Article author:
Related press
Jerusalem (AP) — An Israeli court probated and fined a former health minister on Monday in connection with a protracted extradition of a former teacher accused of sexually abusing a student in Australia. Was handed down.
Former health minister and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's longtime ally, Yaakov Litzman, resigned from parliament earlier this year after plea bargaining with prosecutors. He was accused of pressured ministry employees to change their psychiatric assessments to make Malka Leifer look unfit to withstand the trial.
Leifer was handed over to Australia in January 2021 after six years of legal struggle that strained relations between the two countries and offended the Australian Jewish community. rice field. Leifer has pleaded not guilty to her indictment and her trial is expected to begin later this month.
Ritzman, an early health minister in the coronavirus pandemic, resigned in April 2020 in the face of public turmoil about dealing with the crisis. He was charged with fraud and trust breach earlier this year, but pleaded guilty to the trust breach in the Leifer case.
At a hearing on Monday, the Magistrates' Court in Jerusalem upheld the plea bargain and sentenced Ritzman to eight months of probation and a $ 900 fine.
He and Leifer are members of the country's isolated ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Last year, then Attorney General Avichai Mandelbritt said Ritzman used his position "to promote personal interests."
As part of a judicial transaction, prosecutors withdrew charges that Ritzman used his influence to prevent his friend Deli from being closed due to health concerns.
Israel's quality government movement said the court's acceptance of "generous and shameful" plea bargains would undermine public confidence and the ability of law enforcement agencies to fulfill their obligations.
