The Jerusalem District Court denied bail on Sunday for a former principal of an ultra-Orthodox ladies’ college in Melbourne going through extradition from Israel over allegations she molested dozens of schoolchildren.
Malka Leifer, who's wanted on 74 expenses of child s3xual abuse in Australia, was arrested in February following a police undercover operation to analyze her declare that she is mentally unfit to seem in court docket.
The protection crew is predicted to enchantment Sunday’s choice, in which the decide ordered that the 54-year-old stay behind bars till a choice is reached concerning the extradition petition in opposition to her. The subsequent listening to on that matter is scheduled for July 15.
In his Sunday ruling, Judge Avigdor Dorot wrote that he was not satisfied by the protection’s claims that the proof gathered in opposition to Leifer had been partial and prejudiced.
Malka Leifer (YouTube screenshot)
Dorot stood by the conclusion of the court docket’s psychiatrist who wrote in February that Leifer “does not suffer from mental illness in the legal sense, understands the significance of the legal proceeding and is fit to stand trial.”
The legal professional for the previous Adass Israel college principal had stood by the assertion concerning his client in a June 20 listening to, in which he stated that Leifer is being medicated for varied psychological circumstances, together with PTSD.
Following the handing down of Sunday’s ruling, certainly one of Leifer’s alleged victims, Dassi Erlich, posted on Facebook that she may “breathe a sigh of relief for another day.”
“We are so grateful she is in custody and unable to continue harming the vulnerable,” she wrote.
Leifer, a twin Israeli-Australian citizen, fled Australia to Israel in 2008, days earlier than allegations of s3xual abuse in opposition to her surfaced following a heads-up from Adass Israel officers.
After authorities in Melbourne filed expenses in opposition to her, Australia formally filed an extradition request in 2014. Leifer was then arrested in Israel however launched to deal with arrest shortly thereafter.
In 2016 she moved along with her husband and 10 kids to the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Emmanuel in the northern West Bank.
We can breathe a sigh of aid for one other day. The protection will likely be interesting this choice in the Supreme court docket.We…
Posted by Dassi Erlich; Beyond a Survivor on Sunday, 1 July 2018
In June of that 12 months, an Israeli court docket stopped the extradition course of after an preliminary psychiatric evaluation discovered that she was not match to face trial. Mental well being professionals, together with the Jerusalem district psychiatrist, discovered that the lady’s panic assaults previous to her scheduled court docket appearances have been real and stated that the proceedings of a court docket listening to put her underneath excessive nervousness.
Leifer was allowed to stay in Emmanuel underneath the supervision of neighborhood rabbis as long as she reported to a court-ordered psychiatric analysis each six months.
During that point, Jewish Community Watch — a world anti-child abuse group — employed a personal investigator to look into claims that Leifer was feigning psychological sickness.
The investigator put in hidden cameras that confirmed the lady going about her each day chores. The footage led to a police undercover operation, which got here to the conclusion that she had in truth been faking in order to keep away from extradition.
A basic view of the Emmanuel settlement in the West Bank. 12, April, 2010. (Kobi Gideon/Flash90)
After Leifer’s subsequent February arrest, her protection crew tried to have her launched once more, saying she could be positioned underneath the shut supervision of outstanding Israeli Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman.
While the Jerusalem District Court initially accepted the request, the prosecution appealed the choice. The Supreme Court then dominated in March that she stay behind bars till till the top of extradition proceedings in opposition to her.
A subsequent enchantment of the choice led to Sunday’s ruling by Judge Dorot.
Separately Sunday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Leifer has continued to s3xually assault kids whereas in Israel.
In the report, a resident of Emmanuel claims the previous principal molested his daughter and says that Leifer has been privately tutoring different kids in the ultra-Orthodox settlement.
However, the person recognized solely as Daniel has not pressed expenses.