ISRAEL/AUSTRALIA
Mercury
May 8, 2016
AAP
The Jerusalem District Court has ruled to suspend all legal proceedings against an alleged pedophile and ex-principal of a religious Jewish girl’s school in Melbourne.
The move further delays a call for Malka Leifer’s extradition to Victoria where she would face prosecution for 74 sexual abuse offences against girls at the school she headed.
Leifer failed to appear in the Jerusalem District Court for the eighth time in two years, after her legal team have persistently argued she is unfit to stand trial due to her psychiatric state.
Leifer’s defence headed by Yehuda Fried has argued she suffers panic attacks and bouts of depression as each court hearing approaches.
A psychiatrist’s report presented to the court in April said that she suffered a psychotic episode ahead of a scheduled hearing in April and had to be hospitalised for two days.
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