Norway says no to trial by TV

Cameras to be banned from courtroom

Anders Behring Breivik, the man accused of killing 77 people in a twin attack last July, will not have his evidence broadcast.

The opening and closing statements of both prosecutors and lawyers for the defence will be broadcast as well as the verdict Oslo District Court has announced.

Statements from witnesses will also face restrictions.

Breivik has admitted carrying out the attacks which also left 242 people injured and on Wednesday he was charged with committing acts of terror.

The trial is set to open on April 16th and the court is being rebuilt to handle more than a thousand journalists who will receive press accreditation.

Prosecutors have indicated they consider the accused is mentally ill and will seek to have him placed in psychiatric care rather than ask for a jail term.

Norways national broadcaster will televise the trial but the full recording will be kept in the archives with the court recommending a twenty five year release date.

The court still has to decide whether to allow expert witness testimony to be broadcast.

Norway is still traumatised after last summers tragic events where Breivik is thought to have specifically targeted the Labour Party. 

The Oslo offices of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg were bombed while a man, now known to be Breivik, who was dressed as a policeman began shooting people who were on a youth camp on the island of Utoeya just outside the capital.

There are more than 1,000 aggrieved parties, many of whom will go to local courts to watch the parts of the trial that can be televised.