Accused child sexual abuser Malka Leifer has been deemed fit to face her extradition hearing by Jerusalem’s chief psychiatrist. This means that the former principal of the Adass Israel School in Melbourne may be extradited to Australia to face her 74 child sexual abuse charges.
On Tuesday, the Jerusalem District Court received the recommendation signed by the District Psychiatrist, which states that Leifer is mentally fit to face the court. The trial would be to determine if she should be extradited to Australia.
Her legal team said it would contest the report on Nov. 14 when the case resumes in court. Lawyer Yehuda Fried even said that they would bring experts, including from Australia, to testify about Leifer’s mental state in court.
The Australian-Israeli is currently in a high-security women’s prison in Israel after she was re-arrested in February. Prompted by complaints from alleged victims, the police created an undercover operation to investigate Leifer, who had apparently been pretending to suffer from a mental illness to avoid being extradited.
Read the article by Anne Lu in the International Business Times.