Westenthaler: “There is something wrong with the law in Austria”
In todays “Pressestunde”, a TV-show with a politican and two journalists, shown every Sunday morning on Austrian TV, the BZÖ politican of the “orange party” Peter Westenthaler, was talking about the Austrian law in relation to the incest crime of Amstetten.
He said that there is something wrong with the law in Austria. There must be a harder punishment for child abusers. Westenthaler also criticized Austrias justice minister Maria Berger. “She is protecting sex offenders and child abusers with low jail sentences and preterm releases from prison”, he told. The BZÖ politican thinks that Berger is ready to resign.
Westenthaler also does not understand why she is demanding a “second chance” for sex offenders. “The victim has no second chance either”, he explains.
The politican of the orange BZÖ party wants to have the most highest possible protection for children. That’s why he is going to introduce a motion of no confidence against the Austrian justice minister tomorrow in the parliament.
Here’s an fine example of what’s wrong with the law in Austria. From The Australian article 5/5/2008 titled “Wife of Incest Dad Under Suspicion.”
Some experts were baffled by the fact that this 68-year-old member of the local parent-teacher association had not yet been questioned by police as a potential suspect in the presence of her lawyer.
Franz Polzer, the policeman in charge of the Fritzl investigation, has raised eyebrows by describing as “unfair” the idea of considering Rosemarie a suspect.
His description of Fritzl as a man of “extraordinary sexual potency” also seemed somewhat misplaced.
The policeman in charge is saying stuff like this? Unfair to consider Rosemary as a suspect? Then get out there and at least investigate the possibility! Unbelievable. What is wrong with this country’s system? Austria is one sorry country. For the Austrians who will complain it’s not all Austrians or that your country is being picked on: if you’re not raising hell about the system and the way this case was and is being handled, you’re no different than your country’s broken system.
no rape should be deleted from any police record. These should be kept and examined if any other crime or suspesious thing happens around them, for example their daughter runs away or disappers, or a former raper claims unbelievable things like it is possble to get away with a cult in Austria (I dont think so). I live in Hungary and, it is a little bigger than Austria, but there is only one cult (krisna), but it is not closed from the police, they would sure help a police investigation in case of a missing person. So, i dont understand why it was not strange for the authorities that the girl fathered by a former raper run away. And they let him adopt three other children!!!! There are many strange things about him in his past. RAPE - DISSAPEARED DAUGHTER - CLEAR LIE
And yes, in a situation like this, the wife should be examined too. She did not try to find her daughter? This man raped his daughter and the girl could not tell her mother? What kind of mother she was? She didnt know her daughter? How could she believe this story?
I have a daughter and is she would ever get involved in a cult she would tell me, as mot daughters tell their mothers.
The judicial system needs to be deeply changed, there’s no question about this ! European countries such as Austria got too liberal, and too forgiving for their notorious criminal’s offenses. I was born and raised in Poland, but live in America now. From my perspective the harsher the punishment, the better. After I read the article about the Fritzl’s case, I can not understand how it is even possible to erase an offender’s past, to destroy criminal records etc. Bad people live everywhere in the world, and the government’s, and authorities duty is to protect the citizens, and to punish the offenders. Unfortunately in Europe the punishment for committed crimes is a joke in most cases. 15 years maximum for something like this ? In the USA it would be at least multiple life sentences in prison without possibility of parole, and in most states this particular scumbag would get the death penalty. In addition to capital punishment all of his children would have an option to take away forever his parental rights, change their names, etc. His wife (if she applied), would be granted an immediate divorce ( just like in BTK’s case Paula Rader got divorced from her serial killer husband). And most of all, the detectives would have been investigating this case in it’s early stages ( right after his daughter’s dissapearance), since his status would have raised “red flag” automatically. He has already served time in prison for rape ! Instead being closely monitored, he was just let go unnoticed ! His wife was too scared to even notify the police, that some domestic violence was taking place in the house ! Some profound change has to be done to the judicial system in a country like Austria, and to the way the local police works over there. In the 21st century there are technologies that (after implemented), would allow closely monitor criminals living prisons on parole etc. The same thing applies to tracing cults etc. It is not that difficult to control a small country such as Austria, in terms of order, investigating crime etc. The last thing: perhaps it’s time to check ALL of ther basements in ALL buildings in every civilized country ? We may be surprised what we are about to discover !
i’m italian and I live in Italy.
day after day i read the news about this horrible case and i must say that a very bad impression of Austria is growing inside of me.
it seems that the nazi ideas and behaviours are still very alive and present in your country.
Incest seems to be quiet normal and the awful sadist who did it seem just to have to take 15 years of jail.
and i read very strange other news….i’m really disgusted that your cancellor main problem is to defend the austria’s fame with a campaign of media and avertisings…..instead of trying to find more dungeons in austria!
DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT IN YOUR COUNTRY THERE ARE NO MORE MEN IMPRISONED IN YOUR CELLARS???
NO ONE IS THINKING TO CHECK ALL THE CELLARS….BUT YOU’RE JUST WORKING TO DEFEND YOUR IMMAGINE …
I’M SO PROUD OF BEING ITALIAN…..
YOU MUST BE ASHAMED.
Please get Maria removed from office. Most countries in the world would have already asked her to resign. She has no place in office in any decent nation that cares for it most vulnerable citizens: children. Austria, we are waiting for you to change your laws and do right by Elizabeth and her children. Please send some real cops from Viena to Amstteten- the local police seems to be stupid and incompetent. Frankly, the rest of the world is getting a very creepy feeling about Austria right now, the wall of secrecy in this society seems bizarre to the rest of us. Also, I dont believe in the death penalty but I believe that crimes like rape and incest are very serious and deserve something much harsher than 15 years. Austria, u belong in the community of the nations of the world, please show us u care about your children - change your laws so sex crimes are not deleted after 15 yrs, adoption is never an option for a sex offender and sentences for crimes that involve cruelty are substantial enough to give true justice.
i really cannot understand that Austrian mothers have not gone out
in the streets yet to demand Maria Berger” s resignation . She is a moron
i one live in austria and some austrians i met look down on people from 3rd world countries as if they are uncivilized, but is this the way civilized nation treat its criminals and laws what a shame!!
Maybe this Maria Berger is a child molester herself! If anybody has ever lived with a tyrant as I have, they would know that they are very scary and brutal. Elizabeth’s mother had no idea because that monster of her husband planned it very well. Rosemarie took in her grandchildren, and that says a lot about her.
From what I read now poor Kirsten is dying too. And the police are considering IF he will be charged with murder by neglect? Unbelievable! They should lock him up in a dungeon like he did to Elizabeth and the kids, then throw away the key!
THE WORLD WANTS JUSTICE FOR ELIZABETH AND HER CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!
Doesn’t Austria have any child protection laws against sex crimes? Why couldn’t Elisabeth just gone to the police and report that her father was molesting her when this starting happening? Here in the USA if this were to happen the pedophile would get 15-20 yrs for having sex with an underage child, would never be allowed to be near schools or anywhere children congregate or have contact with his children again.
This incident is dispicable. IN the US the guy would spend the rest of his life in prison. And he would not be treated so nicely. In fact prisons have “special” treatment for child molesters. The AUstrian governemt like all governments are more interested in themselves as politicians than the needs of the people the represent.
All nations need to look deep and hard at the sexual predators who are in their countries. And there are plenty around the world.
AUstria is a wonderful country. It’s people are wonderful.
This monster needs to be put in the town square are stoned to death!!!
But in reality there is nothing good that can come from any of this. Especially is the laws in that country don’t recognize sexual predators as a reality!!!!
There is something not wrong with Austrian laws but Ausrtians
DONT GIVE HIM AN OTHER CHANCE TO COMMIT A NEW HORROR!!! DONT LET HIM OUT!!!!
This Maria Berger what she really wants is have this monster lock her up in the same dungeon where Elizabeth was and have him rape her many times and if she has a daughter she can come along.
While his daughter spent 24 YRS in a dungeon, he is now living the DOLCE VITA, eating fish, red cabbagge, and exercising every freking day. He did not give his daughter this chance. And for the wife, I wish she reads this, she is freaking moron. Regardless if he forbidden every one near the basement, if I was the wife only for curiosity I would have gone. Hell yeah…that is my house too. Come on in 24 years she never knew??? Give me a break!!!. And what a coincidence that HE was the one finding the kids outside????
Make him suffer like his daughter did….DON’T KILL HIM AT ONCE… MAKE THIS ANIMAL SUFFER.
Tie him up like a dog like he did to his daughter, put him in a dark dungeon for 24 years, have prisoners rape him daily and feed him old moldy food like he did and let him enjoy life. His wife is a total idiot and someone should investigate if she is telling the truth. She seems to be playing two very different parts here. As a mother she was useless. Number one because her daughter didn’t trust her to tell her that her father was raping her at age 11 and number two because she didn’t question this monster. When he went to visit whores, where was she, she didn’t ask? When he disappear to the dungeon, why didn’t she ask why was he there so long. When he went to Thailand to visit prostitures and was gone for 3 weeks, why didn’t the wife go to the cellar and find out what was there. She is an enabler and she should be punished too. She is not a good mother. Why didn’t she persist to look for her daughter, why didn’t she hire a detective? The truth always comes out and it will come out that she was involved.
Thak to God I live in USA. All women shold protest.
JUSTICE FOR ELIZABETH AND HER CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!
This is for you Chris, thank you for writing the best comment! Elizabeth and her children are the Victims of the Austrian Criminal Laws and not of the Monster Joseph! In fact, I think Joseph is also a victim of the law himself. I pity the bastard cause it seems like all his life, he has screamed for help and no one heard him. He committed all those crimes over and over again asking the authorities to treat his mental illness . Finally, at the age of 73, he will get the help he’s been seeking for all those years cause his hot shot lawyer will make sure he goes to the psychiatric hospital where should have gone in the first place when he was sentenced for 18 months in his early 30’s.
I cannot beleive he was released then and allowed back home and never been checked again. It was obvious that he was an unfit husband and father at that time and should never his family again. He should be treated for 15 years and granted limited visits maybe if he showed excellent progress. On top of erasing all his criminal records, they have allowed him to build a dungeon in his basement. Now I am more convinced Joseph was even pushed and helped by the authorities to plan the atrocious future for his daughter and her children.
And for poor Elizabeth, what did the judicial system of Austria do for her? When she disappeared to joint the so called Cult, how serious and deep was the Investigation ? Yes, in deed, Austria is a small country with a population of 8.3. it’s not so difficult to locate all the Cults that exist in that country. 10 years later, babies keep showing at the door, they are immediately granted adoption and given custody to a criminal grandfather and his wife?? Still authorities do not bother investigating where and how those babies are coming from. Their mother most certainly is alive and is giving birth to them somewhere!!! A mysterious Cult that could not be traced for so long even after unregistered babies are popping out from unmarried mothers left and right???? Obviously, if there had been such a Cult, Elizabeth wouldn’t be the only woman who’d gotten pregnant there!!!!
Joseph Frizl was neglected, he has been a victim of the system in Austria and so did his daughter and his children born from her! Government’s fist job is to protect their people, it could be from an earthquake, a mental illness or a crime! It doesn’t matter, because they charge us enough taxes to enable them to be there when we need them.
Don’t worry people, they won’t let him out until he’s 90 but he will live a very nice life under theraphy he should have gotten years ago! If they don’t watch him carefully at that clinic, he might try to rape a young nurse there !!!! After all, he’ll be well taken care of, rested and fit and you know what happens to “dirty old men” then hahahah!!!!
If any of you believe he’s regretting what he’s done to his victims or feeling any remorse, you are mistaking.
Joseph is blaming Hitler and what he has done to Austrian people. He feels like he’s a victim of the regime himself.
In a way he’s right! He is a victim too. Not many people, especially no one from Joseph’s era would come out and seek psychological help in those days. His demonstration of criminal acts was a cry for help in a way and nobody noticed it. He did it over and over again and still no response.
The owner of that brothel he was frequenting, why didn’t he get a restrain order against him then? Joseph was obviously proven himself as a dangerous sexo maniac to to the prostitutes there.
Can you imagine his state of mind all those years he has imprisonned his daughter and those children. Made up all those lies, manipulated the system and his family??? He must be living in Hell while he was thinking he was satisfying his ego and desires. I think God has punished him already, he’s the one actually who has lived in Hell all those years and those children and their mother. In the eyes of God, Elizabeth is a Saint and her children are angels. At last, they are all in Heaven now!!!
SISSY YOU ARE THE WOMAN OF THE CENTURY AND THE MOST COURAGEOUS MOM OF THE WORLD.
Pressed about whether Rosemarie Fritzl could have known anything, Franz Polzer, the police chief of Lower Austria asked: “Do you think any wife in the world would be able to accept that kind of behaviour?” He added that no others were suspected of aiding Josef, saying: “We are not conducting an investigation into a crime involving accomplices.”
That’s some real thorough police work you have going on there in Austria folks!!! Why is it the police chief does not wish to investigate ALL possibilities?
Austrias record of Nazis ,Natasha Kampusch and Fritzl, and the response of the Austrian leaders and public in the aftermath–i.e. trying to do an image-makeover ONLY, asking for leniency in sentencing, trying to cover up evidence, not following leads even now, making pedohile friendly laws, AND NO DAMN WHISPER OF INDIGNATION OR ANGER AT THE EVENT BY ITS CITIZENS OR MOTHERS, NO ATTEMPT AT PUTTING MORE SAFEGUARDS make me come to an inescapable conclusion:
** THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE DEPRAVED MENTALITY OF AUSTRIAN SOCIETY,and Josef Fritzl is just a SYMPTOM .I bet there are plenty more where it came from.
rEPEAT..It is the Austrians who are depraved . The thin veneer of civility hides a dark secret.