Anders Behring Breivik cries in Oslo court as trial begins

Anders Behring Breivik - the gunman who killed 77 people last summer in Oslo and Utoya Island - wept as he watched his own propaganda video on the first day of his trial in Norway.


The court saw Breivik's movie trailer for "Knights Templar 2083", a 12-minute Youtube film in which the 33-year-old militant makes his case for a war against multiculturalism and Islam.

Cameras in the courtroom were switched off while the footage played, but those in the courtroom who watched the video live told of how Breivik constantly referred to Knights Templars "who will save Europe". The gunman cried as he watched an image of a Knight Templar in crusader armour raising a sword above his head, followed by an image of himself in a wetsuit aiming an assault rifle at the camera.

During a Q&A the defence said that they would not disclose what was said between them and Anders Breivik after he was seen crying in court. "Breivik will say things that will be hard for some people to hear," they added.

Earlier Breivik had performed a right-wing salute as he proclaimed he did "not recognise the Norwegian courts".

"You have received your mandate from political parties which support multiculturalism," a smirking Breivik told the court after he had refused to stand when judges entered the courtroom.

He has admitted planting a car bomb that killed eight people at Oslo government headquarters last July, then killing 69 in a shooting spree at a summer youth camp, claiming he had acted to defend his country against Muslims.

He said he acknowledges the acts but does not plead guilty, claiming "self defence".

The court must decide whether to declare Breivik insane or criminal.

Initially a psychiatric evaluation concluded that Breivik was criminally insane, but a second, completed in the past week, found no evidence of psychosis.

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If found sane he faces a maximum 21-year sentence but he could be held indefinitely if he is considered a continuing danger.

If declared insane, he would be held in a psychiatric institution indefinitely.

The Oslo court will also study Breivik's initial claim that he was part of an organisation of "Knights Templar" with similar views. Police believe Breivik carried out solitary '"lone wolf" attacks after years of radicalisation.

The trial is scheduled to last 10 weeks and has raised fears that it could reopen wounds in the normally peaceful Norway.

Some fear Breivik will succeed in making the trial a platform for his anti-immigrant ideas. His defence team has called 29 witnesses to shed light on his world view.

Survivor Vegard Groeslie Wennesland, 28, said: "Today the trial starts, and it will be a tough time for many. Last time I saw him in person he was shooting my friends."

It was on July 2 last year that Breivik set off the bomb in Oslo before heading to Utoya island 25 miles  outside the capital to gun down 69 young victims at a youth camp organised by the ruling Labour Party.

Breivik, disguised as a police officer, convinced some of his victims help had arrived, luring them out from their hiding places before shooting them. Other victims jumped into a lake, where he shot at them in the water.

Prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh, reading out the indictment, spoke of the "panic and mortal fear in children, youths and adults" trapped on Utoya.

She painted an image of a Breivik obsessed with the computer game "World of Warcraft". Breivik smiled when an image of his online character was displayed.