Norwegian court rules that neo-Nazi mass killer Anders Breivik’s human rights were violated by solitary confinement

Norwegian authorities have violated the human rights of mass killer Anders Behring Breivik by holding him in solitary confinement in a three-cell complex where he can play video games, watch TV and exercise, a court in Oslo ruled Wednesday.

In the surprise decision, the Oslo district court said the isolation that Breivik faces in prison for killing 77 people in a bomb-and-gun massacre in 2011 is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“The prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment represents a fundamental value in a democratic society,” the court said. “This applies no matter what — also in the treatment of terrorists and killers.”

The court ordered the government to pay Breivik’s legal costs of 331,000 kroner, about US$41,000. However, it dismissed Breivik’s claim that the government had also violated his right to respect for private and family life by denying him contacts with other right-wing extremists.

Breivik, 37, had sued the government, saying his isolation from other prisoners, frequent strip searches and the fact that he was often handcuffed during the early part of his incarceration violated his human rights. During a four-day hearing at Skien prison in southern Norway where he is serving his sentence, he also complained about the quality of the prison food, having to eat with plastic utensils and not being able to communicate with sympathisers.

The government rejected his complaints, saying he was treated humanely despite the severity of his crimes and that he must be separated from other inmates for safety reasons.