Salute of defiance as fanatical killer of 77 pleads not guilty

The 33-year-old admitted the acts but pleaded not guilty, claiming he acted in self-defence.

Breivik also said he did not recognise the authority the court, nor that of Judge Wenche Elisabeth Arntzen, because she is friends with the sister of former Norwegian Prime Minister and Labor Party leader Gro Harlem Brundtland.

The far-right extremist blames the political elite for allowing immigration in Norway and has said the attacks on the government headquarters in Oslo and an island youth camp were necessary to protect the country from being taken over by Muslims.

If deemed mentally competent, Breivik would face a maximum of 21 years in prison for the crimes committed on July 22.

Alternatively, he could be placed in custody for as long as he is deemed a danger to society.

As the hearing opened, Breivik smiled as a guard removed his handcuffs in the crowded court. He then made a closed-fist, far-right salute, before shaking hands with prosecutors and officials.

Descriptions of how each victim died were later read out – but Breivik remained stone-faced and motionless.

Eight people were killed in the bombing and 69 died in the shooting massacre at the Labor Party’s youth camp on Utoya island outside the capital.

In his first comments to the court, he said: “I don’t recognise Norwegian courts because you get your mandate from the Norwegian political parties who support multiculturalism.”

He added: “I admit to the acts, but not criminal guilt.”

Breivik broke down when prosecutors showed an anti-Muslim video which he had posted on YouTube before the killing spree, and he could be seen with trembling hands as he wiped tears from his eyes.

But after a lunch break, Breivik – dressed in a dark suit and sporting a thin beard along his jawline – again showed no expression as he watched prosecutors present surveillance footage of the Oslo explosion.

The blast ripped through the high-rise building that housed government headquarters, blowing out windows and filling surrounding streets with smoke and debris.

Legal experts said it is virtually certain he will never be released, whether or not he is found mentally competent.

However, Breivik wants to be judged as sane and will call radical Islamists, and extremists on the right and left to give evidence to support “his perception that there is a war going on in Europe,” his lawyer, Geir Lippestad, told the Oslo court.

Many of the surviving victims and their families – who were separated from the defendant by thick glass partitions – are worried that Breivik will use the trial to promote his extremist views.

In a manifesto which appeared online before the attacks, he wrote that “patriotic resistance fighters” should use trials “as a platform to further our cause”.

Norwegian television will broadcast parts of the trial, but it is not allowed to show Breivik’s testimony.

The anti-Muslim militant described himself as a writer, currently working from prison, when asked by the judge for his employment status.

The key issue to be resolved during the 10-week trial is the state of Breivik’s mental health, which will decide whether he is sent to prison or to psychiatric care.

Breivik surrendered to police one hour and 20 minutes after he arrived on Utoya. The police response was slowed by the lack of an operating helicopter and the breakdown of an overloaded boat carrying a commando team to the island.

He had told investigators he is a resistance fighter in a far-right militant group modelled after the Knights Templar – a Christian order that fought during the crusades – but police have found no trace of the organisation and say he acted alone.