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| Fritzl hears daughter's testimony | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Josef Fritzl is being questioned over taped testimony from his daughter at his trial for murder and enslavement in Austria, the court has said. | Josef Fritzl is being questioned over taped testimony from his daughter at his trial for murder and enslavement in Austria, the court has said. |
| The court began viewing 11 hours of video on the opening day of the trial, with the rest of the material to be shown in segments during the week. | The court began viewing 11 hours of video on the opening day of the trial, with the rest of the material to be shown in segments during the week. |
| The media and public have been barred from the courtroom. | The media and public have been barred from the courtroom. |
| Mr Fritzl, 73, has pleaded guilty to rape and incest but not guilty to the murder of one of his babies. | Mr Fritzl, 73, has pleaded guilty to rape and incest but not guilty to the murder of one of his babies. |
| Addressing media at the end of the first day of proceedings in the town of St Poelten, the court spokesman said the trial would resume at 0900 on Tuesday (0800 GMT). | Addressing media at the end of the first day of proceedings in the town of St Poelten, the court spokesman said the trial would resume at 0900 on Tuesday (0800 GMT). |
| Mr Fritzl is alleged in 1984 to have lured his daughter into a cellar with windowless soundproofed chambers beneath their house, to have imprisoned her there and raped her repeatedly over a number of years. | Mr Fritzl is alleged in 1984 to have lured his daughter into a cellar with windowless soundproofed chambers beneath their house, to have imprisoned her there and raped her repeatedly over a number of years. |
| The daughter and three of her seven children fathered by Fritzl were kept captive in the cellar until the case came to light in April last year when one of the children became seriously ill and was taken to hospital. | |
| Some legal experts have said it may be hard to prove the murder charge but the charge of enslavement carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg reports from St Poelten. | Some legal experts have said it may be hard to prove the murder charge but the charge of enslavement carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg reports from St Poelten. |
| Some of the other charges against him carry a sentence of up to 15 years. | Some of the other charges against him carry a sentence of up to 15 years. |
| While convicts become eligible for parole having served half their sentence under Austrian law, there are other clauses which could prevent an eligible convict walking free if it is considered he could re-offend, our correspondent notes. | While convicts become eligible for parole having served half their sentence under Austrian law, there are other clauses which could prevent an eligible convict walking free if it is considered he could re-offend, our correspondent notes. |
| 'Normal behaviour' | |
| Court spokesman Franz Cutka gave an outline of the first day's proceedings. | |
| "After the public was excluded this morning, there was an interrogation of the accused, and the video recording, with the interview of the daughter was played to him and he was questioned about that," he said. | |
| The trial would, he said, resume on Tuesday with a continuation of the video recording and an interrogation of the accused. | |
| Due to the sensitivity of the trial, no details of the proceedings could be released, he stressed. | |
| Prison spokesman Lt Col Erich Huber-Guensthofer, who was also at the packed news conference, did give some details of the defendant's behaviour outside the courtroom. | |
| Asked about the blue folder Mr Fritzl had been using to conceal his face from cameras, he confirmed that it was the defendant's own and had not been given to him. | |
| All defendants had the right to carry notes into court, he added. | |
| The prison official was also asked about Mr Fritzl's behaviour in custody. | |
| "In prison, he behaved quite normally," he said. | |
| "He is not a special person, if he were in this room here, nobody would pay any attention to him. He follows the rules and he is polite." |