Malka Leifer, the former principal of an ultra-Orthodox school in Melbourne who is accused of sexually abusing students, will remain in custody for further psychiatric evaluation, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.
The decision to keep Leifer under police supervision inside a psychiatric ward was made a day after the Jerusalem District Court ordered that she be placed under house arrest. A final decision on whether she should be placed under house arrest will be made at a later date.
Israel's state prosecution says Leifer is feigning mental illness to avoid extradition to Australia.
Leifer's lawyer, Yehuda Fried, told the court Thursday his client was not a flight risk.
"She has nowhere to go. She is wanted worldwide," he said.
Leifer, the former principal of the Adass Israel School in Melbourne, fled to Israel from Australia in 2008, days before allegations of sexual abuse against her surfaced.
She was arrested in Israel in 2014, following an undercover police investigation at Interpol's request, and released on bail. Last month, the Israel Police rearrested her, saying she faked mental illness to avoid extradition to Australia.
Australian authorities plan to charge her with 74 counts of child sexual abuse. Leifer, a dual Australian-Israeli citizen, denies any wrongdoing.
