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German psychiatrist says colleagues feed voyeurism

A row has erupted among psychiatrists and therapists over Natascha Kampusch, the Austrian child kidnap victim, with a German expert accusing his colleagues of using their expertise to feed public voyeurism.

Commentators in the Viennese press have also been critical of what they see as the grandstanding of the experts trying to nurse the 18- year-old towards resuming a "normal" life.

The peer criticism of the experts adds to questions being raised about the media hullabaloo surrounding Kampusch, who was abducted, at age 10, on her way to school in March 1998 and held captive in a suburban basement until last month. Her abductor, Wolfgang Priklopil, killed himself shortly after she escaped.

In an interview with the Hamburg weekly paper Die Zeit, the grand old man of German psychiatry, Horst Eberhard Richter, called for a moratorium on professional comment on the case. "The experts say, `listen to us, we know best.' But it is the other way around," he said.

"This is something psychologists can learn from, not teach about. We can only learn from Natascha. The pressure of public voyeurism is leading the experts to indulge happily in revelations that go to the limits of what is legally permissible," Richter added.

Alfred Pritz, the head of Vienna's Sigmund Freud University, was also critical of the way specialists involved in the case were talking to the media.

Max Friedrich, Vienna's foremost child psychiatrist, has been in charge of treating Kampusch since she escaped from her captor last month. He and other social workers and therapists who have been working with the teenager have been widely quoted in the Austrian papers or appeared on television discussion programs.

Peter Rabl, a former Austrian newspaper editor, was highly critical of the team when they took part in a "round table" discussion of the case on Austrian state TV.

Anneliese Rohrer, an Austrian media expert, added her voice.

"The way the experts behaved was a scandal. They went on television to talk about her right away. It was like abuse," she said.

Dietmar Ecker, Kampusch's former media adviser who organized her interview on Austrian TV and two newspapers, was sensitive to the criticism.

"All of those people volunteered to take part. It was a free decision," he said, adding that there was tremendous public interest in the case.

In her only TV appearance, Kampusch singled out Friedrich for praise and the child psychiatrist has rejected complaints, especially from Ludwig Koch, the teenager's father, that he was being barred from seeing his daughter.

Koch said he was so upset with the treatment his daughter is receiving that he has been to Berlin to consult German psychiatrists on their views of the case.

"Friedrich thinks he's all-powerful," Koch said. "Unfortunately he's still in control."

Friedrich, who received an award from the city of Vienna last week, said that Kampusch was taking her own decisions and was not under anyone's influence.
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