On Thursday, the Randburg Magistrate's Court will rule on whether or not Rabbi Eliezer Berland, the 78-year-old head of the Shuvu Banim sect, will be released to house arrest.
This comes after reports surfaced that Berland was cooperating with the court and signed a documents agreeing to his extradition to Israel, however at the last moment, he recanted the agreement and refused to be extradited.
The attempted negotiations were arranged by the Chief Rabbi of Migdal HaEmek Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, who flew to South Africa in an attempt to release Rabbi Berland from prison.
This is not the first time that Rabbi Berland has requested to be released to house arrest but judges denied his prior request due to his track record of fleeing to numerous countries in recent years as he evaded justice in Israel.
Rabbi Berland, who heads the Shuvu Banim sect, fled from Israel in 2012 after several women as well as a 15-year-old girl laid charges of sexual assault against him.