Austrian sex offender Josef Fritzl, who locked his daughter in a cellar for 24 years, has been pictured for the first time out of prison.
Fritzl was spotted at Landesgericht District Court for a hearing as part of his bid to be freed from the secure psychiatric wing of Stein Prison, the Sun reports.
He was also reportedly seen visiting local cafes near his prison in Krems an der Donau just weeks before his release.
The 88-year-old could be released to serve the rest of his sentence in a nursing home after developing dementia.
Fritzl was jailed for life in 2009 after he admitted to forcing his daughter to be his sex slave for 24 years.
He kept her locked in the cellar of their family home in the city of Amstetten and fathered seven children with her.
In Austria, those with life sentences are eligible for parole after serving 15 years, meaning Fritzl will be considered for conditional release this year.
His lawyer, Dr Astrid Wagner, told The Sun before the hearing: “We are planning to get him released from the prison he is currently in.
“He is in the dangerous prison, and we need to get him moved to a normal prison, so he can be released into a nursing home.
“We have a new psychiatric report that says he is not a danger to anyone.”
The lawyer also told the newspaper Fritzl struggles with dementia but “only a little” and that reports of him having a coffee were not true as “because the first thing he would do when he is released is have an Austrian beer”.
They added: “He wants to get on with the process — and he is very confident.
“He says it’s in God’s hands but also in my hands.”
Ms Wagner explained Fritzl expected the hearing to have a positive outcome and that she was convinced that he had dealt “very intensively with his actions” and said he regrets them.
One of Austria's leading forensic psychiatric experts from Linz University, Heidi Kastner, previously concluded that Fritzl is no longer a risk to his old or new victims, Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported.
Fritzl reportedly needs a walking frame to get around and often seems confused, talking to the television and believing he is a pop star.
In 2022, a regional court ruled Fritzl was "no longer a danger" but the Higher Regional Court in Vienna blocked this decision.
The grim case completely shocked Austria and the world, after Fritzl’s daughter was discovered in 2008.
She disappeared at the age of 18, in 1984, and was only found more than two decades later, when Fritzl took their eldest daughter to the hospital and was subsequently arrested.
Three of their children lived in captivity with their mother, while three others were brought up by Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie.
One died just days after being born and Fritzl disposed of the body in an incinerator.
His daughter and her children have also changed their names and started a new life in the Austrian countryside.
