OSLO, Norway, April 18 (UPI) -- Anders Behring Breivik, who says he killed 77 people in Norway, is "always in a good mood," his lawyer said Wednesday.
The lawyer, Geir Lippestad, also told reporters he had asked Breivik, who says the killings were necessary to stop multi-culturalism in Norway, to stop giving a raised-fist salute as the proceedings open every day, CNN reported. Lippestad said the families of those killed last summer in a bombing in Oslo and a shooting spree at a political summer camp for young people had asked for an end to the salutes.
"We will just have to hope that he respects that wish tomorrow," Lippestad said. "Either he will or he won't. There's nothing that we can order him to do."
Asked about Breivik's mental state after the trial ended for the day, Lippestad said he was in a good mood Wednesday.
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"I would say he's always in a good mood," Lippestad said.
Breivik refused to answer questions about an English mentor or time he spent in London Wednesday in his trial in Oslo, Norway.
The court was shown Breivik's statement to the police in which he described three men he met in London as part of an alleged "inaugural meeting" of the Knights Templar. The defendant refused to comment when quizzed by the prosecution, the British publication The Daily Telegraph reported.
Breivik was warned by the judge that failure to answer questions could be used against him.
Breivik admitted to detonating a bomb outside a government building in Oslo last July, killing eight people, and then driving to Utoya Island near the capital, killing 69 people in a shooting spree.
On Monday, Breivik pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges arising from his attacks, claiming "self-defense." Breivik previously admitted his actions but claimed they were justified because he was waging war against multi-culturalism and what he said was a Muslim invasion of Europe.
Prosecutors have said they don't think the group exists "in the way he describes it." Breivik has maintained the Knights Templar is real, but police haven't uncovered it.
Paul Ray, a British far-right activist, is considered to be the unnamed "mentor" mentioned by Breivik in his police statement and in a manifesto he posted online shortly before his attacks, the Telegraph said. Ray said he could see himself in Breivik's descriptions, but denied acting as a mentor and said he never met the defendant.
Prosecutors said the matter is important in determining Breivik's sanity, and where he will be sent to prison.
