Norway gunman defends actions as 'gruesome but necessary'

July 24, 2011

Further details on the motives of the man behind the that killed over 92 people in  and Oslo, Norway have been released. Geir Lippestad, the lawyer for the arrested gunman Anders Behring Breivik, said that Breivik considered his actions necessary:

"He thought it was gruesome having to commit these acts, but in his head they were necessary." Lippestad also noted that Breivik had planned the attacks "for some while" before pursuing them.

These statements may confirm reports that the act had an extremist political motive. Documents and videos circulating on the Internet indicated that Breivik was politically opposed to and what he describes as "cultural Marxists".

Breivik has been charged with terrorism and is due to appear in court on Monday.