The Jerusalem District Court has ruled to suspend all legal proceedings against an alleged pedophile and ex-principal of a religious Jewish girl's school in Melbourne.
The move further delays a call for Malka Leifer's extradition to Victoria where she would face prosecution for 74 sexual abuse offences against girls at the school she headed.
Leifer failed to appear in the Jerusalem District Court for the eighth time in two years, after her legal team have persistently argued she is unfit to stand trial due to her psychiatric state.
Leifer's defence headed by Yehuda Fried has argued she suffers panic attacks and bouts of depression as each court hearing approaches.
A psychiatrist's report presented to the court in April said that she suffered a psychotic episode ahead of a scheduled hearing in April and had to be hospitalised for two days.
So far eight court hearings have gone ahead without her being present, a move many say is a delaying tactic by her defence. [...]
In a surprising move on Sunday, Leifer's defence and the prosecution both agreed that all legal proceedings should be suspended until she received medical treatment, pending a psychiatrist's report on what that treatment should be.
Ribner Cohen told the judge the state believed Leifer should be hospitalised and not treated in an outpatient capacity.
Judge Cohen called for a psychiatric recommendation on what treatment Leifer should receive.
The options were hospitalisation, outpatient treatment, or no treatment.
The district psychiatrist would deliver his recommendations by the end of May and they would be assessed in court on June 2.
Those recommendations were not binding [...]
Leifer headed Adass Israel School from 2003, until 2008 when she fled.
She was highly regarded in the community, running day-to-day operations at the school, while also teaching Jewish studies.
Members of the Adass Israel School board are under investigation by police in Victoria for helping Leifer and her family leave.
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