Change to normal prison
Complaint filed against Josef Fritzl’s transfer
February 1, 2024, 3:39 p.m
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The incest perpetrator Josef Fritzl has been in a prison for mentally abnormal lawbreakers for 15 years. Last week, a court decided that the 88-year-old should be transferred to normal prison. The public prosecutor now wants to prevent this.
Austria’s public prosecutor’s office has filed a complaint against the transfer of incest criminal Josef Fritzl from an institution for mentally abnormal criminals to a normal prison. A spokesman for the Krems regional court said this. Austrian media had previously reported on the complaint.
Last week, a panel of judges at the Krems Regional Court decided that 88-year-old Fritzl would be transferred from the so-called penal system, comparable to the German penal system, to the normal penal system. However, he still has to undergo regular psychotherapy. Fritzl, who has since changed his name, held his daughter Elisabeth prisoner in the basement of his house in Amstetten, Lower Austria, for 24 years, raped her thousands of times and fathered seven children with her.
In April 2008, the case was discovered and made headlines around the world. In 2009, Fritzl was sentenced to life imprisonment for incest, rape, slavery, severe coercion, deprivation of liberty and the murder of his newborn son by omission.
The basis for the transfer was a psychiatric report that confirmed Fritzl’s dementia. His defense attorney described him as “not dangerous.” The lawyer plans to apply for release from prison next year. Until a final decision on the complaint is made, Fritzl will remain in enforcement of the measures.