Showing posts with label terror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label terror. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Norway terror suspect appears in court

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Norway mass murder suspect in courtNEW: The judge cut him off because this was not the time to justify his actions, he saysAnders Behring Breivik is ordered held in custody for another 12 weeksThere is no reason to doubt his sanity, the judge saysHe is charged in the July 22 attacks that killed 77 people

(CNN) -- There is no reason to believe that Norway mass murder suspect Anders Behring Breivik is insane, District Court Judge Torkjel Nesheim said Monday.

There is also no evidence he had accomplices in the bomb and gun rampage in which he is accused of killing 77 people this summer, the judge said.

The judge ordered him held in custody for a further 12 weeks, with visits and correspondence controlled by the authorities for the first eight, and a ban on media for the first four.

More than 500 people packed into a court in Oslo, Norway, to see the suspect's first public appearance, said Irene Ramm, head of press for the Oslo court.

A woman whose daughter was killed in the massacre said she could not understand "how a human being could do something like that."

"That's why I had to be here today. I don't understand, so I had to see, had to be here," said the woman, who was identified only as "Carina" on Norway's TV2. "He looked cold, completely cold," she said.

He was not allowed to deliver a speech he had prepared, the station reported.

Breivik said he did not recognize the authority of the court on the grounds that he opposes the multi-cultural society it is part of, TV2 said.

He was stopped on several occasions when he started referring to himself as Commander of the Knights Templar, a title he used in his 1,500-page manifesto, the station reported.

"I interrupted Breivik during today's hearing because I only wanted to hear him about matters relating to today's hearing," Judge Nesheim said. "This was not the main trial where he gets to explain himself. I did not want to give him the opportunity to use this hearing as a platform for him to express his views."

Until now, the proceedings for Breivik have been held behind closed doors.

The hearing was to determine whether to keep Breivik in jail until his trial in the spring. Prosecutors expect it to begin in March or April, the judge said.

Survivors return to scene of island rampage

He is accused of killing dozens of people in a bomb attack in Oslo followed by a shooting rampage on nearby Utoya island. Eight people were killed in a bombing in Oslo; 69 young people were killed on Utoya island, in the deadliest attack in Norway since World War II.

The young people were attending a Labour Party youth camp. Most of the 700 campers ranged in age from 16-22, with some as young as 13.

Breivik has pleaded not guilty but admits carrying out the attacks, the judge said.

"The accused is still suspected on probable cause of criminal acts, as described in the charges. He has admitted the bombing in central Oslo and also the shooting on Utoya. The investigation has also confirmed this," Nesheim said.

He is described by authorities as a right-wing Christian extremist. The 1,500-page manifesto attributed to Breivik was posted on the Internet and is critical of Muslim immigration and European liberalism.


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Sunday, October 23, 2011

Kuwait terror threat halts British embassy services

British embassy services in Kuwait are temporarily suspendedBritish businesses are also urged to review their security procedures

(CNN) -- Britain has temporarily suspended embassy services in Kuwait because of a heightened terror threat, the U.K. Foreign Office said Thursday.

British businesses and organizations should also be on their guard, although the embassy itself is the target of the threat, the Foreign Office said.

"We are aware of an increased terrorist threat against the British Embassy in Kuwait. We have therefore taken the precaution of temporarily suspending Embassy services," a spokeswoman told CNN.

"We cannot rule out the threat against other British interests in Kuwait, and have therefore urged British businesses and organizations to review their own security procedures."

A statement on the Foreign Office website said: "There is a general threat from terrorism in Kuwait. Terrorists continue to issue statements threatening to carry out attacks in the Gulf region. These include references to attacks on Western interests including European interests, including residential compounds, military, oil, transport and aviation interests."

The tiny Persian Gulf nation, which borders Iraq and Saudi Arabia, is a U.S. ally.

CNN'S Per Nyberg contributed to this report.


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