Israeli modeling agent to remain in custody in Netherlands on sexual harassment charges

A Dutch court ruled on Monday that modeling agent Shai Avital will remain in custody for another two weeks.He was arrested in Amsterdam last week in connection with 26 complaints of sexual harassment in Israel.

The judge explained that his ruling was necessary to prevent him from leaving the country. Israeli prosecutors can officially start extradition proceedings to send him back to Israel.

The alleged perpetrator’s lawyers announced they would appeal the verdict. In a statement, Shoshi Gaz’s lawyer reiterated that the legal team was surprised by the seriousness of the accusations against his client brought in court.. And now they’re accusing him of rape, when the original extradition request only contained an order for indecent acts.

Sharon Nahari, another lawyer representing the suspect, complained that the judge barred him from entering the courtroom: “This is a serious distortion of the law and a violation of the right to representation and a fair trial.”.

Avital has a Portuguese passport and is therefore considered a citizen of the European Union. This makes it difficult to take action to transfer him from the custody of the Dutch authorities to Israel..

His arrest in the Netherlands comes more than a year after police first issued an arrest warrant for him. He represented some of the country’s top models. Interpol issued another warrant about three months ago after monitoring his travels around Europe for some time.

According to public broadcaster Kan, Avital travelled between Turkey, France, Portugal and Belgium during his time abroad. Police launched an investigation into Avital last July after media reports that he had harassed several former clients and colleagues..