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Man acquitted of nun attack in Jerusalem on mental health grounds

A Jerusalem court has acquitted Yona Schreiber, who attacked a nun in April, ruling he was not criminally responsible due to a psychotic episode.

  • Yona Schreiber was acquitted by a Jerusalem Magistrates Court.
  • The court ruled he was not criminally responsible, citing a psychotic episode during the attack.
  • Schreiber has been ordered to a psychiatric hospital for up to six years.

An Israeli court has acquitted a Jewish man who attacked a nun in Jerusalem, an incident captured on CCTV that drew widespread condemnation.

The Jerusalem Magistrates Court ruled that Yona Schreiber, 36, was experiencing a psychotic episode when he pushed and kicked the French nun in the Old City in April. He was found not criminally responsible for his actions and ordered to a psychiatric hospital for up to six years.

Schreiber had been charged with assault motivated by hostility towards a religious group. The prosecution accepted a district psychiatrist's report, which stated Schreiber "was in a psychotic state at the time of the act and is not substantively fit to stand trial," and requested his acquittal and commitment to hospital.

Judge Ofir Tishler confirmed the acquittal was due to Schreiber's mental health, despite the attack.

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