Malka Leifer appeals extradition to Australia to face sexual abuse charges

Lawyers for the former Australian school principal launch an appeal in the Jerusalem high court

Lawyers for the former Australian school principal Malka Leifer, who is wanted on more than 74 charges of sexually abusing students, have launched an appeal in the Jerusalem high court to a decision that she is mentally fit to stand trial and can be extradited to Australia.

In May, Judge Chana Miriam Lomp said she had accepted the opinion of an expert psychiatric panel that Leifer was fit to face an extradition trial, after prosecutors successfully argued she was feigning mental illness to avoid trial. However, on Wednesday Israel's Channel 11 (Kan) news channel reported an appeal to the decision had been lodged with the high court.