Kampusch mother in court battle

An Austrian court is hearing a case brought by the mother of former kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch against a retired judge.

The mother, Brigitta Sirny, contests ex-judge Martin Wabl's claim that she was complicit in the kidnapping.

Austrian media say Mr Wabl believes Mrs Sirny helped Wolfgang Priklopil keep Ms Kampusch imprisoned in a cellar in order to cover up previous abuse.

Ms Kampusch was snatched at the age of 10 and held for more than eight years.

Her kidnapper Wolfgang Priklopil killed himself shortly after her escape in August 2006.

Ms Kampusch was expected to appear as a witness at the defamation hearing in Graz on Thursday.

Her father Ludwig Koch was also invited to testify, along with several other witnesses, including child psychologist Max Friedrich, criminologist Ernst Geiger and a former business partner of Wolfgang Priklopil. The defamation case was opened in April.

Austrian media say police discounted Brigitta Sirny as a possible suspect on the basis of Max Friedrich's professional opinion that there had been no sexual abuse in Natascha Kampusch's family before the kidnapping.

Ms Kampusch, who was abducted in March 1998, escaped when her captor was busy making a phone call on 23 August 2006.

Priklopil, a communications technician, had held Ms Kampusch in a small, windowless basement beneath his garage in the commuter town of Strasshof, 25km (15 miles) from Vienna.

He committed suicide by jumping under a train after Ms Kampusch escaped.