ISRAEL
Reuters
An Israeli court has ruled that a former Australian school principal accused of more than 70 counts of sexual assault was mentally unfit to face extradition and could be freed from house arrest, officials said on Friday.
For nearly three years Australia has been pushing Israel to extradite Malka Leifer, who fled Australia in 2008, with what Australian authorities believe was the assistance of the insular Adass Jewish community, after accusations against her surfaced.
Leifer, who has Israeli citizenship, is the former principal of the Adass Israel School, an ultra-orthodox Jewish girls’ school in Melbourne. She is wanted by police in the surrounding Australian state of Victoria on charges of indecent assault and rape involving girls at the school.
Thursday’s court decision angered former students who say they were abused by her and could raise diplomatic tensions between Australia and Israel.
Copies of the court ruling were not immediately available and spokespeople from Israel’s Ministry of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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