MOSCOW, March 7 – RAPSI. Norwegian gunman Anders Behring Breivik has been officially charged with acts of terror over the 77 people he killed in twin attacks, Oslo Prosecutor Svein Holden said on Wednesday at a press conference streamed on the internet.
The 33-year-old Breivik also faces charges of voluntary homicide, according to a 19-page indictment.
Breivik was psychotic at the time of the attacks and should be transferred to "compulsory mental health care,” prosecutors claim.
The charges carry a penalty of up to 21 years in prison, although Breivik’s jail term can be extended for as long as he is considered a danger to society.
If Breivik is found criminally insane, he would face confinement in a psychiatric ward instead of jail.
Breivik has confessed to killing eight people with a car bomb in downtown Oslo on July 22 and then gunning down 69 others on the island of Utoya, which was hosting a summer camp for the governing Labor Party's youth branch. The gunman claimed he was on a crusade against multi-culturalism and the "Muslim invasion" of Europe when he carried out the attacks.
Prosecutor Holden said the total number of people subjected to attempted murder taking into account the two attacks could be as high as 800.