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Josef Fritzl: Transfer from prison to prison temporarily stopped

Photo: Ho New / REUTERS

Josef Fritzl held his daughter captive in a soundproof basement in Amstetten and abused her for 24 years before he was sentenced to life in prison for, among other things, murder by omission, rape and deprivation of liberty.

An expert report sought to have the now 88-year-old transferred from an institution for mentally ill but sane criminals, but has now failed for the time being.

An Austrian court has temporarily stopped Fritzl's transfer from prison to prison.

The Vienna Higher Regional Court stated that it had come to the conclusion “that the necessary facts for a decision on such a conditional dismissal have not yet been clarified.”

Specifically, it is about further investigations that should provide more precise information about the future danger of the 88-year-old.

The present report had denied such a danger.

According to the updated analysis, the Krems regional court is expected to make another decision in April.

The Vienna Higher Regional Court thus overturned a decision by the regional court in Krems from January, which had spoken out in favor of a transfer.

The public prosecutor's office had appealed against the decision.

The court in Krems had to provide further evidence, the higher regional court said.

Fritzl raped his daughter a thousand times and fathered seven children with her

In 1984, the trained electrical engineer locked his then 18-year-old daughter Elisabeth in the soundproof cellar of his house in the small Austrian town of Amstetten.

Over the next 24 years he raped her thousands of times and fathered seven children with her.

One of them soon died.

Three of the surviving children were raised by Fritzl and his wife in their home.

The others had to live in the basement with their mother, never seeing daylight.

It was only when the seriously ill eldest daughter was admitted to the hospital in April 2008 that the crime came to light.

Fritzl, who had his last name changed while in prison, was sentenced to life in prison in March 2009.

The charges in the trial were murder by omission, rape, deprivation of liberty, aggravated coercion, slavery and incest - he was found guilty on all counts.

He was placed in a correctional facility in Krems that is intended “for mentally abnormal lawbreakers.”

His lawyer Astrid Wagner told the AFP news agency that Fritzl's transfer, which has now been revoked, should be decided again at the end of April.

Among other things, Fritzl should undergo further medical examinations.

eru/dpa/AFP