Mass killer Breivik may have rare forms of Aspergers and Tourette’s syndromes, says Norway's leading psychiatrist

Professor Ulrik Malt says gunman has 'narcissistic personality disorder'

'When I saw Breivik... I did not see a monster. I saw a deeply lonely man'

Breivik shouts that expert's testimony is 'insulting' and 'abusive'

Asperger's support groups deny claim Breivik suffers from condition



Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik has a rare, high-functioning form of Asperger's that has left him incapable of empathy or real friendship, one of Norway's most prominent psychiatrists has told a court in Oslo.



Professor Ulrik Fredrik Malt of Olso University told the court: ' It is plausible that there is Asperger's, Tourette's, and a narcissistic personality disorder.'

As evidence, he cited the lack of emotion Breivik showed when discussing those he killed, his impressive memory for details, his obsession with numbers, his hypergraphia [obsessive writing], and his monotonous tone of voice.



Testimony: Ulrik Fredrik Malt, a professor of psychiatry, testifies in the case against terror and murder charged Anders Behring Breivik at a court in Oslo

Deliberation: Judge Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen listens to arguments today as legal teams debate the sanity of Breivik. The defendant himself has instructed his lawyers to fight that he is sane

All of these, he said, were evidence of 'functional disorders of the brain lobes'.



Breivik angrily interrupted Professor Malt's testimony, complaining that his claims were 'insulting' and 'abusive'.



But when given the opportunity to comment at the end of the day, he was cooly ironic. He said: 'I would like to congratulate Professor Malt for his well-executed character assassination.

Aspergers: Breivik reacted with anger at claims he was suffering mental illness, saying that the testimony of Professor Malt was 'insulting'

'In the beginning I was quite offended, but in the end I thought it was pretty funny. The premises outlined are not true.'

The 33-year-old extremist has instructed his lawyers to fight for him to be declared sane, even though this would mean he spends the next 21 years in prison, rather than in a secure mental hospital.



As he has confessed to killing 77 people during his massacre last July, his sanity is the key question at the trial.



Professor Malt argued that Breivik did not appear to suffer from the absurd, bizarre delusions or hallucinations normal for a schizophrenic, so he did not agree with the conclusions of the first psychiatic report received by the court, which concluded he was insane.



But he agreed that Breivik could not be treated as responsible for his actions, contradicting a second psychiatric report, which argued Breivik was criminally accountable.



Prfessor Malt said: 'It is important that we take on board that this is something much more than only a pure right-wing extremist.



'It is a tragedy for Norway, and for us. But I believe it is also a tragedy for Breivik. The first time I saw Breivik coming into the hall, I did not see a monster. I saw a deeply lonely man.'

He said that Asperger's would explain the problems Breivik's mother had with her son when he was four years old, leading the two of them to spend several months staying at Norway's National Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.



Breivik's mother, Wench Behring, has also described him as being constantly thirsty, a symptom Professor Malt said was frequently displayed by young Asperger's sufferers.



Breivik's violent acts could also be the result of a version of Tourette's syndrome, which is associated with Asperger's. He said had observed that Breivik suffered frequent suppressed tics.



Prosecution: Director of public prosecutions, Tor Aksel Busch (left), and public prosecutor Svein Holden arrive in court today to hear the testimony of mental health experts

Force: This photo shows members of the Norwegian Special Forces land by boat on the shore of the island of Utoya during Breivik's shooting spree