AUSTRALIA And ISRAEL
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
March 19, 2018
A former Melbourne school principal facing extradition to Australia on child sex abuse charges will remain in an Israeli jail after an appeal against releasing her to house arrest was successful.
Malka Leifer, 54 is wanted by Victorian police on 74 charges of child sexual abuse, including rape.
The former principal of the Addas ultra-orthodox girls school in Melbourne has been in custody since February 12, when Israeli police rearrested her, accusing her of faking mental illness for the past three years in order to avoid extradition to Australia.
Earlier this month there were angry scenes outside a Jerusalem court after an Israeli judge ruled Ms Leifer could be freed from police custody to home detention, following the intercession of a high-profile rabbi.
But Israel’s Supreme Court has now upheld an appeal against that decision.
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