with white waves. Holden personifies the way Norway is giving Breivik the fullest and fairest possible trial, despite the vileness of the 77 cold-blooded killings he admits to. 1202 GMT: The prosecutor notes that Breivik wants to be held in prison rather than a psychiatric ward. "Should the court take that into consideration?" he muses. 1157 GMT: Holden says it is clear that Breivik should be locked up indefinitely, either in "psychiatric internment" or "preventive detention". 1155 GMT: Mass killer Breivik sits impassively as usual, though listening attentively. He twiddles with the special bendy pen, supplied to him because it cannot be used as a weapon. 1142 GMT: The Breivik prosecutor mentions another legal ruling under which a defendant was found to be not criminally responsible although expert psychiatric witnesses said there was an 80 to 90 percent chance of the man being sane. 1136 GMT: Holden cites a precedent from 2003 in a murder case. The Norwegian supreme court ruled that the threshhold for declaring someone not criminally responsible should be set lower than for deciding on guilt. In other words, more weight should be given to doubts over criminal responsibility than doubts about guilt. 1131 GMT: Despite the horror of the 77 killings which Breivik has admitted, prosecutor Holden points out that under law an accused person should benefit from any reasonable doubt. Then he adds: "Does this also apply to the question of criminal responsibility or should it be assessed differently?" 1128 GMT: Holden says he will go through the legal requirements for finding someone criminally sane, and says he will conclude with the prosecution's opinion on whether or not Breivik is criminally sane, as well as an overview of options in the case the court disagrees with the prosecution's conclusion. 1121 GMT: In the next part of today's Breivik hearing, the other prosecutor Svein Holden is expected to speak about the central question of the mass killer's "criminal responsibility", AFP's Pierre-Henry Deshayes tells me. Holden's statement is likely to take between one-and-a-half and two hours, Pierre-Henry says. 1115 GMT: Breivik throughout the trial has been intent on proving his sanity. He has said he will not appeal a certain guilty verdict if the judges conclude that he is sane, even if it means facing a lengthy prison sentence. 1059 GMT: The prosecutor says Breivik's attacks on July 22 last year were "terrorist acts" which the court should deal with separately. The court takes a 15 minute break. 1058 GMT: Bejer Engh, continuing her closing statement today, says the prosecutors want Breivik to be found guilty of premeditated murder for the deaths of all 69 who died on Utoeay, including the two who were not shot to death -- one who drowned and one who died falling from a cliff. Breivik had aimed to kill as many people as possible and had aimed to use the icy water around the island as a "weapon of mass destruction", she says. 1056 GMT: Breivik told an earlier hearing he wanted to apologise for killing "innocent" people with no political connections in his bombing of the government building in Oslo, but he offered no apology for the government employees or the Utoeya youths he killed, insisting they were "legitimate targets". 1051 GMT: Bejer Engh tells the court: "I find it difficult to find words to describe the 80 minutes he spent … with only one goal: to kill as many people as possible." She says the most difficult thing to understand was Breivik's own emotionless description of the massacre, in particular when he called police to hand himself in. "The dead on Utoeya were mainly young people" 56 under the age of 20, the prosecutor says, pointing out that he killed most of them by shooting a bullet into their heads. 1048 GMT: Bejer Engh dismisses Breivik's claim that he would have cancelled the Utoeya attack if he had killed more people at the government building. "That's outside our understanding of the nature of evil," she says. 1047 GMT: 250 people were in the government building in Oslo when Breivik bombed it, killing eight people, the prosecutor recalls. Another 75 people were nearby. 1046 GMT: Bejer Engh begins discussing the shooting massacre on Utoeya island, where Breivik killed 69 people, mainly teens attending a summer camp hosted by the ruling Labour Party's youth wing. 1036 GMT: "Our opinion is that we can disregard the existance of Knights Templar as described by the accused," the prosecutor saays. 1033 GMT: Bejer Engh says that instead of creating fear with his descriptions of the alleged Knights Templar network, Breivik has painted a "tragic picture" of a young man so eager to appear important that he dreamed up a non-existing network to help him. His explanations for different trips as part of the network are "absurd," she says. 1032 GMT: Breivik told an earlier hearing that he had planned to behead former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland and other Labour Party leaders on camera and post the videos online. 1028 GMT: However, apart from the Knights Templar, the facts in the Breivik case are well established, a rare thing in a trial, Bejer Engh adds. 1026 GMT: Bejer Engh discusses the mysterious Knights Templar organisation, which Breivik claims to be part of, but which, as AFP's Nina Larson points out, the prosecution has said it does not believe exists 1024 GMT: The prosecutor points out that Breivik will need to be kept under maximum security whether he is sent to prison or ruled to be insane. 1021 GMT: "Is he sick or isn't he sick?" Bejer Engh asks, warning that many of the most pressing questions in this case, including how "a citizen became a murder machine", probably won't be sufficiently answered to satisfy the people affected. 1015 GMT: Bejer Engh acknowledges that the 10-week trial has challenged the Norwegian judicial system, but stresses that the trial has been carried out in line with the country's legal traditions. 1013 GMT: "The worst thing is that these attacks were not impulsive but planned in detail to kill as many people as possible," says Bejer Engh. 1012 GMT: Breivik takes notes with a special bendy pen which cannot be used as a weapon. 1009 GMT: Prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh begins her address. "July 22, 2011 was and still is a day of national trauma. Thousands of people were directly or indirectly affected." She says she will go through the evidence even though blame is well established. 1005 GMT: The five judges enter the courtroom. All the parties are now present and the hearing can begin, says AFP's man on the spot, Pierre-Henry Deshayes. 1004 GMT: Breivik told earlier hearings that he aimed to kill far more people than the 77 who died on July 22. He said he he initially had a more elaborate plan involving a long line of other targets, that he aimed to kill the entire Norwegian government and all the 569 people on Utoeya island. 1002 GMT: He stands looking composed. He chats with his lawyers, smiling broadly. 1000 GMT: Police bring in Breivik, wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and light blue tie. 0957 GMT: AFP correspondent Pierre-Henry Deshayes, who is in the courtroom, tells me that prosecutors Svein Holden and Inga Bejer Engh have arrived, making their way through a throng or cameras and journalists. 0955 GMT: Breivik has insisted there are two other one-man cells ready to strike at any moment, but remains vague about the alleged militant nationalist organisation, Knights Templar, he claims to be part of. Prosecutors say they do not believe such an organisation, nor the cells, exist. 0946 GMT: Breivik, who has said he is inspired by Al-Qaeda, portrays his attacks as a selfless sacrifice. He compares himself to the Americans who dropped nuclear bombs on Japan to end World War II and to Native American tribal chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, asking: "Were they terrorists ... or heros?" 0943 GMT: Breivik's lawyer Geir Lippestad arrives in the courtroom, clad in his traditional black gown. 0942 GMT: Breivik, 33, has told the court his acts were "cruel but necessary" to protect Norway from a wave of multiculturalism and a "Muslim invasion". 0928 GMT: Three out of four Norwegians want Breivik to be sent to prison rather than an insane asylum, a poll today shows. When asked the question "Is Breivik of sufficiently sound mind to be convicted?", 74 percent of respondents replied "yes", while 10 percent said he could not be held responsible for his actions and needed "medical treatment." Fifteen percent said they were undecided or refused to answer, in the poll of 1,000 people by public broadcaster NRK. 0918 GMT: In contrast, chill will descend over the court as Breivik makes his own final statement later tomorrow, when he will presumably attempt once more to justify his actions. He has asked the court to set a whole hour aside though he says he probably won't need all that time. 0916 GMT: Today's statements may be harrowing as the prosecutors remind the court of the atrocities committed on July 22 last year. Breivik first set off a car bomb outside government buildings in Oslo, killing eight people, before travelling to Utoeya island, northwest of the capital, where he spent more than an hour methodically shooting and killing another 69 people, mostly teenagers. 0915 GMT: According to Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang, the prosecutors finished writing up their closing speeches just before 1 am this morning. Yesterday prosecutor Svein Holden said the closing arguments would last "between 2 and 4 hours". Defence lawyers will give their own summing up tomorrow. 0909 GMT: The doors open into Room 250 at the Oslo courthouse. Media and members of the public start to take their places for today's prosecution summing up in the trial of Anders Behring Breivik for mass murder. WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT as the prosecution sums up in the trial of Anders Behring Breivik over the killing of 77 people in twin attacks in Norway last July. During the 10-week trial, Breivik described his massacre as a "preventive" attack to defend "ethnic Norwegians" and stressed he would not hesitate to do it again. He said spending his life in prison or dying for his people would be "the biggest honour." If found sane, he risks a 21-year jail term, which could then be extended indefinitely if he is still considered a threat to society. If found insane he could be sentenced to closed psychiatric care, possibly for life. Prosecutors Svein Holden and Inga Bejer Engh are to begin presenting their much-awaited closing arguments at 1000 GMT, when they will reveal whether they want the court to find Breivik responsible or not for his actions.