• 22:10
  • Tuesday ,26 July 2011
العربية

Suspect's father: Anders Breivik 'should have taken his own life'

By-CNN

International News

00:07

Tuesday ,26 July 2011

Suspect's father: Anders Breivik 'should have taken his own life'

Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- The father of massacre suspect Anders Behring Breivik said his son should have killed himself instead of allegedly going on the killing rampage that left 76 people dead.

"In my darkest moments, I think that rather than killing all those people, he should have taken his own life," Jens Breivik said in an interview with Norway's TV2. He said he also believes his son has mental issues.
 
"He must be. He must be," the father said in response to a reporter's question about whether he thought his son was mentally ill.
 
"There is no other way to explain it. A normal person would never do such a thing."
 
The suspect's father was one of many people searching for answers Tuesday in the aftermath of the mass killings that terrorized Norway last week.
 
Authorities revised the death toll from Friday's attacks to 76 on Monday -- eight from a bombing at the Oslo building that houses Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's offices and 68 at a summer camp run by his ruling Labour Party.
 
Police in Oslo say they will release a list of names Tuesday of some of the victims. The list will not contain all 76 victims' names because officers are still trying to notify relatives of some victims, police said.
 
Almost 200,000 people participated in a memorial Monday in downtown Oslo to honor the victims, authorities said. Trains were halted as part of a nationwide observance to remember the victims of Friday's slaughter, and Oslo Mayor Fabian Stang said the turnout showed that Norwegians do not accept violence.
 
The 32-year-old suspect acknowledged carrying out the attacks in Oslo and at a youth camp on Utoya island, but said they were necessary to prevent the "colonization" of the country by Muslims, a judge said Monday.
 
Breivik accused the Labour Party of "treason" for promoting multiculturalism, Judge Kim Heger said after a closed hearing Monday.
 
According to Heger, Breivik also said that he worked with two cells to launch the attacks, the deadliest onslaught in Norway since World War II. Police refused to comment on the claim, but a police official said Breivik appeared "very calm" during his hearing.
 
Breivik's father, who was interviewed at his home in France, said he would not be visiting his son as the legal process continues.
 
"No. I will never have more contact with him," he told TV2.
 
Marit Andersen said she knew Breivik in high school and described him as an entertainer who had friends and was quite successful in school. Andersen said she later saw Brevik's views change.
 
"Later it became more extreme, and I remember after we all got on Facebook I became friends with him there," Andersen said. "He had some rather outrageous statements there. I had commented on something he said ... I said you can't say stuff like that. It's unacceptable."
 
Breivik appears to have written a 1,500-page manifesto that rants against Muslims and lays out meticulous plans to prepare for the attacks. In it, the author vilifies Stoltenberg and the Labour Party, accusing it of perpetuating "cultural Marxist/multiculturalist ideals" and indoctrinating youth with those ideals. The author accuses the Labour Party of embracing those ideals and allowing the "Islamification of Europe."
 
CNN has not independently confirmed that Breivik is the author of the manifesto, which bears his name and says it is intended to be circulated among sympathizers. The writer rails against Muslims and their growing presence in Europe and calls for a European civil war to overthrow governments, end multiculturalism and execute "cultural Marxists."
 
It contains photographs of Breivik wearing what appears to be a military uniform that features an altered U.S. Marine Corps dress jacket with medals of the Knights Templar -- an order of Christian Crusaders who helped fight against Muslim rule of the Holy Land in the Middle Ages, but which was shut down 700 years ago.
 
Breivik asked to wear a uniform to the court hearing but was not allowed to, Heger said. Heger said he ordered Breivik held in isolation for the next four weeks to ensure he has no opportunity to tamper with evidence, Heger said.
 
The suspect has access to his lawyer but to no one else, and not to letters or news, court officials said.
 
Police spokesman Henning Holtaas told CNN that the suspect was charged with two acts of terrorism, one for the bombing and one for the mass shooting. In Norway, which does not have the death penalty, the maximum sentence for such a charge is 21 years. However, the court could impose an extension if the person were deemed still to be a threat after having served the sentence, he said.
 
According to the Norwegian newspaper VG, which cited unidentified sources, Breivik told investigators during interviews that he belonged to a revived Knights Templar. He described the organization as an armed Christian order, fighting to rid the West of Islamic suppression, the newspaper said.
 
The reported toll was as high as 93 over the weekend before being revised downward Monday. A police official said some victims may have been counted twice -- but officials predicted the toll could rise again, as investigators continued to search in and around the camp on Utoya Island for victims.
 
Breivik's father had a message for all the victims during his interview.
 
"I would like to say that I feel an incredible grief and despair over what has happened. I often think of how terrible it must be for those who are affected by this. I wish I could do something for them, but here I am, powerless to do anything," the father said.