Breivik mocks Norwegian justice, saying: Execute me or let me go

He claimed the choices were the “only logical outcomes” for his massacre of 77 people – even though the country does not have the death penalty.

The right-wing fanatic said he did not fear death and that militant nationalists in Europe have a lot to learn from al-Qaida, including their methods and glorification of martyrdom.

“If I had feared death I would not have dared to carry out this operation,” he said, referring to his July 22 attacks, a bombing in Oslo that killed eight people and a shooting massacre at a youth camp outside the Norwegian capital that killed 69.

Breivik’s comments, on the third day of his terror trial, came as he was pressed to give details on the anti-Muslim militant group he claims to belong to but which prosecutors say does exist.

The 33-year-old Norwegian acknowledged that his supposed crusader network is “not an organisation in a conventional sense” but insisted that it was for real. “It is not in my interest to shed light on details that could lead to arrests,” he said refusing to comment on the group’s alleged other members.

The issue is of key importance in determining Breivik’s sanity, and whether he is sent to prison or compulsory psychiatric care.

If found sane, Breivik could face a maximum 21-year prison sentence or an alternate custody arrangement that would keep him locked up as long as he is considered a menace to society. If declared insane he would be committed to psychiatric care for as long as he’s considered ill.

“I view 21 years in prison as a pathetic sentence,” Breivik said.

Asked by the prosecutor if he would rather have received a death penalty – which does not exist in current Norwegian law – he said that made sense.

Breivik claims to have carried out the attacks on behalf of the “Knights Templar,” which he described in the 1,500-page compendium he posted online before the attacks as a militant nationalist group fighting a Muslim colonisation of Europe.

Breivik said it exists but police had not done a good enough job in uncovering it. The group consists of “independent cells,” he added, “and therefore in the long term will be a leaderless organisation.”

Prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh pressed him about details on the group, its members and its meetings. Breivik claimed to have met a Serbian “war hero” living in exile during a trip to Liberia in 2002, but he refused to identify him.

The main point of his defence is to avoid an insanity ruling, which would deflate his political arguments. One official psychiatric evaluation found him psychotic and “delusional,” while another found him mentally competent to be sent to prison.

Breivik also refused to give details on what he claims was the founding session of the “Knights Templar” in London in 2002. He conceded, however, that he embellished somewhat in the manifesto when he described members at the founding session as “brilliant political and military tacticians of Europe.”

Breivik said that he had used “pompous” language and described them instead as “people with great integrity.”

Ms Bejer Engh challenged him on whether the meeting had taken place at all.

“Yes, there was a meeting in London,” Breivik insisted.

“It’s not something you have made up?” she countered.

“I haven’t made up anything. What is in the compendium is correct,” he said.

When asked about his faith, Breivik described himself as “a militant Christian”.