
The mayor of a haredi city was detained and held for questioning by police Sunday morning over his possible involvement in the disappearance of one man and suspected murder of another Jerusalem man some thirty years ago.
Police are expected to request an extension on the mayor’s arrest Monday.
Last month, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court extended the detention of two men and a woman suspected in the cases of the disappearance of Nissim Shitrit and the murder of Avi Edri.
All three suspects are members of the Shuvu Banim sect headed by convicted abuser Eliezer Berland.
The case revolves around the murder of Avi Edri in 1990, when his body was found in Jerusalem’s Ramot Forest with severe signs of abuse.
Two years ago, in the documentary “The Hidden Rabbi” that aired on the Kan network, one of Berland’s followers said that members of the sect’s Modesty Patrol murdered Shitrit, dismembered his body, and buried its parts in the Eshtaol Forest. The same documentary also mentioned the murder of Edri, which was also linked to the Modesty Patrol. His body was found in Ramot Forest in 1990 with severe signs of abuse.