Psychiatric Tests Ordered for Haredi Woman Suspected of Starving Son
The Haredi woman who is suspected of starving her son and whose arrest sparked riots in Jerusalem will undergo psychiatric testing within the next 24 hours, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ruled on Monday.
The decision was reached following a meeting between the court president, Judge Shulamit Dotan, and the woman’s attorney, David Halevy.
Halevy said that his client was ready for psychiatric testing, and that the examination was not performed on Sunday because his client was feeling ill. Rabbi Avraham Yisrael Freulich, the well-connected Haredi public figure in whose home the mother is serving her house arrest, praised the decision. Freulich said the move will preserve quiet in the Orthodox neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
Deputy Health Minister Ya’akov Litzman, who posted bail for the mother on Friday and was present at the meeting, said he did not get the impression that the terms of her release to house arrest were violated.