Breivik has admitted killing 77 people and wounding more than 240 others when he bombed central Oslo and then opened fire at an island youth camp last year.

The panel of five trial judges will have to rule on Breivik's sanity when they deliver their verdict.

Their conclusion will determine whether he is given a long prison sentence or sent to a secure psychiatric ward.

Breivik, 33, who insists he is sane, has refused to plead guilty and has sought to justify his attacks by saying they were necessary to stop the "Islamisation" of Norway.

Prosecutors have called for him to be considered insane.

On Thursday, security barriers were put up outside the Oslo district court ahead of Friday's sentence reading.

A glass partition will separate Breivik from relatives of victims in a courtroom custom-built for the trial.

Remote-controlled cameras will film the proceedings, sending the images to courtrooms around Norway where other relatives will watch the hearing live.

Breivik's 10-week trial was marked by harrowing testimony from witnesses.

Some victims at the Labour Party youth camp on Utoeya island were shot in the head at point-blank range.

Breivik carried out the meticulously planned attack in July 2011, wearing a fake police uniform, and methodically hunted down his victims.

He accused the Labour Party of promoting multiculturalism and endangering Norway's identity.

BBC

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