The 10-week trial, which begins on Monday, will decide whether Breivik should be sent for treatment at a psychiatric hospital or to jail.
Breivik, 33, faces terrorism and premeditated murder charges for detonating a bomb in the center of the Norwegian capital, Oslo, and a shooting spree at the governing Labor Party’s annual youth camp on Utoya.
Eight people died in Oslo and 69 were killed on the island.
Breivik intends to plead not guilty, arguing the attacks were a political act designed to prevent what he described as a “Muslim invasion” of Europe.
If found sane, Breivik faces a maximum 21-year sentence, but sentences can be prolonged indefinitely for inmates deemed to pose a danger to Norwegian society. Similar rules apply in psychiatric care.
The July 2011 incident was Norway’s worst massacre since World War II.
Many analysts believe the West is so obsessed with what it calls Islamic extremism that it has overlooked simmering homegrown terrorism among its own nationals.
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