Breivik verdict expected on July 20 or August 24: Oslo court
An Oslo court said on Tuesday it expected to hand down its verdict in the trial of Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway last year, on July 20 or August 24.
"It is not yet known on what date (the) judgment will be given, but it cannot be expected sooner than July 20. Another possible date for the judgment is August 24," the court said on its website.
Without excluding other dates, court spokesman Markus Iestra told AFP that the court was actively working to ensure that the verdict would fall on either July 20 or August 24.
Until now, rumour in the court corridors had it that the verdict would fall on July 20, two days before the one-year anniversary of Breivik's twin attacks.
The possible delay until August 24 would be due to logistical issues, Iestra said, without providing details on what this entailed.
Breivik's trial began on April 16 and is set to last until June 22.
The right-wing extremist, now aged 33, has been charged with committing acts of terror for the July 22 attacks, when he first bombed a government building in Oslo, killing eight people, before going on a shooting rampage on the nearby island of Utoeya.
He killed 69 people on the island, where the ruling Labour Party's youth wing was hosting a summer camp. Most of the victims on the island were teens, with the youngest having just celebrated her 14th birthday.
Breivik has confessed to the twin attacks but has refused to plead guilty, insisting they were "cruel but necessary" to stop the Labour Party's "multicultural experiment" and the "Muslim invasion" of Norway and Europe.
The focal point of his ongoing trial has been to decide on his sanity.
If found sane, he faces a 21-year jail term that could be extended indefinitely if he is still considered a threat to society. If found insane he could receive closed psychiatric care, possibly for life.
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