The Jerusalem district court has ruled to extradite former principal Malka Leifer, an Israeli citizen, to Australia, where she is charged with pedophilia and the sexual abuse of students at a Melbourne religious school, Israel's office of the attorney general said on Monday
TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2020) The Jerusalem district court has ruled to extradite former principal Malka Leifer, an Israeli citizen, to Australia, where she is charged with pedophilia and the sexual abuse of students at a Melbourne religious school, Israel's office of the attorney general said on Monday.
Australia requested Leifer's extradition in 2014, based on 74 counts of sexual abuse at a Jewish school in Melbourne, of which she was in charge.
"The Jerusalem district court has granted a request by the attorney general's office and decided to extradite Malka Lifer to Australia. The decision has been made, following a continuous review of various appeals filed since 2014 until the Supreme Court's ruling that Malka Leifer was simulating having mental affliction," the prosecution said in a statement.
In 2016, the court stopped the extradition procedure due to Leifer having been diagnosed as mentally unfit. However, in 2018, following a secret investigation confirming that Leifer was faking having psychological issues, the process was resumed. Earlier in the month, the country's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Leifer's defense and ruled her to be mentally healthy.
