Breivik: Killer 'Must Be Allowed To Study'

It would be "torture" if mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik was to be denied the right to study at Oslo University, his lawyer has said.

Right-wing extremist Breivik is hoping to study political science at Oslo University after his first application was denied in May due to incomplete paperwork.

His lawyer, Geir Lippestad, told Norwegian paper The Local: "I believe it is next to torture to give him no meaning in his life when he is spending the next 20 to 30 years in prison.

"We must treat people decently even if they've done terrible things. If not we may as well start talking about the death penalty."

News of the application by Breivik, who killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage two years ago, has caused unrest among politicians.

Education minister Kristin Halvorsen has said she might step in to block progress, by working with the Justice Ministry to change the law.

Halvorsen told Norwegian TV 2 that it is a "very special situation" because they are "dealing with a serial killer who is never going to re-enter society."

Breivik is serving a 21-year sentence - the maximum allowed - for killing eight people with a bomb outside government offices in Oslo, before embarking on a shooting spree on the island of Utoya where a Labour Party's youth summer camp was being held.

Knut Bjarkeid, the director of the prison where Breivik is held, said he would encourage the mass killer to study for a degree.

He told The Local: "The prison will always try to pave the way for inmates to get a formal education, so that they are able to get a job when they come out."

If he did qualify to study he would be able to use the prison's own internet server which uses dozens of filters to limit access.

The Local quoted the university's rector as saying the application would be considered in the same way as any other.