Police questioning resumes, Breivik denies having made threathening phone call

Police questioning of Anders Behring Breivik resumed on Wednesday. The police have not provided a new letter guaranteeing Breivik access to a computer for the duration of his imprisonment, but Breivik has agreed to continue answering questions from the police because he expects that they will follow up on what he perceives an an oral agreement, said Odd Ivar Grøn, one of Breivik’s lawyers, to Aftenposten. He also believes it is important that he explains himself, according to Grøn.

Aftenposten reports that, when confronted with details of the contents of the reported phone threat towards Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and other senior Labor Party politicians in March 2011 in which a male caller mentioned a manifest and shooting AUF members, Breivik denied being the caller. He has previously acknowledged calling the governmental offices at some point, but has said he does not recall the details of this call, and had thus not clarified for the police whether he might have been the March caller.

Grøn told Aftenposten that, after having been given more details of the contents of the reported phone threat, Breivik denied that he made this specific call. Grøn said that Breivik seemed very certain about this. He also said that Breivik does not recall what he said when he did call the governmental offices, but that there is no connection between Breivik’s call and the reported phone threat in March.

Breivik’s main lawyer, Geir Lippestad, previously criticized the police for not investigating the reported phone threat thoroughly as finding out who the caller was could help establish whether someone other than Breivik knew about the plans. Up until now, governmental staff have been searching though the thousands of voice recordings from the time period in question, but the police have now taken possession of the hard drive that contains the voice recordings.

Google translation [edited for clarity]:

Terror-accused denies threat call
08.feb.2012

Anders Breivik Behring has new police interrogation said that it was not he who phoned in threat call to ministry service in March.

An employee at the switchboard has explained that she received a call, probably in March, where a man made threats and said a manifesto and shooting against AUF-ers. Breivik has previously explained that he called government offices in advance of the attack, but he has said he does not remember what he had said.

In a new interview on Wednesday, Breivik said that he is not behind this particular conversation that should have taken place four months before the terrorist attack.

“He have been given more clarity as to the contents of the particular call and he says it was not he who called this. He seems very sure of this,” says attorney Odd Ivar Grøn to NTB.

“He does not remember what he said when he called, but it should not be any connection between his call and the particular threat conversation,” he said….

Original article: Terror-siktet nekter for trusselsamtale

Related article: March phone threats were made to the Justice Department

Police will investigate phone recordings

NRK reports that the police have decided that they will go through all the recorded conversations to the governmental offices around March 2011, the time that one of the receptionists says that a threatening phone call was received. Police lawyer, Pål-Fredrik Hjort Kraby, said to NRK that governmental workers have searched through about half a year of material and that the police will now gain acess to a hard-drive that contains one full year of recordings.

Hjort Kraby told Verdens Gang (VG) that the amount of material is enormous, and that the reported conversation has not been found so far, and that may mean either that the call did not took place or that it simply hasn’t been found yet. According to Hjort Kraby, it is important to establish whether it was the accused (Behring Breivik) that called, or if someone else knew about the plans.

Google translation:

Police will go through audio logs
30.01.2012

“We are pleased that the police should review the log,” says Breivik defender Geir Lippestad to NRK.

Lippestad has previously complained about the police investigation of the telephone call to the ministries, where a man threatened both the prime minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland and the AUF.

“I do not understand why they have not prioritized this,” said Lippestad to NRK Friday….

Original article: Politiet vil gjennomgå lydloggen
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Related article: Will seize telephone calls to the Ministry (Vil ta beslag i telefonsamtaler til departementet)

Related post: Breivik admits he called government department, does not confirm he was March caller

Related post: March phone threats were made to the Justice Department

March phone threats were made to the Justice Department

Stavangeravisen writes that the March telephone threats were made to the Justice Department.

Previous Justice Minister, Knut Storberget (Labor), stepped down in November 2011, a week after he and several other Labor Party leaders received threats posted on a Russian website from a group called The Organization for a Free Norway (Organisasjonen Fritt Norge). Storberget had been a controversial Justice Minister due to his attempts to introduce law changes that would make blasphemy illegal and proposing that the hijab should be allowed in the Norwegian police force.

The Justice Department was located on the seventh floor of the same building as the Prime Minster’s office and was amongst the most severely destroyed offices in the building. Four Justice Department staff members were killed in the 7/22 attacks, three were at work inside the building and one was attending the Labor Youth Organization (AUF) camp at Utøya.

Google translation:

Now do not talk anymore Breivik
24/01/12

Behring Breivik refuses to talk to police before they can guarantee him computer access for the whole sentence after trial. It will not the police do….

The police would, among other things, Breivik asked if it was he who called the Justice Department in March last year and threatened to kill AUF-ers….

Original article: Nå snakker ikke Breivik lenger
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Related post: Caller to government offices in March mentioned shooting Labor Youth members

Related post: Breivik admits he called goverment department, does not confirm he was March caller

Related article: Storberget about death threats: “Unpleasant for me and family” (Storberget om drapstruslene: – Ubehagelig for meg og familien)

Related article: Tearful Storberget: “I have four good reasons to resign” (Gråtkvalt Storberget: – Jeg har fire gode grunner til å gå av)

Related article: The clock stopped when the bomb slammed (Klokken stanset da bomben smalt)

Related article: Killed on the job for the Ministry of Justice (Drept på jobb for Justisdepartementet)

Related article: To see the meeting room of the Ministry of Justice out (Slik ser møterommet til Justisdepartementet ut

Breivik admits he called government department, does not confirm he was March caller

In March 2011, a man called the governmental offices talking about a manifest and shooting of Labor Youth Organization (AUF) members. Now Anders Behring Breivik’s lawyer, Geir Lippestad, says to Verdens Gang (VG) that Breivik acknowledges that he placed a phone call to a governmental department during the planning phase of the attacks, but that he has difficulties remembering the details of this conversation.

Lippestad says that, in his view, it is important to obtain information about the March phone call, and that he is surprised that the police do not appear to have investigated it. He further says that it is important to bring forth information about whoever was apparently knowledgable about a manifest, the Labor Youth Organization (AUF) and governmental representatives. According to Lippestad, the threatening phone call is important if it was made by the accused (Breivik), and at least equally as important if it was not.

Google translation:

Breivik admits phone call to the ministry
27.01.12

In March, a man phoned the switchboard in the government building and talked about a manifesto and to shoot AUF-ers. Anders Behring Breivik’s defense will know who called….

“In our opinion, it is important to get information about someone who has known the plans manifesto, Labour Youth and the named individuals in the government. It is important if it is accused, and at least as important if it is not,” says Lippestad.

He is critical of how the case has been treated by the police.

“I am surprised that the police have not investigated this, but given the ministry responsible for investigating itself. It is very unusual in such a serious matter,” said Lippestad….

Original article: Breivik innrømmer telefonsamtale til departementet
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An employee at the govermental offices reported the threatening phone conversation back in March. The police have apparently not searched through the voice recordings at the governmental offices, but have requested that governmental employees search though the thousands of recorded conversations from the time period in question. They have, so far, not been able to find the conversation.

Breivik’s lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said to NRK that either it is the accused (Breivik) who placed the call, or it was someone familiar with the attack plans. Lippestad also said that since the police have used much time looking into whether other people were involved in the 7/22 attacks, they should, therefore, also be following up on this material themselves.

The police have not yet questioned Breivik about the phone conversation. Breivik is no longer answering any questions from the police since they have not formalized and provided, in writing, certain stipulations that had been previously agreed upon, namely that Breivik would be guaranteed access to a personal computer with word processing software and a version of Wikipedia for the duration of his imprisonment.

Google translation:

Lippestad criticizes the police for lack of investigation
1/27/2012

“Whether it is the accused who have called into this conversation, or is there someone who has known of the plans. Police have spent much time trying to find out if more people have been involved, and therefore they should have control over this material. It is unfortunate that they do not,” says Lippestad….

“Why are the police so little interested in these audit logs?”

“I do not know, and do not understand. They gain the power of this telephone conversation, and it must be important to know if there really was a person number two. I do not understand why they have not prioritized this,” answer Breivik defender.

Lippestad says that he has asked police to investigate, or “requested investigative steps” as he calls it. He sees it as central to the case if there have been some who have known Anders Breivik Behring plans….

Original article: Lippestad refser politiet for manglende etterforskning

Related post: Caller to government offices in March mentioned shooting Labor Youth members

Related post: Breivik refuses to answer more questions until police provide written agreement

Caller to government offices in March mentioned shooting Labor Youth members

In March 2011, about four months before the 7/22 attacks, someone with an educated, Eastern Norway accent phoned the governmental offices and talked about a maniesto and shooting Labor Youth (AUF) members. The person strongly criticized the Labor coalition government, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, and former Labor Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland.

According to NRK, the threat was written down on a note by the receptionist receiving the call and forwarded to her superior. The caller’s name, phone number, and date of the conversation were detailed on the note. Since the call was not perceived as a direct threat, it was apparently not forwarded to the police.

Google translation:

Called in March to the government about the shooting of AUF-ers and manifest
01/06/2012

Investigation materials that NRK know the content of shows how serious the phonecall in retrospect may seem:

• The caller called out the government and Stoltenberg
• The conversation was in very negative terms
• Gro Harlem Brundtland was also recorded with negative formulations
• The person spoke of a manifesto
• He talked about shooting young AUF-ers

After talking a few minutes with the switchboard was the caller put on to an employee in a ministry. Whoever it was is now unknown….

Original article: Ringte i mars til regjeringen om skyting av AUF-ere og manifest
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The phone conversation lasted a couple of minutes. One of Breivik’s lawyers, Vibeke Hein Bæra, says that an audio log of the conversation should exist, and that it is important to etablish if Breivik was the caller. Bæra says the lawyers have talked to Breivik regarding the conversation, but she will not go into details.

According to the Government Office’s Service Center, the police have still not requested the sound log. According to NRK sources, the police have focused on the paper note made by the receptionist, and even entered the ruins of the building together with the receptionist in search of the note for about an hour without success.

Google translation:

“Important to clarify whether Breivik was caller”
01.06.2012

Anders Behring Breivik’s defenders say it is very important to find out if it was he who phoned in a threat to the government’s switchboard in March and warned it would happen, or if there was another who knew of his plans….

Original article: “Viktig å få avklart om det var Breivik som ringte”