By KJETIL MALKENES HOVLAND
OSLO, Norway—Anders Behring Breivik called for freedom or death during the third day of his trial for killing 77 people in shooting and bombing attacks in Norway last year, saying the nation should reintroduce capital punishment.Norway abolished capital punishment in peacetime in 1905 but retained it for war crimes until 1979 and last used it soon after World War II.
"There are only two outcomes I would respect. The unrealistic one, which is acquittal, and the more realistic one, which is a death penalty," Mr. Breivik said on Wednesday, according to a transcript by the Norwegian daily VG.
The confessed killer called the prison sentence he faces of 21 years with the possibility of indefinite extension for as long as he is seen as a danger to society as "a pathetic punishment."
Mr. Breivik refused to answer many questions from the prosecution, which took a more aggressive stance Wednesday after letting him read a 13-page statement a day earlier in which he espoused his anti-Muslim views.
Prosecutors pushed Mr. Breivik to explain the details about a so-called Knights Templar network he claims to belong to. The prosecution says the network doesn't exist.
Mr. Breivik said the network was established in London in 2002, and that he was chosen to write a manifesto to unite different cells on a common, nationalistic platform. He said he traveled to Liberia and Baltic countries to meet Templar associates. But, saying he wanted to protect them, he refused to name members or reveal any further details.
"We have to find out what's true and what's made up," said prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh.
"Nothing's made up," retorted Mr. Breivik, saying his manifesto reflected an idealized version of the truth. "In principle, you're selling dreams. That's what it is to sell an ideology."
During the proceedings Wednesday, Mr. Breivik also distanced himself from some of the grandiose titles he used for himself in the 1,500-page manifesto.
"I never called myself a perfect knight," he said. "I've said I tried to live up to those ideals. A perfect knight is a perfect foot soldier."
The issue of whether Mr. Breivik concocted the Knights Templar is of importance in determining his sanity, and whether he is ultimately sent to prison or compulsory psychiatric care.
On July 22, 2011, Mr. Breivik killed eight people with a car bomb in Oslo and 69 in a shooting spree at Utoya island, about 25 miles northwest of Oslo. Hundreds more were injured.
He claims the attacks were justified to fight a Muslim invasion of Europe that is being permitted by political organizations that support a multicultural society.
In the days after the attacks, the nation decorated the squares of Oslo with roses and marched the streets in support of the victims. The Norwegian prime minister said the country would meet the attacks with more openness and more democracy.
That sentiment has persisted during the trial, making Mr. Breivik's entreaty unlikely to be granted. Few Norwegians favor the death penalty even in the aftermath of the country's worst peacetime massacre.
John Hestnes, a government employee who represents survivors of the Oslo bombing in a support group, said that in the immediate aftermath of the attacks when passions were inflamed some called for Mr. Breivik to be killed. "It's a spontaneous, angry shock reaction," he said, but added, "If we introduce the death penalty, we become like him. I'm proud to be Norwegian, that we don't have a death penalty such as other countries."
Christian Lundin, legal counsel for 70 wounded and next of kin from the attacks, said many of his clients have at times wanted to see Mr. Breivik killed for his crimes.
"Those who have lost their children in a gruesome way have expressed that they wished he was not alive, and that his life had ended on July 22," he said. But he added that none of his clients had expressed a wish to change the judicial system to introduce the death penalty.
Thomas Mathiesen, professor in sociology of law at the University of Oslo, said that Norway's emphasis on peace has an impact on the Breivik trial.
"Anyone standing in front of a court is treated equally, regardless of whether it's a mass murderer or another person," he said. "Peacefulness, democracy and openness were values that were stressed as early as on the night of July 22."
A version of this article appeared April 19, 2012, on page A14 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Mass Killer Calls for Norway to Institute Death Penalty.
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