The anti-Muslim militant who killed 77 people in attacks in Norway on July 22 acknowledged carrying out the massacre but refused to plead guilty in his first public court appearance since the attacks.

Oslo / NationalTurk – Anders Behring Breivik, the massacre killer, who thinks he is a St. John Knight spoke on Monday at a court just two blocks from where he detonated a huge home-made bomb before shooting 69 people at the ruling Labour Party’s summer camp, he also rejected the court’s authority to hear his case.

‘I am a military commander in the Norwegian resistance movement and Knights Templar Norway. Regarding the competence (of the court), I object to it because you received your mandate from organisations that support hate ideology (and) because it supports multiculturalism, ‘ Breivik told the Norvegian court.

Norway massacre : Do Anders Breivik play the mentally challenged ?

‘I acknowledge the acts but I do not plead guilty,’ the mentally challenged playing Breivik told the court.

The Norway shooting and killings shattered the nation of Norway known for its open society, peace and relative prosperity, sparking a fierce debate about immigration and security.

Anders Breivik, speaking at a court picketed by a group of protesters holding a banner that read “No speakers’ platform for fascists, attempted to address survivors and victims’ relatives but the court denied his request.

Norway shooting : The first public court of the massacre

The hearing was the first opportunity for the Norvegian media, surviving victims of the massacre and victims’ relatives to hear Anders Breivik, 32, speak publicly.

The hearing, required under Norwegian law to keep a suspect in prison before trial, was Breivik’s fourth, and as expected, the court decided to keep him in custody. He will likely remain in prison until he goes to trial, probably in the first half of next year.

Some 120 people were admitted to the courtroom, while hundreds of others squeezed into overflow rooms equipped with video links to hear and watch the killer’s statements.

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