Overview

• Defence lawyer Astrid Wagner filed fresh applications on August 11, 2025, for Josef Fritzl’s early parole and a separate request for supervised social-training day-release.
• Wagner argues psychiatric evaluations show progressive dementia has suppressed his dangerous tendencies and left him unable to understand the purpose of his detention.
• Fritzl has been held in a regular prison since May 2024 after a court ruled that continued secure psychiatric custody was no longer required.
• The day-release petition aims to allow supervised outings for basic tasks such as using a mobile phone, ordering coffee and visiting local cafés to prepare for reintegration.
• Prosecutors retain the right to appeal any court decision and the bid has provoked widespread media and public condemnation over accountability for his 2009 offences.