Breivik Took Stimulants Before Massacre - Expert
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anders Breivik took illegal substances to increase his physical and mental capacities on the day he launched a killing spree last July, an expert told an Oslo court on Thursday.

Before he launched his July 22 bomb attac[k] on a government building in Oslo and went on a shooting rampage on Utoeya island, Breivik said he had taken an an ECA stack, a combination of ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin.

This mix is illegal in Norway and the United States among other countries but is popular among body-builders and is often used for weight loss and as a stimulant.

"He was slightly to moderately under the influence of a high affecting the central nervous system," Professor Joerg Moerland of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health told the Oslo district court on the 28th day of Breivik's trial.

The 33-year-old right-wing extremist has said he took 50 percent more than the normal ECA stack dose authorised in the European Union only a few hours before his attacks.

Breivik has told the court the drug cocktail allows "the brain to absorb more oxygen and this results in better physical and mental performance." » | Thursday, May 31, 2012

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Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik Acted Alone, Norwegian Police Have Told a Court
THE AUSTRALIAN: NORWEGIAN police have said that Anders Behring Breivik had no accomplices when he massacred 77 people, but the confessed killer maintained he belonged to a network ready to strike within the next 15 months.

Whether or not the mysterious Knights Templar organisation exists is an important question, since it can shed light on the focal point of the trial: Breivik's sanity when he carried out his twin attacks last July 22.

Does the right-wing extremist really belong to a network created to protect Europe against multiculturalism and a "Muslim invasion", as he claims, or has he simply dreamed up this organisation, of which police have found no trace?

"We feel sure of this conclusion: no evidence in this case suggests any physical or psychological accomplices," Oslo police chief Kenneth Wilberg told the Oslo district court on the 27th day of Breivik's trial. » | AFP | Thursday, May 31, 2012


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Anders Behring Breivik a Self-styled 'Metrosexual' Who Used David Beckham as Example

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anders Behring Breivik was a self-styled "metrosexual" who used David Beckham as an example, his trial in Oslo heard.

The Norwegian mass killer's life "fell apart" after a failed relationship with a Belarusian internet date left him struggling with his sexuality, his friends told the court.

"That was perhaps his last attempt at dating a girl like the other boys did," his best friend's ex-girlfriend told the court.

Breivik's friends suspected the 33-year-old extremist might be homosexual because he was feminine and fastidious about his appearance, another friend, a lawyer in Norway's Ministry of Defence, said.

"He used make-up powder, those kinds of things, and he explained that as being 'metrosexual'. He made reference to David Beckham being that at the time."

Breivik, who admits to killing 77 people in Norway last July, retorted angrily when allowed to respond at the end of the day's proceedings.

"I have not been vain after 2006, and I've never been feminine either," he complained. "The only function that this powder had was as a cover to hide acne." » | Richard Orange, Oslo | Tuesday, May 29, 2012

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Mass killer Breivik Had Unusually Close Relationship with Mum, Norwegian Court Hears

HERALD SUN: NORWEGIAN mass killer Anders Behring Breivik had an unusually close relationship with his mother and friends thought he was afraid of coming out as gay, a court heard today.

Two of the 33-year-old's friends gave evidence at the court in Oslo in which they described the right-wing extremist as obsessed with how he looked.

Four friends were due to testify in the trial today and a statement from Breivik's mother, Wenche Behring, will also be read out.

One of the friends said he thought Breivik was depressed or was a closet homosexual after he moved back in with his mum in 2006, Dagbladet newspaper reported.

The witness said, "I think they had a more friendly relationship than a mother and son normally have." » | Newscore | Tuesday, May 29, 2012

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NEWS AND VIEWS FROM NORWAY: Breivik’s family avoids testifying: Lawyers for terror defendant Anders Behring Breivik have opted against calling his family members and several other key persons from his past to testify, at Breivik’s own request. The prosecution isn’t calling them in either, even though they could shed important light on the main question that needs to be addressed in his trial: Whether he’s sane or insane. » | Nina Berglund | Tuesday, May 29, 2012