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Courthouse in St. Pölten (2009): Josef Fritzl was convicted of murder, rape and slave ownership
Photo: Miguel Villagran/ Getty Images
For years, Josef Fritzl kept his daughter captive in a basement in Amstetten, Austria, raped her and fathered children with her.
The man, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment, is currently in an institution for mentally disturbed but sane criminals – and nothing will change that anytime soon.
The 87-year-old, who has since changed his name, must not be transferred to a normal prison in Austria.
The higher regional court in Vienna decided that his accommodation in the institution was still necessary, the judicial authorities said.
The Court of Appeal argued that there was still a serious, untreatable illness.
The public prosecutor's office, who had appealed against the end of the incarceration, was right.
If Fritzl had been transferred to a normal prison, he could have been released next year.
According to Austrian law, a probationary release from life imprisonment is possible after 15 years.
However, the public prosecutor's office would have been involved in such a step.
Fritzl was convicted in 2009 of murder, rape and slave ownership, among other things.
He had kept his daughter captive for 24 years in a self-built basement under his home in Amstetten, Lower Austria.
He fathered seven children with her.
A son died shortly after birth from an illness.
Fritzl explained to his wife and neighbors that the daughter had joined a sect.
His double life was exposed in 2008.
ptz/dpa
