After 11 years, ‘Israel’ approves extradition of Australian sex abuse suspect

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- The Israeli highest court has ruled that an Australian former principal accused of sexually abusing girls at a school in Melbourne can be extradited to Australia. The decision comes after 11 years of efforts by accusers of the child abuser to have her brought back to Melbourne.

The court rejected an appeal by Leifer to block her extradition, effectively ending a legal saga that included more than 70 hearings, and interference at the highest levels of the Israeli government, and that has tested relations between the occupation state and Australia.

“More than six years have passed since a request was filed” for Ms Leifer’s extradition, the Hebrew-language ruling said. Since then, “there is no proceeding that the appellant has not taken” to avoid being sent to Australia.

Israeli Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision and said he would sign the extradition order “without delay”.

Leifer is accused of sexually assaulting girls at the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Adass Israel School in Melbourne. In 2008, she escaped to the occupation state to avoid being arrested in Australia.

Australia tried to extradite her between 2014 and 2016, but the attempt failed after Leifer claimed to be mentally unfit for trial.

Undercover private investigators later filmed her shopping and depositing a cheque at a bank, leading Israeli authorities to investigate and arrest her in February 2018.

Earlier this year, a panel of psychiatrists found that Leifer was faking her mental illness to avoid extradition.

Several Israeli officials have been accused of aiding Leifer to evade extradition, including Deputy Health Minister and “United Torah Judaism” Chairman Yaakov Litzman.