Norway’s a wonderful country with a population about the size of Brooklyn and Queens combined, filled with gorgeous landscapes and even more gorgeous women. But, seriously…
Anders Behring Breivik, the convicted Norwegian killer, has been admitted to the University of Oslo’s political science program, the university’s rector said Friday. Breivik, 36, is a right-wing extremist serving 21 years in prison for killing 77 people in a politically motivated bomb-and-gun attacks in 2011. The sentence can be extended when it expires.
“All inmates in Norwegian prisons are entitled to higher education in Norway if they meet the admission requirements,” university rector Ole Petter Ottersen said Friday in an email to The Associated Press. Breivik’s application was rejected two years ago after the university said his qualifications were insufficient. That submission stirred a debate in Norway over whether someone convicted of such a horrific crime should be considered for higher education. Breivik will remain in his cell to study.
No, really —
Norway has a rehabilitation-focused justice system aimed at helping inmates prepare for life after they get out, which includes giving them the right to higher education. Prior to the 2011 massacres, Breivik attended high schools in Norway and took an online course in small business management. He didn’t complete secondary education, but has been working on it since his 2012 conviction. “He then didn’t meet the admission requirements. Now his grades live up to what is expected,” university spokeswoman Marina Tofting said.
As Norway’s ethnic composition changes, let’s see how long this sort of “rehabilitation” lasts.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member