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World :: Anders Behring Breivik Jailed For 21 Years

Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik smirked in court as he was jailed for 21 years after a judge ruled he was "not insane".

Breivik has been declared sane and sentenced to prison for bomb and gun attacks that killed 77 people last year.

Reading the ruling, Judge Wenche Elisabeth Arntzen handed down a sentence of "preventive detention" of at least 10 years and a maximum of 21 years.

However, such sentences can be extended under Norwegian law as long as an inmate is considered dangerous.

Breivik, a self-styled anti-Muslim militant, looked pleased as the judge read the ruling.

Lawyers for the 33-year-old right-wing extremist said before the decision that Breivik would appeal any insanity ruling but accept a prison sentence.

Prosecutors had demanded a verdict of insanity, a fate Breivik called "worse than death", while many of his victims say only a sane person could have carried out such a complex attack.

Guilt had never been a question in the trial as Breivik described in chilling detail how he hunted down his victims, some as young as 14, with a shot to the body then one or more bullets to the head.

The killings shook this nation of five million people which had prided itself as a safe haven from much of the world's troubles, raising questions about the prevalence of far right views as immigration rises.

The trial and a commission of investigation into the country's worst violence since the second World War have kept Breivik on the front pages for the past 13 months and survivors said the verdict would finally bring some closure.