Josef Fritzl could be removed from psychiatric detention after an assessment report has said he ‘no longer poses any danger’.
The 87-year-old was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 after being convicted of the systematic abuse of his daughter Elisabeth, who was locked away in a soundproofed room of his home in Austria for 24 years.
During this time, Fritzl raped his daughter thousands of times, fathering seven children, one of whom passed away.
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Three of these children were forced to stay in the basement with Elisabeth, while the other three were brought up into the family home to live with him.
Since his crimes came to light, Fritzl has been locked up in a secure psychiatric facility.
However, this could all change after a three-judge state court panel in Krems, Lower Austria, ruled that he now should be moved from the special unit to the standard prison system.
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If approved, this would mean he would be able to apply for release as early as 2023 thanks to Austrian law which says parole may be granted to inmates sentenced to life imprisonment if they have served 15 years, which Fritzl has.
While unlikely, if it did go ahead this would mean he spent nine years less in prison than his daughter spent imprisoned in his house.
Court spokesman Ferdinand Schuster told the Austria Press Agency on Wednesday (20 April) that the panel set a 10-year probation period and other conditions, and that the decision is based on a psychiatric report stating Fritzl ‘no longer poses any danger’.
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But the decision is not yet legally binding, as it must first be approved by the Higher Regional Court in Vienna and is pending review.
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The Regional Court of Krems decided last autumn that it would move the inmate to a regular prison, but the public prosecutor's office opposed this plan and immediately launched an appeal to see it blocked.
The Vienna Higher Regional Court overturned this decision on 8 November 2021 for procedural reasons and instructed the Krems Regional Court to make a new decision, which has since been revealed by spokesperson Reinhard Hinger.
The public prosecutor's office has also submitted a complaint against the latest plan, and the case is now awaiting a ruling from the capital’s higher court.
Last year, a movie based on the horrifying crimes committed by Fritzl was released on Amazon Prime.
Directed by Elisabeth Röhm, Girl in the Basement tells the story of Sara (played by Stefanie Scott) who is held captive by her father, Don (Judd Nelson) in the wake of her 18th birthday.
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Although the plot comes from the notorious case, the names and details have been changed to protect real life victims and people involved.
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Topics: Crime, True crime, World News