Rabbi nabbed for torturing children in religious exorcism rites

Source: Al-Manar, 05-06-2008

Brazilian police and Interpol said Wednesday they have arrested a rabbi wanted in 'Israel' on charges of torturing children in exorcism rites. Officials told media that Elior Noam Chen, 26, was apprehended late Tuesday by Brazilian and Interpol officers, ending a 45-day manhunt focused on the Jewish neighborhood of Bom Retiro in Sao Paulo where the rabbi had been spotted going to a synagogue.

Chen, also known as Eliyahu Abuhazira, was one of 'Israel's' most-wanted suspects.
He is accused of torturing children and inciting violence against them in an effort to "expel the demon" from their bodies, in line with the beliefs of a radical religious sect to which he belonged, police said.

"All the crimes were committed in 'Israel' against children with the use of violence," Interpol police official Jorge Barbosa Pontes said.

He added that the extradition request against Chen would soon be heard by Brazil's Supreme Court and that in the meantime the rabbi would be held in preventive detention.
Police located his wife and children last week. The children were taken into state care out of fear they were at risk from rabbi Chen's behavior.

Chen ordered his followers to "discipline" children by beating, burning, pushing and shaking them, and tying them up as a way of "correcting" their behavior.

Chen had fled to Canada with one of his disciples after the arrest of a Jerusalem mother, apparently another of his disciples, on suspicion she severely abused her eight children at Chen's bidding. The mother was indicted for allegedly burning her toddlers, making them eat feces and locking them in a suitcase for days at a time, among other charges. One of her children remains in vegetative coma.