Austrian rapist Josef Fritz’s request to move to a regular prison was granted

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An Austrian court said on Tuesday it had ruled that the country’s most notorious living criminal, 89-year-old incestuous rapist Josef Fritzl, could be transferred from a prison psychiatric ward to a regular prison.

A transfer could eventually pave the way for his conditional release from prison, and his lawyer Astrid Wagner said she would seek such a release within a year of his transfer.

Fritzl, who has since changed his name, raped his daughter while holding her captive for 24 years and fathered seven children.

He was photographed being driven to court earlier this year for the first time in 15 years.

This came after his lawyer Astrid Wagner revealed that he requested an early release from prison due to his age and dementia, paving the way for his eventual move to a nursing home.

He has been in a prison for “mentally abnormal” inmates since his 2009 conviction for incest, rape, enslavement, coercion and neglectful murder of his newborn son.

“He was close to tears as he said again that what he did was a terrible thing and that he feels incredibly sorry for these people and that he wished he could take it back,” Ms. Wagner said.

Although he suffered from dementia, the rapist was able to follow the proceedings. A psychiatric evaluation reportedly determined he was no longer at risk of reoffending.

From regular prison, he can apply to be fully released from custody. Ms. Wagner said she plans to file such a request next year.

“His everyday life will remain similar. Prison is prison,” Ms. Wagner said, adding that he would continue to receive psychotherapy.

In 2008, his daughter managed to tell the police that he was holding her captive. At 42, she said she had been held underground for 24 years and abused since she was 11.

When she was 18, Fritzl lured her into the basement, which was built in the style of a Cold War bunker. He told his wife and acquaintances that she had run away to join a cult.