Johannesburg -
The Randburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday ruled that alleged sex pest and fugitive Rabbi Eliezer Berland is liable for extradition back to Israel pending a final decision by the minister of justice.
Berland, who is the leader of the Shuvu Bonim Hassidic sect in Jerusalem, fled Israel in February 2013 after allegations of sexual assault were made by some of his female followers in Israel.
He has sought refuge in several countries - including Zimbabwe, Morocco, Switzerland and most recently the Netherlands - but he managed to escape the latter after being arrested.
This is the second time he has taken shelter in South Africa, following several months spent in the country in 2014 prior to his stay in the Netherlands.
During that time, he managed to evade the Hawks twice.
He returned to South Africa late last year and has been evading authorities until the Hawks pounced on him two weeks ago upon hearing he had been admitted to a Sandton hospital.
On Wednesday, the 79-year-old Israeli fugitive applied for bail in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court but before the bail application commenced, the court had to deal with issues pertaining to his extradition.
Berland’s attorney, Themba Langa, initially tried to dispute the existence of an extradition treaty between South Africa and Israel, and then claimed there were several elements in the extradition order against Berland that were “overkill”.
However, the State, led by advocates Deon Barnard and Nerisha Naidoo, told magistrate Pravina Raghunandan that South Africa and Israel have an extradition agreement, based on the fact that both have ratified and gazetted the European Convention on Extradition into domestic law.
Langa countered that the warrant for Berland’s arrest was invalid because the extradition order was not sent directly to Interpol but only to South Africa, adding that the European Convention on Extradition was only a guideline.
However, Barnard handed a copy of communication to Raghunandan showing that Interpol received an extradition re-quest for Berland on February 4.
He also submitted a copy of the February 10 extradition request, which stated that it was from the Ministry of Justice in Israel to the minister of justice in South Africa.
“It does not stipulate in the Extradition Act what manner the information is received...
“It merely states that the information must be received... if Mr Berland is accused of an extraditory offence, that is the sufficient information needed,” Barnard said.
Berland’s bail hearing was expected to resume this morning.
The State is opposed to his release on bail for fear he would evade trial.
The Star