Parts of Breivik’s psychiatric report could be made public

Parts of the psychiatrists’ evaluation of Anders Behring Breivik may be explained in court, according to attorney Svein Holden.
Court Psychiatrist Torgeir Husby will personally show up in court in Oslo Tuesday to hand over the completed report to the court, defense attorneys and police. So far it has been expected that only the report’s conclusion will be made public. Husby has worked together with court psychiatrist Synne Sørheim on the report after July 22, in an attempt to map out the man who is behind the mass killings at Utøya, and the bomb attack in Oslo. The goal has been to evaluate Breivik’s state of mind at the time of the offense, and wether or not he can claim an insanity defense. In a press conference on Tuesday, the attorneys in charge of Breivik’s trial will announce the conclusion of the report. Holden says that they may also give a brief explanation of why the psychiatrists came to the conclusion that they did, as well as comment on aspects of their evaluation.  Although the full content of the 230-page report will remain confidential, Holden’s comments indicate that at least some of its content may become known to the public. Sørheim and Husby have had 13 conversations with Breivik in total, as well as access to a significant amount of documentation and material from the investigation. Normally, psychatric reports for the court are between 50 and 100 pages, and Husby describes this one as extraordinary. ”It can’t be compared to other reports,” he says, ”it so different both in terms of quantity and quality.  If the report concludes that Breivik can be held criminally accountable, he may be sentenced to 21 years in prison, with up to 21 years of detainment.
(NRK)(Picture Radio Smaalenene)
Julie Ryland

Sunday, 27 November 2011 10:39