The family of Austrian incest father Josef Fritzl has been able to enjoy outdoor activities and even leave the clinic where they are staying although they remain under tight security, an Austrian daily reported on Friday.
One of the girls born to incest victim Elisabeth Fritzl by her own father, during her 24-year imprisonment in a basement cellar, took part this weekend in a four-day camp with her local youth fire brigade, the daily Kurier reported.
Her name was changed to hide her participation in the camp but there were no problems, local fire chief Armin Blutsch told the paper.
The 15-year-old girl, who was raised by Fritzl (73) and his wife Rosemarie after being born in the cellar, had said it was one of her greatest wishes to take part in the youth camp, with some 4 000 other children.
The rest of the family has also been able to enjoy outside activities and small excursions, according to staff at the Amstetten-Mauer clinic.
Security concerns had earlier prevented Elisabeth Fritzl, her mother and her six children from spending time outdoors as paparazzi laid siege to the clinic, hoping to get a first picture of the family.
The shocking incest case in Amstetten, about 100km west of Vienna, came to light in mid-April after Elisabeth, Fritzl’s 19-year-old daughter, was admitted to hospital in an unconscious state, later suffering multiple organ failure.
A search for the mother revealed she had been locked up for 24 years in a cellar of her parents’ building, where she was sexually abused by her father, bearing seven children with him.
Three of the children were brought upstairs to live with their ”grandparents”, while three others spent their entire lives underground, never seeing sunlight. A seventh child died shortly after birth.
Elisabeth Fritzl was to be questioned by a judge next week for the first time, and prosecution spokesperson Gerhard Sedlacek said the children could also be interviewed later, Kurier reported.
The sessions will be taped to spare the family from having to appear in court at a later date, the newspaper added. – AFP