A defence psychiatrist has told an Israeli court that former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer is unfit to face trial in Australia on charges of child sex abuse and rape.
But the integrity of psychiatrist Dr Brian Trappler to give evidence in court has been questioned, based on public statements he made in 2017.
As reported by The Australian Jewish News, Dr Trappler previously proclaimed Leifer’s innocence, writing on Facebook; “she never committed the crimes she was accused of.”
As petitions were being delivered to force the Israeli government to follow up on Leifer’s alleged crimes and have her extradited to Australia, Dr Trappler declared the women calling for her to face trial were not ‘from,’ or devout Jews.
He called the women, particularly those allegedly abused by the former principal at the ultra-orthodox Adass Israel School in Melbourne, a ‘lynch mob.’
He further stated the Jewish women were committing a crime by reporting to secular authorities.
After Wednesday’s hearing, Manny Waks, CEO of Kol V’oz, an organisation preventing sexual abuse in the Jewish community, said Dr Trappler had no credibility as a witness.
Read the article in the Herald Sun. (AP, News Corp Australia Network)