An Israeli court says a former Melbourne school principal accused of sex crimes will not be extradited for reasons of mental illness.
Malka Leifer’s lawyer says the Jerusalem District Court delayed a decision on the prosecution request last night and ruled the Australian should be dealt with “in the realm of mental illness”.
Yehuda Fried says that likely means a years-long process before her extradition can be reconsidered. Australia wants the 54-year-old extradited, after she fled to Israel after being accused of abuse.
Prosecutors had presented a new psychiatric evaluation determining Leifer was fit to stand trial. But judge Chana Miriam Lomp accepted the defence’s argument that the new evaluation was not acceptable as it lacked the district psychiatrist’s signature.
Read the article in The Australian.