The trial of admitted Norway mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was disrupted Friday when a brother of one of the 77 people killed in last summer's massacre threw a shoe at the defendant.
"You killed my brother. Go to hell! Go to hell," the spectator yelled as he threw the shoe, which missed Breivik but hit one of his defense lawyers, Vibeke Hein Baera, who was sitting closest to the courtroom spectators, according to a report from Views and News from Norway.
"If someone wants to throw something at me, do it at me while I'm entering or leaving, and not at my lawyer," Breivik said, according to a report from BBC News.
Police escorted the thrower, who was not identified, from the courtroom, but his actions were greeted by applause and shouts of "Bravo!" by others spectators, reports said.
Views and News, citing Norway's VG Nett, reported that the shoe thrower lives outside of Norway and had flown into Oslo on Wednesday so he could be at the trial when his brother's autopsy was presented.
Some reports said the shoe thrower was from Iraq, a country where the action is seen as a grave insult because the bottom of shoes are unclean.
Shoe throwing gained international attention in 2008 when an Iraqi reporter threw a shoe at then-U.S. President George Bush during a news conference in Baghdad.
Friday's incident occurred as a prosecutor was finishing up a presentation on autopsy reports of victims shot by Breivik on Utoya Island, where 69 people were killed while attending a Labor Party summer youth camp.
According to the BBC News report, Breivik said in court Friday that during that assault, "Someone threw an object at me and it hit me in the face" in an attempt to stop him. He did not say what the object was.
Defense attorney Baera, who was hit by the shoe Friday, later told Norwegian Broadcasting that as the trial was expected to last at least six more weeks, "I hope we can return to more dignified proceedings,” Views and News reported.
Breivik boasts of being an ultranationalist who killed his victims to fight multiculturalism in Norway.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Thats about as much punishment as he / we can expect from the justice system in Norway.
your right – I wouldn't be surprised if they just let him go. You can do anything in Norway – murder is nothing. the government is weak, the laws weaker. The most he will get or can is 21 years. Can you believe that – and they think that's a mark of civilization where the most heinous crimes are handled like fine china so as not to tarnish their politically correct society. Its absurd, lunacy. Whether this man is held for life, executed , tortured, whatever – his crimes are so great there doesn't exist a punishment to fit it. Its like the Nazi's – how do you punish that. And lest we forget crimes are punished. Although the legal systems seeks justice, guilt actuates punishment. But not in Norway.
What do you know about Norwegian justice system?
This guy will probably be locked up forever with what they call "detainment" because of his heinous crimes.
"Regular murder" has the max penalty of 21 years.
Weather or not: Have you ever lived there? No anyone personally who does? got a feeling your a down a stup southerner. dont talk about what you probably know little of except through talk show radio personalities
So... An Arab tradition comes to haunt Breivik.
Irony. If the shoe fits.......
Should have been a 7.62 caliber shoe...
Embrace your viking heritage and start bringing spears to court. Most of the time, they provide better accuracy than you can get with the average shoe.
@ bobcat hope you seen my explanation and apoligy.Loveya man
@ gung hoe
I did see it and responded. It's all good my friend. Quit beibg a stranger, I like talking with you.
Hello gung hoe! Long time no see.
Hello bobcat (iah). saw your fables?
@ Scottish Mama
Good day to you ma'am. I just happened up on that on that bit of trivia and thought it was pretty cool. Everyone seems to use that word in everyday converstion, so I just thought I'd post it's origin. I didn't know that, and doubt many people did. It's amazing how some of our language developed.
A shoe??? Okay, I think I need to get into the shoe business. There seems to be a great need for shoes with greater "punishment" power. I'll create a shoe that will explode on impact. Or one that will inject the person it hits with some skin eating virus that has no cure and takes a slow long painful time to kill you. Or at the very least a shoe that has a 20 lb weight in it so it'll give the person a concussion. But just a normal everyday shoe? Why? That does nothing to the person you through it at and then you're out a perfectly good shoe! Makes no sense.
They actually need to design a shoe with greater accuracy. Maybe some kind of laser guidance system.
Wishful thinking: the shoe was made in China, spreading toxic lead, melamine when it hit? No offense to China.
I'll design a shoe that when thrown comes back to me, or a remote control flying shoe.
None taken.
Sloppy reporting by CNN again. The Iraqi reporter in 2008 threw BOTH of his shoes at W (oo, double-insult!).
Breivik sounds like an arrogant punk among his more hideous, murderous traits. Zero empathy of the sons, daughters,
brothers, sisters he butchered. I'm sure in medieval times, he would have roasted in a cast iron bull.
I wish we could turn the clock back to medieval times ... Even that would be too kind..
This guy is innocent! what are they accusing him of?
Oh, stop.
the ultimate insult...lol...would be nice if every war could be fought by throwing shoes...of course i would have to fill mine with concrete...lol
Dont worry, he will get whats coming to him.
Would someone just shoot him and get it over with. It's norway, no one is gonna convict you for doing what should be done.
What's Chris Jericho doing over there?
Unfortunately what we have been describing as Norway's excessive politically correct behavior may actually be solidarity with Breivik's position.
I found women in Norway to be extremely attractive in general terms. Great personalities and zest for life. Can't wait to go back there.
A narcissistic thought if I ever heard one since the topic is murdered Norwegians.