Josef Fritzl to remain in secure psychiatric facility

Josef Fritzl will not be transferred to a regular prison from a secure psychiatric facility, the Higher Regional Court in Vienna determined on Tuesday.

Had Fritzl been transferred to a regular prison, rather than the Krems-Stein correctional facility where he is currently in custody, he could have applied for conditional release after 15 years.

Fritzl was sentenced to life in jail in 2009 after imprisoning and raping his daughter repeatedly over a 24-year period.

Now, the court in the Austrian capital has said that Fritzl will remain "in an institution for mentally abnormal lawbreakers."

In April, the Krems regional court had ordered the 87-year-old move, under certain conditions, to an alternative penitentiary. However, the Krems public prosecutor's office filed an appeal against this.

The Vienna Higher Regional Court has now upheld that appeal.

According to the court, there were no "convincing indications" that Fritzl was no longer a danger and therefore must remain in a secure psychiatric facility.

What were Fritzl's crimes?

In August 1984, after his daughter Elisabeth turned 18, Fritzl lured her into the basement of their house where she remained captive until 2008.

Fritzl routinely raped her during this period, leading to the birth of seven children.

He was found to have caused the death of one newborn by failing to seek medical help despite knowing the baby was in danger of dying.

jsi/rt (AFP, dpa)