Breivik complains about his accommodations

[Lord Zentei]

Wow.

The Norwegian convicted of the massacre of 77 people last year has said he is being held in "inhumane" conditions.

Anders Behring Breivik complained in a letter to the prison service that his coffee is served cold, he does not have enough butter for his bread, and he is not allowed moisturiser.

Breivik is serving a minimum 21-year sentence for the bombings and shootings in Oslo and Utoeya island last July.

The Norwegian authorities have not commented on the letter.

However his lawyer has confirmed that the details of the 27-page document leaked to Norway's VG newspaper are authentic.

Breivik is being held in almost complete isolation - 23 hours a day, he says - at Ila prison outside Oslo.

His cell includes three sections, one to sleep, one for study and a third for exercise - each measuring 8 sq m (86 sq ft).

In the letter, he complains that the cell is poorly decorated and has no view.

"I highly doubt that there are worse detention facilities in Norway," he writes.

'Too cold'

Among his other complaints are:

• the handcuffs he wears when being moved around the prison "are too sharp and "cut in his wrist"
• the cell is too cold, forcing him to wear three layers of clothes
• he has to rush his morning shave and brushing of teeth
• light and television switches are outside the cell, so he has to ask for help to change channel or sleep.

Ila is an all-male institution which "houses some of the country's most dangerous men", its website says.

However it differs markedly from other maximum security jails in western Europe. The staff is a half-and-half mix of men and women and none are armed.

Breivik massacred 77 people, most of them teenagers at a youth camp run by Norway's governing Labour Party.

His 21-year sentence can be indefinitely extended for as long as he is considered a danger to society.

If he wanted the Ritz, perhaps he should have thought about this before killing 77 people. But more likely, he is just being an attention whore, and reminding is idiot fans outside the prison of thinking about him. Perhaps this whinefest would be marginally less ridiculous if he were incarcerated somewhere like Uzbekistan or at least Arizona. But no, he complains about inadequate decorations in his cell.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

He probably thinks endlessly harassing the prison with civil rights complaints is a way to continue his struggle. A lot of political criminals do this.

[Juubi Karakuchi]

If he wanted the Ritz, perhaps he should have thought about this before killing 77 people. But more likely, he is just being an attention whore, and reminding is idiot fans outside the prison of thinking about him. Perhaps this whinefest would be marginally less ridiculous if he were incarcerated somewhere like Uzbekistan or at least Arizona. But no, he complains about inadequate decorations in his cell.

An attention whore indeed. Doubtless this will incite the hang'em-and-flog'em brigade to scream for his head in the noose as they did during his trial. A part of me fears that is what he wants, for they represent the Europe he wants. But that might be giving him too much credit. I suppose the worst we can expect is more baying and snorting in the tabloids.

He probably thinks endlessly harassing the prison with civil rights complaints is a way to continue his struggle. A lot of political criminals do this.

That's a possibility also.

[Rogue 11]

I take this reaction to be vindication over my views of how we should treat him.

If treated like ITGs want him to be he could be a martyr.

Now he's just shown as a pathethic human being.

The only possible real human rights violation I see in that list is the isolation and that is AFAIK for his own protection

[Aaron MkII]

I do think the exercise area is small but again thats likely so he doesn't get shanked.

[Edi]

I do think the exercise area is small but again thats likely so he doesn't get shanked.

Private cell, Aaron. He's the single occupant of a 24 square meter mini-suite with sleeping area, study area and exercise area, each 8 square meters. Since he's held in solitary, he doesn't get to see other prisoners.

And like you said, there would be the risk of him getting killed if he did.

[PhilosopherOfSorts]

Oh, poor baby. Perhaps he'd like to spend some time in an American prison.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I was actually about to say that as much as this asshat is a piece of shit, it isn't impossible that he is being mistreated ... then I remembered he isn't in an American prison where that kind of behavior would be the norm.

[Aaron MkII]

I do think the exercise area is small but again thats likely so he doesn't get shanked.

Private cell, Aaron. He's the single occupant of a 24 square meter mini-suite with sleeping area, study area and exercise area, each 8 square meters. Since he's held in solitary, he doesn't get to see other prisoners.

And like you said, there would be the risk of him getting killed if he did.

Yeah, I got that bit. I just think the exercise area is kind of small to actually exercise but I recognize the reason why he has what he has as valid.

[Flagg]

Yeah, I think laughter in his face is the only response to this, seeing as how he's not being anally raped daily for being a child killer like he would be in the US assuming we didn't execute his ass.

[Raesene]

He has a TV ? The prison authorities should show him a documentary about Supermax-cells in Florence.

[folti78]

Or Russian prison colonies.

[Stark]

I don't think its unreasonable to complain that your cell isn't sufficiently heated. Prisons aren't about revenge, after all. It isn't impossible that there's misconduct among the staff of his prison (personally I wouldn't find this surprising in the least).

[Teebs]

Yeah, I got that bit. I just think the exercise area is kind of small to actually exercise but I recognize the reason why he has what he has as valid.

I'm fairly sure I remember seeing photos of the exercise area and it had some kind of exercise machine in it. A bike or treadmill IIRC, so even there it's not like he's just being expected to walk in a circle round a tiny room.

[Rogue 11]

I don't think its unreasonable to complain that your cell isn't sufficiently heated. Prisons aren't about revenge, after all. It isn't impossible that there's misconduct among the staff of his prison (personally I wouldn't find this surprising in the least).

Well the complaint about heat as written is that he has to wear too many clothes for his liking. Not that he is freezing.

There is the risk of misconduct yes, but that is actually a rare thing in Norwegian prisons so I hope that all of that is above board.

Given how high profile this case is and how it's been a major political agenda since 22 July NOT to overreact. In addition there has been serious investigations by international human rights organs in both EU and UN AFAIK into his extended isolation for instance as that is a serious psychological strain at the best of times so has to be warranted. So far not a word has been said condemning Norway, but there are a lot of people keeping close watch to avoid misconduct, both domestic and foreign.

That would probably help avoid any serious misconduct outside of petty stuff, which could very well occur.

Them doing less than their best in their treatment of him as a petty form of revenge I mean. While I think they are petty complaints I can imagine that they do what the regulations require and nothing more. And I doubt there is a prison rule that says that they have to be prompt about delivering coffee.

Which isn't right but is still stupid to call "Human rights violations."

[Stark]

No, but the staff (for instance) doing anything within guidelines to make his life miserable is thoroughly inappropriate and should be investigated if there's any substance at all to his claims. His terrible crimes make it even more important for staff to maintain their professionalism and not indulge in unethical behaviour.

[Aaron MkII]

Yeah, I got that bit. I just think the exercise area is kind of small to actually exercise but I recognize the reason why he has what he has as valid.

I'm fairly sure I remember seeing photos of the exercise area and it had some kind of exercise machine in it. A bike or treadmill IIRC, so even there it's not like he's just being expected to walk in a circle round a tiny room.

If so then I really have no objection.

[Rogue 11]

No, but the staff (for instance) doing anything within guidelines to make his life miserable is thoroughly inappropriate and should be investigated if there's any substance at all to his claims. His terrible crimes make it even more important for staff to maintain their professionalism and not indulge in unethical behaviour.

No argument there. Hopefully the watchdog groups that are keeping an eye on the situation (Primarily to ensure they don't overuse isolation) will catch that if anything of substance appears.

Given the Norwegian prison system track record I will generally give them the benefit of doubt though for this situation and assume he's merely whining for not being treated like he is in a five star hotel for now unless anything more substancial appears. Which hopefully won't end up being wishful thinking.

[ryacko]

Oh, poor baby. Perhaps he'd like to spend some time in an American prison.

In some states, he will get the Death Penalty, get the right to indefinitely appeal, and live in comfort until he dies from natural causes.


Personally I believe prisons should have the same level of comfort as a Motel 6 which Norway seems to meet. The entire prison probably has a uniform climate control system anyway, and some rooms just happen to be colder then others.
I seriously doubt a mass murderer is under strain for being isolated, but I do think he should be allowed a typewriter, and a manual for maintaining it.

[Sidewinder]

I seriously doubt a mass murderer is under strain for being isolated, but I do think he should be allowed a typewriter, and a manual for maintaining it.

Bad idea- a typewriter has many metal parts, which a desperate man can improvise into many deadly- and concealed- weapons. Hell, in Mythbusters, they demonstrated it was possible to make a harpoon gun out of newspapers and underwear elastic bands!

[PhilosopherOfSorts]

Oh, poor baby. Perhaps he'd like to spend some time in an American prison.

In some states, he will get the Death Penalty, get the right to indefinitely appeal, and live in comfort until he dies from natural causes.

Since when are U.S. prisons "comfortable?" I assure you, they are not. Anyway, I want this guy to die of natural causes, long forgotten, having watched his his Aryan dream crumble, and his "movement," if you can call it that, become a pathetic joke.

Personally I believe prisons should have the same level of comfort as a Motel 6 which Norway seems to meet. The entire prison probably has a uniform climate control system anyway, and some rooms just happen to be colder then others.
I seriously doubt a mass murderer is under strain for being isolated, but I do think he should be allowed a typewriter, and a manual for maintaining it.

So, do you think U.S. prisons are better or worse than a Hotel 6? And why a typewriter? Given the moving, metal parts, and the need for tools to maintain it, that just sounds like a bad idea from a safety standpoint. I'd just give him a computer with Microsoft Word or something of that nature.

[Mr Bean]

So, do you think U.S. prisons are better or worse than a Hotel 6? And why a typewriter? Given the moving, metal parts, and the need for tools to maintain it, that just sounds like a bad idea from a safety standpoint. I'd just give him a computer with Microsoft Word or something of that nature.

A mechanical typewriter? I wondered exactly how many shanks do you want him to make? Because I can think of at least six parts that don't even need to be sharped only removed from the average typewriter to make an excellent shank.

As for Breivik's complaints of the listed complaints I'd only count the heating complaint as a valid one. If it's between 67F to around 73F he has no valid complaints in my book. If it's 55F or 80F I could see an issue.

[Norseman]

They have given him an electrical typewriter for his work room.

Also I have finally gotten my hand on the Norwegian newspaper who published the list of his complaints. I started translating from the paper version, but then I found an online version still only in Norwegian. Since machine translations suck I'll just write a quick translation.

Material in double quotes is directly quoting Breivik, material without double quotes is from the tabloid itself. The style of language Breivik uses is very "official-documentesque," not legalese, but a somewhat stilted and cumbersome style that seems to infect most Norwegian institutions. I've tried to make a reasonable faithful translation here, in some cases I've been flat out forced to simplify his often cumbersome writing.

The Prison
"Looking at the internal environment I seriously doubt there's a worse penal facility in Norway, than the Basement of Ila prison, and I view being there as an additional punishment."

The Cell
"The solitary cell that I am in is, as I said, stripped for furniture and has white walls that I'm not allowed to decorate. This worn cell from the 60s/70s is in the infamous cellblock that's nicknamed 'The Basement', where the only view you have is a prison wall that, with its nine meter height, blocks out everything except for the tops of a few trees."

Correspondence
In his letter of complaint Breivik claims that only letters from "new-testament Christians and other people who don't like me" has gotten through censorship since the 8th of August. A short time before the central administration of the Correctional Services issued a memorandum to ensure that Breivik would not be able to control a criminal network from his cell.

Lack of daylight
"As you know the windows have a dark foil applied to them, which reduses the available sunlight with around 60 percent. As a result of this I'm forced to take vitamin supplements to prevent Vitamin D deficiencies among other things."

Being unable to control the lighting
"That the light- and TV- switch is outside the cell means that I have to call the prison officers through the intercom system for this (...) On several occasions when I was going to bed I've been forced to wait for up to 40 minutes before they've come to hand over my toothbrush and turn off the light.

The pen is bad
Breivik claims that the rubber pen he was issued doesn't work for him. Using this pen he can only write around 10-15 words a minute. IT is also not very ergonomic, and according to the mass murderer it makes his hand hurt after using it for only a short while. "If it'd been theoretically possible to develop rheumatism, then I'm sure this rubber pen would have done the job."

Lack of common courtesy among the prisoners
Breivik has four times complained that another prisoner in the solitary block at Ila has provoked him by increasing the volume of his stereo system. Breivik also complains about being scolded by the prison officers, as well as screaming from fellow prisoners. "I want peace and quiet. I want to be left alone."

No thermos-bottle for his coffee
The terrorist is not allowed a thermo-bottle in his cell, according to the letter this means that he's forced to drink cold coffee 80 percent of the time.

Collection of cardboard plates and plastic utensils
He describes the way the prison officers collect his cardboard plates and plastic utensils is a form of "low-intensity psychological terror", because he feels it requires him to hurry to finish eating and drinking.

Moisturizer problem
He reacts to not being allowed to have a container of moisturizer in his room, but instead he's issued a plastic cup filled with cream. This means that much of the cream will be ruined during the day.

Gets too little butter
The terrorist complains that at times he only gets enough butter for 2-3 of the 4 slices of bread he eats. "This creates unnecessary irritation because you ... either have to eat dry slices of bread or be made to have a bad conscience about asking for more."

Bad TV
The mass murderer is upset that the TV has a very poor image and an echo to the sound, because it's locked up in a security closet made from steel and Plexiglas. Furthermore he's upset that his radio will only get channel P1 and channel P3.

Clothing
"Since it is often quite cool in my living cell I usually wear a thick jacket / sweater at any given time (...) There are regularly problems when I ask for one of these garments. For some reason they often bring me a Lacoste sweater of the sort I use for special occasions. Despite the fact that I've pointed out several times that I don't want one of those, since they are quite valuable and should be spared a high degree of wear (...) I have therefore on several occasions wound up spending 1-2 days freezing until I manage to 'nag' my way into getting a prison officer to go into the storage area and fetch one of the correct jacket-sweaters."

Handcuffs
"To be handcuffed is offensive and creates a mental strain. National guidelines for SHS requires me to be handcuffed before I'm moved to other rooms / the exercise area and/or before the prison officers open the cell door. During the last 14 months I've been subjected to handcuffing on average of five times a day – a total of more than 2000 occasions." The murderer who killed 77 and maimed many other for life says that he has six times has suffered "friction cuts where the steel edge on the inside of the handcuffs has ripped the skin on my wrists in a very painful way." This has led him to develop a fear of handcuffs.

Strip searches
"The number of daily strip searches was reduced from January on, but even today it sometimes happens that I'm subjected to this twice a day. A strip search involves me being made to take off all my clothes, after which each garment is carefully examined." He describes in detail how such searches are conducted. "This is something I dread every day."

Feeling watched
"The two cameras and the peephole in the door leads to a constant feeling of tension and of being watched (...) On occasion I am subjected to one of the daily 30-40 door hatch checks at the precise moment that I'm using the toilet, something which leads to a particularly great psychological strain. At times this can be experienced as a mental shock, especially if the hatch is slammed a the same time."

Controls
"There is a hatch check every 30-60 minutes – 24 hours a day. AT night I occasionally wake up from having a flashlight shone into my face. It has also happened that they have woken me up if I've been sleeping without moving. It is known that they are not doing this for sadistic reasons, but to make sure that the prisoner hasn't committed suicide."

Cell searches
Require him to rearrange his documents as they are occasionally brought into disarray. Breivik is also upset that he has to make his bed again after these searches.

Being moved
In the letter Breivik expresses great frustration that he is apparently made to wait overlong to be moved to his training-cell, the study cell, or the outdoors area. He says that since 15 October he has stopped using the study cell. "The reason is that I feel the price I have to pay to use this offer is too high, as a daily struggle has to be fought to gain access to the cell for a full workday."

Denied art and a view
"The solitary cell in which I live is, as I said, stripped of furniture and with white walls that may not be decorated. One is therefore denied the inspiration and mental energy that art and a view can give you."

Disturbed by prison wide messages
Breivik asks to be exempt from receiving prison wide messages on the intercom, as "this is viewed as very irritating and at times an interruption."

Money
"The requirement for my daily 'work money' allowance being raised from $7.2 / £4.5 a day to $10.25 / £6.5 a day from 1 October onwards was that in addition to studying, I would also wash the three cells that I use. In Skien prison I was given a mop with handle. In Ila on the other hand the only thing I'm given is the mop itself, despite for my verbal complaints about this. I am in other words forced to scrub all three cells on my knees, something I view as degrading.

[Broomstick]

The Prison
"Looking at the internal environment I seriously doubt there's a worse penal facility in Norway, than the Basement of Ila prison, and I view being there as an additional punishment."

Dude, you kill a bunch of people and maim some more you are, in fact, going to be punished the rest of your life. You're not only a killer, you're a whiner.

The Cell
"The solitary cell that I am in is, as I said, stripped for furniture and has white walls that I'm not allowed to decorate. This worn cell from the 60s/70s is in the infamous cellblock that's nicknamed 'The Basement', where the only view you have is a prison wall that, with its nine meter height, blocks out everything except for the tops of a few trees."

If you want control of your living accommodations try not to murder 70+ people. Choice is for well behaved adult citizens. Which you are not.

Correspondence
In his letter of complaint Breivik claims that only letters from "new-testament Christians and other people who don't like me" has gotten through censorship since the 8th of August.

That seems to imply there are people who do like you. Is that even possible? Outside of muderous whackjobs like yourself.

Lack of daylight
"As you know the windows have a dark foil applied to them, which reduses the available sunlight with around 60 percent. As a result of this I'm forced to take vitamin supplements to prevent Vitamin D deficiencies among other things."

Assuming you are actually given any such needed supplements, suck it up. And look on the bright side - the sunlight diminishing windows are protecting you from skin cancer.

Being unable to control the lighting
"That the light- and TV- switch is outside the cell means that I have to call the prison officers through the intercom system for this (...) On several occasions when I was going to bed I've been forced to wait for up to 40 minutes before they've come to hand over my toothbrush and turn off the light.

Again, if you want control over your existence try not ending the existence of 70+ other human beings. Also... about your bedtime... is there someplace you need to be tomorrow that you must get up at a specific time? Really? And when you're scheduling your busy evenings make allowances for a possible 40 minute wait.

The pen is bad
Breivik claims that the rubber pen he was issued doesn't work for him. Using this pen he can only write around 10-15 words a minute.

Boo-fucking-hoo. Are you under a deadline to publish? No.

IT is also not very ergonomic, and according to the mass murderer it makes his hand hurt after using it for only a short while.

Then stop writing.

Lack of common courtesy among the prisoners
Breivik has four times complained that another prisoner in the solitary block at Ila has provoked him by increasing the volume of his stereo system. Breivik also complains about being scolded by the prison officers, as well as screaming from fellow prisoners. "I want peace and quiet. I want to be left alone."

Right, because it's all about him, right?

If you want to be left alone why did you go out and kill a few score people when you could have just locked yourself into a soundproofed room? See, actions have consequences, and because you fucked up other peoples' lives you were put somewhere that you can't fuck with other people.

No thermos-bottle for his coffee
The terrorist is not allowed a thermo-bottle in his cell, according to the letter this means that he's forced to drink cold coffee 80 percent of the time.

Drink it before it gets cold, asshat.

Collection of cardboard plates and plastic utensils
He describes the way the prison officers collect his cardboard plates and plastic utensils is a form of "low-intensity psychological terror", because he feels it requires him to hurry to finish eating and drinking.

Oh, horrors!, they actually feeding you on a regular basis! Fuck off, shithead. As long as you're not forced to eat fast enough to choke too fucking bad.

Moisturizer problem
He reacts to not being allowed to have a container of moisturizer in his room, but instead he's issued a plastic cup filled with cream. This means that much of the cream will be ruined during the day.

Since when does "moisturizer" go bad that fast?

Gets too little butter
The terrorist complains that at times he only gets enough butter for 2-3 of the 4 slices of bread he eats. "This creates unnecessary irritation because you ... either have to eat dry slices of bread or be made to have a bad conscience about asking for more."

Let me get this straight - you kill 77 people and yet you have a "bad conscience" for asking for more butter? Fuck off.

Bad TV
The mass murderer is upset that the TV has a very poor image and an echo to the sound, because it's locked up in a security closet made from steel and Plexiglas. Furthermore he's upset that his radio will only get channel P1 and channel P3.

If he doesn't like his TV and radio then remove them so he won't be troubled by the poor sound quality and limited choices.

Clothing
"Since it is often quite cool in my living cell I usually wear a thick jacket / sweater at any given time (...) There are regularly problems when I ask for one of these garments. For some reason they often bring me a Lacoste sweater of the sort I use for special occasions. Despite the fact that I've pointed out several times that I don't want one of those, since they are quite valuable and should be spared a high degree of wear (...) I have therefore on several occasions wound up spending 1-2 days freezing until I manage to 'nag' my way into getting a prison officer to go into the storage area and fetch one of the correct jacket-sweaters."

How in the hell is he going to induce a "high degree of wear" in ANY article of clothing he wears? Seriously - it's not like he's going outside in them, right?

If he doesn't like the first sweater issued then go to a second hand store and get him the first, nasty-ass ugly sweater in his size on the rack and he can wear THAT. This is bullshit.

Handcuffs
"To be handcuffed is offensive and creates a mental strain.

You being an unrepentant mass murder is offensive and causes mental strain to the rest of humanity. So tough shit. If you hadn't proven yourself such a danger to others you wouldn't need to be handcuffed. It's your own damn fault.

The murderer who killed 77 and maimed many other for life says that he has six times has suffered "friction cuts where the steel edge on the inside of the handcuffs has ripped the skin on my wrists in a very painful way."

Suggestion: stop struggling.

This has led him to develop a fear of handcuffs.

Sucks to be him, then.

Strip searches
"The number of daily strip searches was reduced from January on, but even today it sometimes happens that I'm subjected to this twice a day. A strip search involves me being made to take off all my clothes, after which each garment is carefully examined." He describes in detail how such searches are conducted. "This is something I dread every day."

Again, sucks to be him. If you don't want this sort of treatment don't kill a few score other people.

Feeling watched
"The two cameras and the peephole in the door leads to a constant feeling of tension and of being watched (...) On occasion I am subjected to one of the daily 30-40 door hatch checks at the precise moment that I'm using the toilet, something which leads to a particularly great psychological strain. At times this can be experienced as a mental shock, especially if the hatch is slammed a the same time."

You've proven yourself a danger to others. Of course you're going to be watched. You should count your blessings you're being watched in the Norwegian prison system instead of in the rifle sights of someone who wants to put you down like a rabid dog.

Controls
"There is a hatch check every 30-60 minutes – 24 hours a day. AT night I occasionally wake up from having a flashlight shone into my face. It has also happened that they have woken me up if I've been sleeping without moving. It is known that they are not doing this for sadistic reasons, but to make sure that the prisoner hasn't committed suicide."

Frankly, I'm not sure why they worry about whether or not you commit suicide. You are a worthless piece of shit the world would have been better off without. It is only the mercy of a society far kinder than yourself that allows you to continue living.

Cell searches
Require him to rearrange his documents as they are occasionally brought into disarray. Breivik is also upset that he has to make his bed again after these searches.

Makes me want to go and upturn his file box myself.

Being moved
In the letter Breivik expresses great frustration that he is apparently made to wait overlong to be moved to his training-cell, the study cell, or the outdoors area. He says that since 15 October he has stopped using the study cell. "The reason is that I feel the price I have to pay to use this offer is too high, as a daily struggle has to be fought to gain access to the cell for a full workday."

If you don't want to make the effort to ask and wait for a bit then why should I care? What other important thing do you have to do?

Denied art and a view
"The solitary cell in which I live is, as I said, stripped of furniture and with white walls that may not be decorated. One is therefore denied the inspiration and mental energy that art and a view can give you."

Given how allowing you "inspiration and mental energy" turned out why the hell should we ever allow you to be inspired again? 70+ dead are too many.

Disturbed by prison wide messages
Breivik asks to be exempt from receiving prison wide messages on the intercom, as "this is viewed as very irritating and at times an interruption."

Sorry, you're part of the prison population. Therefore, as a prisoner, you get to listen to the "prison wide messages" just like every other special snowflake incarcerated in the building.

Money
"The requirement for my daily 'work money' allowance being raised from $7.2 / £4.5 a day to $10.25 / £6.5 a day from 1 October onwards was that in addition to studying, I would also wash the three cells that I use. In Skien prison I was given a mop with handle. In Ila on the other hand the only thing I'm given is the mop itself, despite for my verbal complaints about this. I am in other words forced to scrub all three cells on my knees, something I view as degrading.

What the fuck do you need more money for, shithead? More coffee?

And lots of people scrub floors on their knees. Degrading? You have no idea what that word means.

[General Zod]

Correspondence
In his letter of complaint Breivik claims that only letters from "new-testament Christians and other people who don't like me" has gotten through censorship since the 8th of August.

That seems to imply there are people who do like you. Is that even possible? Outside of muderous whackjobs like yourself.

Apparently there are.