OSLO, Norway, July 17 (UPI) — Norwegian Anders Breivik, convicted of killing 77 people in 2011, is pursuing a college degree from his jail cell, the University of Oslo revealed Friday.
The mass killer is serving a 21-year extendable prison sentence, but university rector Ole Petter Ottersen noted, “All inmates in Norwegian prisons are entitled to higher education in Norway if they meet the admission requirements.” Although a prior application was rejected two years ago, Breivik, 36, will be a political science major, beginning in August.
“He then didn’t meet the admission requirements. Now his grades live up to what is expected,” university spokeswoman Marina Tofting said.
Norway’s prison system includes inmates’ preparation for life after their release, and since his 2012 conviction for the gun and bomb massacre, he has been studying in prison. As a student he will remain confined in prison, taking online classes with no interaction with other students; a contact person in prison will serve as an intermediary.
Breivik used a car with a bomb, made of fuel oil and fertilizer, to kill eight people and injure 209 in central Oslo. He then killed 69 and injured 110 when he opened fire at campers on a nearby island. Artifacts of the assault, including the remains of the car, will go on display next week in an Oslo exhibit to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the attack.
“Knowledge is our most important weapon in the fight against violence, hatred and extremism,” said Jan Tore Sanner, Norway’s Minister of local Government. “That’s why we want to show exactly what happened and omit no part of the story. For anyone who lived through July 22 (in 2011, the date of the massacre), the events are an open wound that still hurt, but we must pass this painful part of our recent history in an honest way. The center (exhibit) shows what actually happened.”
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