Incest monster Josef Fritzl – who fathered seven children with his daughter, whom he kept locked in a cellar dungeon as a sex slave for 24 years – could soon be released from prison despite having been jailed for life.

Fritzl, now aged 87, was jailed for life in Amstetten, a town in Lower Austria, Austria, in March 2009, for keeping his daughter Elisabeth in the basement dungeon he had built himself, where he raped her repeatedly and even fathered seven children with her.

But a court has now decided that he can be moved from the prison for mentally abnormal lawbreakers, where he is currently incarcerated, to a regular prison, with a view to a release next year.

The court decision, which needs approval in Vienna, is based on a psychiatric report, according to which the inmate no longer poses any danger.

The decision is not legally binding until the higher court in the Austrian capital rules on the matter.

If approved in Vienna, this would make Fritzl eligible for early release next year, in 2023, as, under Austrian law, he has already served 15 years of his sentence.

Fritzl, who changed his name to Mayrhoff some five years ago, is reportedly suffering from dementia and had originally been scheduled last year for a potential release, but this was prevented on appeal.

In another twist, a court expert was then consulted and decided that he should be conditionally released from some measures, in a decision that is not yet final or legally binding and is pending a review in Vienna.

The Regional Court of Krems, in Lower Austria, had decided in autumn last year that it would move Fritzl from the prison system for mentally abnormal lawbreakers to the regular prison system.

This, in turn, would mean that after having served 15 years of his sentence, he would be able to apply for early release.

The Vienna Higher Regional Court overturned this decision on 8th November 2021 for procedural reasons and instructed the Krems Regional Court to make a new decision.

This new decision, based on expert reports, has now been revealed by Reinhard Hinger, a spokesman for the Higher Regional Court.

The public prosecutor’s office has also lodged a complaint against the latest plan, and the case is now before the Higher Regional Court of Vienna for a decision.

Fritzl will only be able to be moved to a regular prison if the decision is approved by the Higher Regional Court.

Josef Fritzl held his daughter captive in an underground basement dungeon he had built himself in Amstetten from 1984 to 2008.

During this time, he abused and raped her numerous times and fathered a total of seven children with her. He also kept three of these children captive in the basement dungeon.