Austrian incest victim may sue father

Austrian Elisabeth Fritzl, who was imprisoned by her father for 24 years and gave birth to seven of his children, may sue her father for compensation, her lawyer said last night.

Fritzl (73), kept Elisabeth and three of her six surviving children in a windowless basement prison for nearly a quarter of a century, while raising three of their children as his own upstairs.

Lawyer Christoph Herbst said he was looking into claiming compensation from Fritzl, who had four or five real estate assets in his name, for those who had been locked in the basement.

"There is the possibility of claiming compensation for imprisonment and the damage that has been incurred by it," Mr Herbst said in an interview.

Fritzl's assets also have debt attached to them and it is unclear how much money will be left in the end, he said.

"Now it is all about evaluating his financial circumstances. Does he actually have any wealth so that it pays off to start proceedings?"

Mr Herbst said he had the impression that the victimized family had a loving relationship when he met them.

"My experience of the family was a very positive one. Looking at the way they treat each other, it is really very loving, they are open towards each other and they play together," he said.

United for the first time just over a week ago, Elisabeth Fritzl, five of her children and her mother Rosemarie are now in the care of a hospital in Amstetten, west of Vienna.

"If you see the family with your own eyes, it makes you feel much better than looking at the whole case in theory and from afar," Mr Herbst said.

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