Josef Fritzl faces having his planned release from a psychiatric prison denied following a court appeal from Austrian prosecutors.
Fritzl was imprisoned at Austria’s Stein Prison in Krems an der Donau in 2009 after he was found guilty of rape, incest, enslavement and negligent homicide.
He had held his daughter Elisabeth captive for 24 years, during which time he raped her thousands of times and fathered seven children with her.
Now 88 and suffering from dementia, it was ruled last week that he could be moved to a regular prison as he was deemed no longer dangerous.
But the recent confirmed appeal from Austrian prosecutors may mean that his planned move is scuppered.
The Daily Mail has reported that Ferdinand Schuster, a spokesman for the state court in Krems, confirmed a report by broadcaster ORF that prosecutors planned to appeal last week’s decision.
The decision means that a court in Vienna must now decide whether it can go ahead.
The Krems court had decided that Fritzl could be moved on the advice of renowned Austrian psychiatrist Adelheid Kastner, who decided following an evaluation that he was no longer a threat to society.
Ms Kastner had also concluded that he was incapable of carrying out further crimes, with Fritzl now suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and requiring a walking frame to get around.
His move was allowed under the condition that he attended regular psychotherapy and evaluations over a 10-year probation period.
But the court rejected a request that the rapist, also known as the “monster of Amstetten” be released from detention altogether.
Fritzl had reportedly requested he be moved multiple times, and last week’s ruling paved the way for his eventual release to a nursing home.
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