A court in Norway has ruled that the prison regime of mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik qualifies as “inhuman and degrading” treatment under European human rights law, in a shock victory for the extremist.

The Oslo District Court ruled that the Norwegian authorities’ had contravened Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights by keeping the killer had in near total isolation for close to five years.

“The court… has concluded that the prison conditions constitute inhuman treatment,” the court ruled, adding that the frequent strip searches to which Breivik has been subjected were both unnecessary and “degrading”.