17 Jul 2013

French police arrest 'neo-Nazi' musician

9:50 am on 17 July 2013

A Norwegian musician with links to mass killer Anders Behring Breivik has been arrested in France on suspicion he was preparing a major terrorist act.

Kristian "Varg" Vikernes was arrested in central France after his wife bought four rifles, the BBC reports. The French interior ministry said he constituted a potential threat to society.

Described by French officials as a neo-Nazi, the musician had in the past received a copy of a manifesto from Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011.

Breivik planted a bomb in central Oslo and went on a shooting spree on the nearby island of Utoeya in July 2011. He was imprisoned for the maximum 21-year term last year.

An official at the Paris Prosecutor Office said Breivik sent a copy of a manifesto setting out his ideology to Mr Vikernes, who is also a convicted murderer.

He was convicted in 1994 of stabbing a man to death in Oslo and burning down several churches. On his release in 2009 he moved to France with his wife and three children.

On his website, he discusses Breivik's manifesto, but also criticises him for killing innocent Norwegians.

The 1,500-page manifesto outlined Breivik's planned crusade against Muslims, who he said "were taking over Europe and could only be defeated through a violent civil war".

Mr Vikernes was arrested along with his French wife in Correze, a region in central France. Police sources said officers were searching their home for weapons and explosives. Officials say Mr Vikernes' wife had a legal firearms permit when she bought the four rifles.