The right-wing extremist who has admitted killing 77 people in the worst peacetime massacre that Norway has ever seen told a court on Monday that he deserves a medal of honour for the bloodshed and demanded to be set free.

Anders Behring Breivik smirked as he was led in to the Oslo district court, handcuffed and dressed in a dark suit, for his last scheduled detention hearing before the trial starts in April.

The 32-year-old Norwegian told the court that the July 22 massacre — carried out with a bomb, a rifle and a handgun — was a strike against “traitors” he said are embracing immigration to promote “an Islamic colonisation of Norway.”

About 100 survivors and relatives of victims watched in disbelief, as Breivik asked to be released, and told the judge he should receive a military honour for Norway’s most deadly peacetime attacks.

Breivik faces terror charges, which carry up to 21 years. However, if he’s deemed gravely mentally ill he will be sent to psychiatric care.