The white nationalist who killed his sister before attacking a mosque was given a 21-year sentence in a Norwegian court.
Philip Manshaus, 22, was found guilty on Thursday of trying to “kill as many Muslims as possible.” He did not succeed in that goal, as he was overpowered by one of the men at the al Noor mosque, Muhammad Rafiq, who stopped Manshaus after he fired four shots into the glass door of the building.
Manshaus was also found guilty of killing his 17-year-old stepsister, Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen, who was adopted from China. Prosecutors referred to Ihle-Hansen’s murder as a “racist act,” according to Agence France-Presse.
During his first court appearance, Manshaus was seen battered and bruised after his plans to shoot up the Oslo mosque were stopped by Rafiq. Police said at the time that he held extreme right-wing views, including animosity toward immigrants. He also praised Vidkun Quisling, Norway’s leader under Nazi occupation, and was reportedly inspired to attack the mosque by shootings in New Zealand and El Paso, Texas.
Because Norway doesn’t have life sentences, Manshaus was given 21 years in prison, the longest jail term under Norwegian law. However, his custodial sentence can be extended indefinitely if he continues to be considered a threat to society.
Manshaus had pleaded not guilty and claimed he carried out the attacks to ensure the “survival of the white race.” His defense attorney, Unni Fries, said her client had a “rather paranoid world view” while arguing that he might need psychiatric care. Fries said Manshaus thought Europe was threatened by “Muslims, Jews, gender equality, homosexuals, the media, and the authorities.”
Also serving a 21-year sentence in Norway is fellow white nationalist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in a Norwegian bombing and shooting spree in 2011.
