Press
If the Krems regional court had its way, incest father Josef Fritzl should be transferred from the special to the normal prison system. The Vienna Higher Regional Court has now overturned this decision.
Vienna – This comes as a bit of a surprise. It was only at the end of January that the Krems regional court declared that Josef Fritzl could be transferred from the measures to the normal prison system. Because of his advancing dementia, the incest father from Austria should no longer be dangerous, Fritzl's lawyer argued. The court followed her.
The turning point was on Monday afternoon (March 11th). The Vienna Higher Regional Court overturned the decision from Krems. Fritzl will now be examined again and heard again in court at the end of April. This is reported by several media outlets from Austria, like this ORF.
Josef Fritzl remains in custody – Vienna Higher Regional Court annuls the decision from Krems
Fritzl's defense attorney, Astrid Wagner, had actually sought a conditional release from prison. The way there is now a long one. The 88-year-old remains behind bars for the time being in the correctional system, i.e. the accommodation for prisoners with mental illnesses. The scheduled court date fueled rumors in January that the incest perpetrator would be released in Austria. At times it degenerated into hysteria. Fritzl was said to have been seen in a coffee house before the court date, it was said.
The decision from Krems dates from January 25, 2024. At that time, however, no representative of the public prosecutor's office was present at Fritzl's hearing. They had 14 days to file an objection and did so. The decision has now been made in Vienna.
“Above all, the Vienna Higher Regional Court had to examine whether the dangerousness of the convicted person, which was the reason for his being sent to prison, still exists or has been sufficiently reduced. Unlike the court of first instance, the Vienna Higher Regional Court came to the conclusion that the necessary facts for a decision on such a conditional dismissal have not yet been clarified,” it says ORF in the reasoning of the OLG.
How dangerous is Fritzl? Austrian court calls for more clarity
The regional court in Krems must therefore decide again on whether Fritzl is dangerous. And decide specifically about the status of the dementia that was diagnosed in him. There is a date for another hearing at the end of April.
![Defense attorney Astrid Wagner no longer considers incest perpetrator Josef Fritzl to be dangerous.](https://www.merkur.de/assets/images/33/665/33665972-verteidigerin-astrid-wagner-haelt-inzest-taeter-josef-fritzl-nicht-mehr-fuer-gefaehrlich-2oF4K7NDwwBG.jpg)
During the approximately 30-minute hearing in January, the lawyer argued that Josef Fritzl deeply regretted his actions. “My client has mental deterioration and is severely demented,” said Wagner. He was close to tears. The court relied primarily on the testimony of court psychiatrist Adelheid Kastner at the end of 2023. She had certified that Fritzl was harmless due to his severe dementia. Now the defense should present the medical documents to the court.
In 1984, in the small Austrian town of Amstetten, Fritzl locked his then 18-year-old daughter in the soundproof cellar of his house, raped her thousands of times and fathered seven children with her. The charges in the trial were murder by omission, rape, deprivation of liberty, severe coercion, slavery and incest. In 2009, the “incest father” was sentenced to life in prison.
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