Extradition proceedings against an Australian headmistress accused of sexually abusing students at an ultra-Orthodox girls’ school were halted on Sunday, after a judge ruled her unfit to stand trial.

According to Haaretz: The move has imposed a significant delay on an already-prolonged effort to extradite Malka Leifer, a former headmistress at Adass Israel School, who faces 74 counts of indecent assault and rape in Australia, brought against her by three former students of the school, located in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick

The girls say they were routinely sexually abused by the headmistress who told them she was preparing them for marriage,

It was disclosed last year that a member of a Melbourne school council arranged tickets for Malka Leifer to fly out of the country in March 2008, just days after she was sacked from the school over the allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Redress online reports:

The credibility of the courts in Israel is yet again in question after a judge refused to extradite a predatory lesbian paedophile who is wanted in Australia for child rape.

Malka Leifer (pictured above) worked at an ultra-Orthodox girls school in Melbourne, Australia. It is claimed that while her husband was travelling she raped girls aged between 5 and 12 in her home.

One of the victims attempted suicide after being raped.

In the video below, some of Leifer’s victims speak out.

The mother of eight escaped to Israel, taking five of her children with her. In 2014 the Australian authorities began extradition proceedings against her so she can face justice in her home country. However, she claimed that she was unfit to stand trial due to mental illness.

The fact that Leifer has been allowed to stay in Israel for eight years rather than be sent back to Australia, where the courts can decide on her competence to stand trial, is hard to understand.

Some in Israel suggest that Leifer has been given special treatment because she is a woman.

Others question the competence and integrity of the district psychiatrist, Dr Jacob Charnes.