Abuse case shocks Austria

In the town of Amstetten in Lower Austria, a 73-year-old man kept his daughter imprisoned in his cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her. Michael Fleichhacker criticises the media and the police for catering to sensationalism by giving live press conferences and releasing photos of the crime scene. "Yes, cases like this one generate a lot of public interest - because of their monstrousness, the depth of evil involved and also owing to a scientific interest in situations that have not yet been researched. All the clumsy prose of shock and dismay aimed at creating a sense of deep failure within society and placing the blame on as many people as possible - from the father's elementary school teacher to the director of the responsible department of the social security office - is quite unnecessary. What we are dealing with here is obviously a singular crime. This is precisely what fascinates us, and we shouldn't be ashamed to admit it - as long as we observe a few of the rules of common decency regarding the victims."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Austria
All available articles from » Michael Fleischhacker

» To the complete press review of Tuesday, April 29, 2008