Families in pilgrimage to island of evil

SOME 500 relatives and friends of the victims of Anders Breivik gathered on the Norwegian island of Utoya to mourn and hear from police and representatives of the Red Cross exactly where and how they died.

Arriving in the rain on a purpose-built pontoon yesterday, family and close friends of the 69 people he gunned down slowly dispersed across the island.

Today, about 1,000 more are expected to visit when survivors and their relatives go back ahead of a national day of remembrance tomorrow.

“Going to the island helps them make sense of what happened, it helps to make it real, because up until then it can feel very unreal,” said psychologist Atle Dyregrov, who has organised much of the professional help for victims and relatives. “Seeing the facts is often less scary than the fantasies they have. The fantasy can eat you inside, it helps to see what it looks like.”

Those killed at Utoya were mostly teenagers attending a youth camp of the ruling Labour Party. Prime minister Jens Stoltenberg said he had been compelled to present a different aspect of himself after the killings. He said: “For me it’s not a question of whether I have changed, but other parts of my personality have been needed.

“I had to show more feeling and an important thing has been just to be close to the victims and their families.”

The first official visits by victims’ families came as the killer made his second court appearance in the Norwegian capital Oslo. The district court extended the solitary confinement of the man who massacred 77 people in a bombing and shooting spree by another four weeks.

Breivik will continue to be kept in complete isolation by police partly for fear of him tampering with evidence and contacting possible accomplices.

Breivik has admitted the 22 July killings with a lorry bomb in Oslo and the shooting rampage on the island.

If found guilty on terrorism charges, he could be sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Breivik had appeared at a closed hearing under heavy police protection.

His earlier request to wear a long black tuxedo in court had been rejected by the presiding judge, who described it as “unnecessarily disturbing and provocative”.

Breivik arrived at the hearing – his second court appearance since the 22 July attacks – in a black car under heavy escort.

His lawyer Geir Lippestad said he was dressed in a dark suit and appeared calm, but showed no remorse.

“In his explanations he says these acts were gruesome, but necessary, and he hasn’t changed his view on that,” Mr Lippestad said after the 30-minute hearing.

Mr Lippestad added: “He [Breivik] said it was tough to be in isolation. He didn’t say that much more.

“It’s natural to feel that it’s tough to sit isolated in a small room.”

Survivors of the Utoya shootings were not allowed access to the court, but were represented by lawyers.

Breivik denies criminal guilt because he believes the massacre was necessary to “save Norway and Europe”.

He said the attacks were an attempt at cultural revolution, aimed at purging Europe of Muslims and punishing politicians who have embraced multiculturalism.