Breivik defends Norway attack, says would do it again

Anders Behring Breivik read an incendiary statement of defense in court today, the second of a five-day hearing over the killing of 77 people in Norway last July in an event that traumatized the nation, reported Reuters. 

Breivik, a 33-year-old Norwegian with militant anti-Islamic views, took the witness stand for the first time today to defend his non-guilty plea, said Reuters. He is charged with detonating a car bomb attack that killed eight people in Oslo and the shooting of 69 people at a government-run youth summer camp on the island of Utøya. 

More from GlobalPost: What Breivik's trial says about extremism in Europe

The accused, whose trial is not being broadcast due to concerns he will use it as a platform to advance his anti-Muslim and anti-foreigner agenda, today read a provocative, prepared statement to the court's audience, including family members of the victims, saying those he killed were "not innocent," according to The Guardian. 

Many of those who died on Utøya were teens. Breivik described them as criminal "young people who worked to actively uphold multicultural values," proceeding to compare them with the Hitler Youth, said The Guardian. 

Breivik is attempting to prove he is not insane. He was granted permission to read his statement because he said he would not give evidence in the customary manner, according to The Guardian. The accused will face legal questioning in court later day, according to The Telegraph.

He says he should be released immediately because he was acting in defense of his country, claiming his motives were "based on goodness not evil,'" reported The Financial Times.

“I would have done it again,” he said, going on to praise the July 22 attacks as "the most sophisticated and spectacular political attack committed in Europe since the Second World War," according to Reuters. 

Breivik, who also has ties to fraudulent business deals, is faced with a 21-year sentence with possible extension or, if judged insane, an indefinite period at a psychiatric institution, said Reuters. 

The judge repeatedly asked the accused to stop reading his hour-long statement after it had gone well over the allotted length, said The Telegraph.