This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7387317.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Fritzl police gullible - minister | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Austria's justice minister has admitted police were too quick to believe Josef Fritzl, the man who imprisoned and raped his daughter for 24 years. | Austria's justice minister has admitted police were too quick to believe Josef Fritzl, the man who imprisoned and raped his daughter for 24 years. |
| Maria Berger said Mr Fritzl's account that his daughter ran away to join a cult was not sufficiently questioned. | Maria Berger said Mr Fritzl's account that his daughter ran away to join a cult was not sufficiently questioned. |
| Meanwhile, prosecutors talked to Mr Fritzl on Wednesday for the first time since his arrest 10 days ago. | |
| A spokesman said the meeting covered his personal history but not the allegations against him. | |
| He said investigating prosecutor Christiane Burkheiser had described the suspect as "co-operative" during the interview, which lasted about an hour-and-a-half. | |
| The next meeting, he said, would not take place for at least another two weeks. | |
| After his arrest, Mr Fritzl initially confessed to keeping his daughter captive and repeatedly raping her, but then decided not to answer further questions. | |
| First admission | |
| Maria Berger's comments in Der Standard newspaper are the first acknowledgement from Austrian officials of lapses in the investigation into daughter Elisabeth Fritzl's disappearance. | |
| She is quoted as saying: "Looking at everything that we know up to now, I can see a certain gullibility - especially when it comes to that tale that she had joined a sect, with which the suspect explained the disappearance of his daughter." | |
| She said she was certain that such an account would have been more closely examined if presented to the authorities today. | She said she was certain that such an account would have been more closely examined if presented to the authorities today. |
| Profile: Josef Fritzl | Profile: Josef Fritzl |
| Mr Fritzl fathered seven children with his daughter, whom he imprisoned in the cellar beneath his home from the age of 18. | Mr Fritzl fathered seven children with his daughter, whom he imprisoned in the cellar beneath his home from the age of 18. |
| One died shortly after birth and three remained locked in the underground chamber with their mother. | One died shortly after birth and three remained locked in the underground chamber with their mother. |
| Of the three who shared the family home with Mr Fritzl and his wife, one was legally adopted and the other two were fostered by the couple. | Of the three who shared the family home with Mr Fritzl and his wife, one was legally adopted and the other two were fostered by the couple. |
| Ms Berger said she regretted reports that Mr Fritzl was able to become legally responsible for the care of the three children without the authorities fully investigating his criminal record. | Ms Berger said she regretted reports that Mr Fritzl was able to become legally responsible for the care of the three children without the authorities fully investigating his criminal record. |
| "We wish however that this procedure had been followed even though these were adoptions by family members," she said. | "We wish however that this procedure had been followed even though these were adoptions by family members," she said. |
| Mr Fritzl was convicted of rape in 1967 and was sentenced to a term in prison. However, under Austrian law, this would have been regarded as a spent conviction. | Mr Fritzl was convicted of rape in 1967 and was sentenced to a term in prison. However, under Austrian law, this would have been regarded as a spent conviction. |