Jerusalem’s chief psychiatrist has deemed Malka Leifer, a former headteacher wanted by Australian police on 74 charges of child sex abuse, psychologically fit to face extradition proceedings in Israel.
The court received medical reports and recommendations from the psychiatrist on Tuesday, and Leifer, 54, is due to return to the stand in November when a judge may decide whether to proceed to an extradition trial.
Leifer’s legal defence told the court it would contest the recommendations.
Dassi Erlich, who has accused Leifer of abusing her, welcomed the assessment but complained about the lengthy trial, in which hearings are regularly postponed.
“Huge relief! Today, new psych report assessment of Malka Leifer reports she is fit to stand for extradition trial! How many more assessments do we need? How much longer do we need to keep assessing to come to the same conclusion?” she wrote on Twitter.
Australia has been seeking Leifer’s extradition since 2014, but the process stalled after she was admitted to mental institutions.
However, after a private investigator surreptitiously filmed what he said was Leifer living a “normal, healthy” life, she was rearrested in February and kept in a high-security women’s prison.
Israeli police said the undercover investigation found “indications that the suspect was pretending to be suffering from a mental illness to avoid the extradition process”.
The Australian embassy previously said it was “grateful for the ongoing work and assistance of the Israeli authorities in bringing her to justice”. Embassy officials have attended regular hearings in Jerusalem.
In addition to the extradition case, Leifer also faces the possibility of an indictment under contempt of court charges for allegedly lying about her mental health.
Leifer headed the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel girls’ school in Melbourne, and left Australia for Israel in 2008 after the allegations – which include indecent assault and rape – were raised. The school was ordered in 2015 to pay more than $1.1m in compensatory damages.
Leifer, an Australian-Israeli citizen, has been living in the occupied West Bank settlement of Emmanuel.
