Image caption Anders Breivik in court this month.
"As I saw Breivik shoot one of his first victims, I turned around and ran into the woods that are on the island."
24-year-old Bjorn Ihler was on Utoya in 2011 when Anders Behring Breivik opened fire and killed 69 people.
The mass murderer was sentenced to 21 years in prison but a Norwegian court's ruled that he should be treated better.
Ihler survived the shootings that day and far from disagreeing with the latest ruling, he respects it wholeheartedly.
"I think it shows great strength that we are able to take Breivik's grievances seriously," he says
"We can see his grievances separately from his
acts. We can say that everyone is equal before the law in Norway,
including Breivik.
"He should be treated with the same respect for human rights as any other inmate in our prisons."
Before his shooting spree on the island of Utoya, Breivik also planted a bomb in Oslo which killed eight people.
"Of course Breivik denied us our human rights in many ways," said Ihler. "He dehumanised us."
"But if we deny Breivik human rights simply because he denied us human rights, we are following his path and we're sinking down to his level. That's not something I'm willing to do, and isn't something I'm willing to let Norway do."
When the attack happened in July 2011, Bjorn was a
student in Liverpool and had travelled back to Norway to attend the
political summer camp at Utoya island.
In the space of just three hours Anders Breivik set off a bomb in Oslo, killing eight people, and then went to Utoya island where he carried out a mass shooting.
"I knew a lot of the people who lost their lives on the island, and it's incredibly sad to think of that and of the consequences of these horrific ideologies and actions.
"To begin with, I felt he was terribly dangerous and I was afraid of him. And I think all of Norway in some way built up this image of who Breivik was - as a terrorist, as a monster of some sort.
"People even started speaking about him as 'he who shall not be named', like Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter books.
"The first time I saw him in court I was relieved.
"I realised that Breivik is just another man - he doesn't have any powers any more, he can't hurt me anymore. So that was an important part of my rehabilitation."
Part of Breivik's argument is that he wants to be released from solitary confinement.
Bjorn Ihler doesn't think his views will spread if he's allowed to socialise in prison.
"His message of hate is already out there and it has far too many supporters across Europe, the US and the rest of the world.
"I don't think while Breivik is in prison he will add something significant to that, I'm much more worried about everyone who's out there - and that's why we need to do everything in our power to fight violent extremism."
24-year-old Bjorn Ihler was on Utoya in 2011 when Anders Behring Breivik opened fire and killed 69 people.
The mass murderer was sentenced to 21 years in prison but a Norwegian court's ruled that he should be treated better.
Ihler survived the shootings that day and far from disagreeing with the latest ruling, he respects it wholeheartedly.
"I think it shows great strength that we are able to take Breivik's grievances seriously," he says
"He should be treated with the same respect for human rights as any other inmate in our prisons."
Before his shooting spree on the island of Utoya, Breivik also planted a bomb in Oslo which killed eight people.
"Of course Breivik denied us our human rights in many ways," said Ihler. "He dehumanised us."
"But if we deny Breivik human rights simply because he denied us human rights, we are following his path and we're sinking down to his level. That's not something I'm willing to do, and isn't something I'm willing to let Norway do."
Image caption Utoya island was where a summer camp for young political activists was being held
In the space of just three hours Anders Breivik set off a bomb in Oslo, killing eight people, and then went to Utoya island where he carried out a mass shooting.
"I knew a lot of the people who lost their lives on the island, and it's incredibly sad to think of that and of the consequences of these horrific ideologies and actions.
"To begin with, I felt he was terribly dangerous and I was afraid of him. And I think all of Norway in some way built up this image of who Breivik was - as a terrorist, as a monster of some sort.
"People even started speaking about him as 'he who shall not be named', like Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter books.
Image caption A spokeswoman for a support group for the victims' families said she was surprised and "a little disappointed" by the ruling
"I realised that Breivik is just another man - he doesn't have any powers any more, he can't hurt me anymore. So that was an important part of my rehabilitation."
Part of Breivik's argument is that he wants to be released from solitary confinement.
Bjorn Ihler doesn't think his views will spread if he's allowed to socialise in prison.
"His message of hate is already out there and it has far too many supporters across Europe, the US and the rest of the world.
"I don't think while Breivik is in prison he will add something significant to that, I'm much more worried about everyone who's out there - and that's why we need to do everything in our power to fight violent extremism."
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