Norwegian rocker's French trial deferred to June

The trial of a Norwegian metal musician accused of inciting racial hatred was Thursday postponed to June, as his lawyer said he was not given enough time to prepare a defence.

Black metal musician Kristian Vikernes was arrested in July in France’s central Correze region on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks but was released after 48 hours due to lack of evidence.

He was however charged with inciting racial hatred and defending war crimes on his blog. Police allegedly found racist and anti-Semite material in his computer as well.

The Bergen-born 40-year-old, who adopted the name of Varg (“wolf” in Norwegian), Vikernes first made front-page news in August 1993 when he killed a fellow rocker.

Vikernes, who was also reportedly involved in arson attacks on churches, was sentenced to 21 years in prison. He was released after 16 and moved to Correze with his French wife soon after.

Vikernes’ lawyer Julien Freyssinet told the Paris court Thursday he had only received all 912 documents related to the case on Monday. The court then adjourned the trial to June 3 next year.

Sporting a grey beard and wearing a sweatshirt adorned with a wolf head, Vikernes told the court he did not know why he was accused, speaking through an interpreter.

On his way out of the court, he raised his fist in the air and was applauded by a number of supporters.

On his website, Vikernes said he was “not a Nazi”, expressing regret that he had used the term in a “rather inaccurate way” to describe his ideology.

His real ideology appears to be an eclectic mix of paganism and hatred of “Judeo-Christianity” combined with racism and a rejection of multiculturalism and globalisation.

Other elements include support of eugenics and a mystical cult of primitive Europe.

French intelligence services suspected Vikernes of sympathising with Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who murdered 77 people in a shooting spree in Norway in 2011.

Although Vikernes admits downloading Breivik?s “manifesto”, he has expressed disapproval of the mass-killer?s actions.

Norwegian rocker's French trial deferred to June