Head of Kampusch commission fined for slandering victim's mother

Dec 24, 2009, 12:32 GMT

Vienna - The head of an Austrian commission into the abduction and 8-year imprisonment of a 10-year-old girl was fined 10,000 euros (14,280 dollars) on Thursday for slandering the girl's mother.

The 77-year-old Ludwig Adamovich, a former head judge of Austria's constitutional court, had repeated stated that conditions for kidnap victim Natasha Kampusch under the care of her mother, Brigitta Sirny, were such that it was possible that the girl stayed willingly with her kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil.

Kampusch, now 21, was kept in Priklopil's cellar in his home near Vienna, until she managed to escape in August 26, 2006. Priklopil killed himself on the same day.

In an interview with the local Kronen Zeitung in August, Adamovich among other things said the girl would have been better off in captivity than with her mother.

In court on Thursday, Adamovich reiterated his statements against Kampusch's mother, saying Sirny had not been especially loving or affectionate to her daughter.

He said that on the other hand there were indications a positive and even loving relationship had developed between Kampusch and her abductor.

After Thursday's judgement, Adamovich announced that he would possibly step down from the Kampusch commission.