Natascha defends her mother

2008-05-15 19:15

Vienna - Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch appeared in court on Thursday in the southern Austrian town of Graz, to testify in defence of her mother, who is accused of helping orchestrate her daughter's abduction in 1998.

"We hope this absurd theory will be dismissed once and for all," Kampusch's lawyer Gerald Ganzger told German television N-TV.

Kampusch's mother, Brigitta Sirny, has been accused by retired judge and self-proclaimed detective Martin Wabl of organising her daughter's kidnapping to cover up the sexual abuse of the then 10-year-old girl.

Kampusch, now 20-years-old, was kidnapped on her way to school in 1998 and held for over eight years in a basement near Vienna before escaping in August 2006.

Her captor, Wolfgang Priklopil, committed suicide by throwing himself under a train on the night of her escape.

Kampusch testified on Thursday in her mother's defence behind closed doors.

First appearance in court

This was her first appearance in court since her escape almost two years ago.

The young woman had already dismissed Wabl's accusations in several interviews, adding she had never been sexually abused as a child.

Police have also said they believe Priklopil acted alone.

This is the latest in a series of court cases involving Sirny and Wabl, who voiced suspicions about the mother before Kampusch reappeared.

Sirny later accused the retired judge of slander.

Kampusch's father, Ludwig Koch, who also testified in court, said he could not be sure whether or not his ex-wife had known Priklopil before the abduction.

- AFP