But Breivik, who has confessed to killing 77 people in a shooting rampage at a youth retreat and a car bomb attack in Oslo, was cut off by the judge. Wearing a dark suit, the 32-year-old was led into a courtroom packed with dozens of reporters and members of the public, including survivors of the massacre on the island of Utoya.
He began portraying himself as a "commander" of a Norwegian resistance movement but the judge told him to stick to the matter at hand - a hearing on whether he should remain in custody. The court is under a gag order on reporting Breivik's words for fear he would turn the appearance into a platform for his far-right views.
The gunman suspect as he walks past the bodies of his victims on the shoreline of the island of Utoya in Norway. Breivik walks among victims of the shooting rampage on Utoya. Previous hearings have been behind closed doors but Oslo District Court ruled that this session would be partly open to the media and public.
Breivik, who admits the killings but has pleaded not guilty to terror charges, has claimed he carried out his attacks because he wanted to "save Norway and western Europe from a Muslim takeover". His trial is due to begin in April. Investigators say he set off a fertiliser bomb outside the government headquarters in Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to Utoya where youth sections of Norway's Labour Party were gathered for a summer camp.
Disguised as a police officer, he opened fire on dozens of youths and fatally shot 69 people, mostly teenagers, before surrendering to armed police. After his arrest it emerged he had written a 1,500-page manifesto detailing his desire to become an anti-Muslim crusader...
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