ISRAEL
Haaretz
By Revital Hovel and Haaretz | Sep. 11, 2014
Fugitive ultra-Orthodox rabbi Eliezer Berland was arrested in Amsterdam on Thursday, almost two years after he fled Israel to avoid arrest for sex crimes.
Berland, a leading member of the Breslov Hassidic movement and founder of the Shuvu Banim yeshiva, was detained at Amsterdam airport on an international arrest warrant, according to various news sources. He had arrived on a flight from South Africa, where he had been living since April.
Berland also spent lengthy periods in Italy, Morocco and Zimbabwe during his 23 months on the run. He was accused of sexual abuse by a number of his female followers, including a 15-year-old girl, in 2012.
Shortly after he fled Israel, his son, grandson and several other followers were arrested on suspicion of fraud and money laundering involving the sect’s finances.
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