Norwegian mass murderer says isolation made him more radical

The 37-year-old right-wing extremist, who murdered 77 people in a 2011 bomb attack and shooting rampage, is serving a 21-year sentence in a high-security prison in southern Norway, where his correspondence is monitored.

Dressed in a black suit and tie, the stone-faced Breivik spoke coherently without emotion, saying he agreed with government attorneys who had warned that the self-proclaimed neo-Nazi had become more radicalized in prison.

In a surprise decision, the Oslo District Court in April sided with his claim, finding that his isolation was inhuman and degrading and breached the European Convention on Human Rights, and ordered the government to pay his legal costs.

Breivik's lawyer Oystein Storrvik said the control over his communications with the outside world amounts to a "blatant breach of human rights," arguing that frequent censorship of his letters and long review periods means Breivik cannot keep regular communication with people outside of the penal system.