Kampusch's compensation rejected

3 May 2011 Last updated at 22:04 GMT Ms Kampusch's story shocked Austria in 2006 Austria's authorities have rejected a compensation claim from a woman who was kidnapped at the age of 10 and held in a cellar for more than eight years.

A lawyer for Natascha Kampusch, now 23, said she had argued the investigation into her 1998 abduction was mishandled.

But the authorities said there had been no "reasonable suspicion" at the time against her abductor Wolfgang Priklopil, the lawyer added.

Priklopil killed himself after Ms Kampusch managed to escape in 2006.

Lawyer Gerald Ganzger said the rejection of Ms Kampusch's compensation claim was "not unexpected".

However, he said that his client "had hoped that the interior ministry would at least be prepared to make a symbolic gesture of compensation, given the sloppiness and numerous faults in the inquiry".

The lawyer did not say how much compensation money Ms Kampusch had tried to claim.

He added that the money would have been given to charity.

Ms Kampusch was held in a windowless cell in Priklopil's house near Vienna 'Sick' man

Ms Kampusch was kidnapped on her way to school, aged 10, and locked in a windowless cell in the suburb of the capital, Vienna, less than 16km (10 miles) from her home.

In her book - released last year and entitled 3,096 Days - she said she had been subjected to physical and mental abuse on a regular basis by a man who "wanted to have someone for whom he was the most important being in the whole world".

She also described her abductor as a "sick" man.

Austrian police questioned Priklopil days after Ms Kampusch had been kidnapped, even checking the car he had used to abduct the girl.

But police later abandoned this lead.

Ms Kampusch eventually managed to flee in 2006 when she was cleaning Priklopil's car and he was distracted by a phone call.

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Mau Mau compensation bid to begin

7 April 2011 Last updated at 02:03 GMT The British rounded up thousands of Kenyans during the uprising Four Kenyans who allege they were tortured during the suppression of the Mau Mau uprising are starting legal proceedings against the UK government.

The group, seeking compensation at the High Court, allege they were assaulted between 1952 and 1961 by British colonial administration officials.

Thousands were held in camps by the British during the uprising and many were tortured or killed, say activists.

The government says too much time has elapsed since the alleged abuses.

It says it cannot be held liable.

The legal action is being brought by three Kenyan men and one woman, all of whom are in their 70s and 80s.

Their lawyers say that the four represent the wider community of Kenyans abused during the rebellion against colonial rule in the 1950s.

They say there was systematic use of violence against thousands of detainees involved in the rebellion or suspected of supporting it who were held in detention camps.

Continue reading the main story A guerrilla group known as Mau Mau began a violent campaign against white settlers in 1952The uprising had been put down by the British colonial government by 1960The Kenya Human Rights Commission says 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdownIt says 160,000 people were detained in appalling conditionsKenya gained independence from Britain in 1963The movement is widely thought to have helped Kenya achieve that independenceThe Foreign Office says it understands the strong feelings the Mau Mau issue still evokes and that the period caused a great deal of pain for many on all sides.

However, it says the UK intends to fully defend the cases, arguing that the government cannot be held liable.

Archive searches connected with the case have led to the discovery of thousands of files from former British administrations, including Kenya, which the Foreign Office is to make public.

The armed movement began in central Kenya during the 1950s with the aim of getting back land seized by British colonial authorities.

The background to the case

Historians say the Mau Mau movement helped Kenya achieve independence.

However, their actions have also been blamed for crimes against white farmers and bloody clashes with British forces throughout the 1950s.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission has said 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions.

An official report in 1961 determined that more than 11,000 Africans, most of them civilians, and 32 white people died during that period.

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