Abuse victims of former Melbourne principal angry Israeli court rules against extradition
ABC Radio, PM
Rachael Brown
3 June 2016
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TONY EASTLEY: Alleged victims of a former principal at a Melbourne Jewish school are devastated by an Israeli court's decision not to extradite her.
Malka Leifer is wanted by Victoria Police on 74 counts of sexual abuse, allegedly involving girls at the Adass Israel School in Melbourne.
A judge in Jerusalem has ruled she's mentally unfit to be extradited.
Here's Rachael Brown.
RACHAEL BROWN: An irate Manny Waks, who blew the whistle on sex abuse within Melbourne's Jewish community, claims Malka Leifer is playing the system by having panic attacks before each court appearance.
MANNY WAKS: Then she recuperated magically, as in the day after or even the afternoon after the hearing suddenly, she was well again. And the judge noted these issues in one of his rulings, he was very clear that she was playing some games.
PM has spoken to a couple of lawyers for the victims who say they're too upset to comment. Victoria police has also declined.
But Tzedek, a support group for survivors of sexual abuse in the Jewish community, says they're worried they'll be robbed of justice.
Its CEO, Michelle Meyer, says the excuse of panic attacks will be a bitter pill to swallow for victims, given the panic they've often felt.
MICHELLE MEYER: My concern is that it may in fact trigger secondary trauma for some of them, and Tzedek is launching a campaign. We've set up a petition, we are showing our support by lighting an extra candle for our Sabbath, and we are also asking the community to tie a white ribbon to their fences as a sign of support.
RACHAEL BROWN: Manny Waks says this saga gives legitimacy to the argument that Israel is becoming a safe haven for Jewish paedophiles, would you agree with that?
MICHELLE MEYER: Israel needs to send a much clearer message about prioritising child protection, and that message is not being conveyed by the judiciary with this decision.
RACHAEL BROWN: The Federal Attorney-General's office says Australian authorities are liaising closely with Israeli authorities regarding the next steps, but say it'd be inappropriate to comment further.
The Israeli state attorney's office is expected to appeal against the decision.
But Greg Barns, from the Australian Lawyers Alliance, isn't surprised by the ruling, given recent precedents.
GREG BARNS: There have been a number of cases in recent years where British courts, for example - and Israel follows a similar system - British courts for example have refused to extradite persons to the US and to South Africa where those individuals have had severe mental illness issues.
It ought to be noted though that simply because a court says that extradition is not allowed at this particular point in time does not mean the person then gets off scot free. Generally what happens is either the individual is detained, or alternatively if they're not detained, they are certainly not simply allowed to come and go from the country.
TONY EASTLEY: Barrister Greg Barns from the Australian Lawyers Alliance. Our reporter there, Rachael Brown.
Originally published at ABC Radio, PM.
MP3 DOWNLOAD
Transcript:
TONY EASTLEY: Alleged victims of a former principal at a Melbourne Jewish school are devastated by an Israeli court's decision not to extradite her.
Malka Leifer is wanted by Victoria Police on 74 counts of sexual abuse, allegedly involving girls at the Adass Israel School in Melbourne.
A judge in Jerusalem has ruled she's mentally unfit to be extradited.
Here's Rachael Brown.
RACHAEL BROWN: An irate Manny Waks, who blew the whistle on sex abuse within Melbourne's Jewish community, claims Malka Leifer is playing the system by having panic attacks before each court appearance.
MANNY WAKS: Then she recuperated magically, as in the day after or even the afternoon after the hearing suddenly, she was well again. And the judge noted these issues in one of his rulings, he was very clear that she was playing some games.
PM has spoken to a couple of lawyers for the victims who say they're too upset to comment. Victoria police has also declined.
But Tzedek, a support group for survivors of sexual abuse in the Jewish community, says they're worried they'll be robbed of justice.
Its CEO, Michelle Meyer, says the excuse of panic attacks will be a bitter pill to swallow for victims, given the panic they've often felt.
MICHELLE MEYER: My concern is that it may in fact trigger secondary trauma for some of them, and Tzedek is launching a campaign. We've set up a petition, we are showing our support by lighting an extra candle for our Sabbath, and we are also asking the community to tie a white ribbon to their fences as a sign of support.
RACHAEL BROWN: Manny Waks says this saga gives legitimacy to the argument that Israel is becoming a safe haven for Jewish paedophiles, would you agree with that?
MICHELLE MEYER: Israel needs to send a much clearer message about prioritising child protection, and that message is not being conveyed by the judiciary with this decision.
RACHAEL BROWN: The Federal Attorney-General's office says Australian authorities are liaising closely with Israeli authorities regarding the next steps, but say it'd be inappropriate to comment further.
The Israeli state attorney's office is expected to appeal against the decision.
But Greg Barns, from the Australian Lawyers Alliance, isn't surprised by the ruling, given recent precedents.
GREG BARNS: There have been a number of cases in recent years where British courts, for example - and Israel follows a similar system - British courts for example have refused to extradite persons to the US and to South Africa where those individuals have had severe mental illness issues.
It ought to be noted though that simply because a court says that extradition is not allowed at this particular point in time does not mean the person then gets off scot free. Generally what happens is either the individual is detained, or alternatively if they're not detained, they are certainly not simply allowed to come and go from the country.
TONY EASTLEY: Barrister Greg Barns from the Australian Lawyers Alliance. Our reporter there, Rachael Brown.
Originally published at ABC Radio, PM.