No bail for rabbi accused of sex crime

THERE was silent chaos in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday after bail was denied to alleged sex pest and Israeli fugitive Rabbi Eliezer Berland.

The rabbi was agitated and unsure what was happening. “Where am I going?” he asked.

His followers were tut-tutting and upset when they heard the news. Some stood and were told to settle down. Many voiced concern for his well-being. “They want to see him die,” they said.

Berland’s wife then asked if she could say goodbye before he was taken back into custody.

Magistrate Pravina Rughunanden said Berland was a flight risk because of his track record, especially after he fled Holland, absconded while on bail of 50 000 (R809 196) and violated his bail conditions.

He claimed in his affidavit that he left Holland because his life was in danger, Rughunanden said, but “there was no supporting documentation”.

Theatened

She said if he was threatened in South Africa there was a good chance he would flee again. The magistrate added that the court was also concerned that the South African permit in his Ivorian passport had expired in February.

“Mr Berland is therefore illegal in South Africa,” Rughunanden said.

Before judgement in his bail application was handed down, Berland stood up and said if he went back to Israel, “they will kill me”.

“I cannot escape again, I won’t escape again if you let me out, I can’t, there’s no way for me to!” he said.

His lawyer, Themba Langa, said the fact that Berland had been in custody for 21 days and was unable to observe and enjoy Passover properly “was punishment enough”.

He said the issue that court procedures had been followed incorrectly in terms of the extradition act should also be taken into account.

Advocate Harold Knopp, who was also part of the defence team, gave examples of several cases in an attempt to strengthen their arguments for bail. These included a case involving another Israeli fugitive living in South Africa who was wanted in Israel on allegations of murder, but was granted bail.

The State said in this case it was opposing Berland’s bail because he was a flight risk. Prosecutor advocate Nerisha Naidoo said Berland received his fake diplomatic passport from the Ivory Coast on December 28, 2014, while still adhering to stringent bail conditions in The Netherlands after his arrest and release in September.

Langa said the only reason Berland fled Holland was that his life was endangered because of an “uprising raised against him” as “he’s against Muslims”. – Mercury Reporter and ANA