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Rabbi Elior Chen is alleged to have encouraged followers to burn and beat their children with hammers.
Israeli authorities have begun extradition proceedings against a rabbi who fled to Canada after becoming a suspect in a case involving alleged physical abuse of the children of one of his followers.

Israeli investigators said Elior Chen fled to Canada last month, but they're not sure precisely where he is.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfield said Chen, who is in his mid- to late 20s, was "one of the main suspects" in the alleged abuse, although he has not been charged with a specific crime.

Two children, aged three and four, were burned and severely beaten with hammers, knives and other instruments, Rosenfeld said. The three-year-old suffered permanent brain damage, he added.

Several suspects are in custody in Israel. The children's mother, whose name has been withheld, was charged with abuse last week and remains in jail.

The case has garnered massive attention in Israel, where media have published horrific details of the spiritual leader's alleged encouragement of parents abusing children as a form of discipline, the CBC's Peter Armstrong reported Tuesday from Jerusalem.
Journals detailed abuse, police say

Journals purportedly belonging to Chen that were discovered by police after a raid allegedly lay out in explicit detail how the mother should systematically abuse the children to force out their demons, Armstrong said.

The alleged abuse included burning the children, locking them in a suitcase for prolonged periods of time and forcing them to eat feces.

The Canadian Jewish Congress is urging Chen to turn himself in.

Rabbi Reuven Bulka told CBC News that the CJC is willing to assist in Chen's surrender if he is in Canada "to send a message out that there's no escaping from justice."

Bulka said the group was making the public appeal "if on the off-chance he thinks that he's going to be manhandled by police, which we know wouldn't happen, but if there's a fear of this, to let him know that the Canadian Jewish Congress would use its good offices to handle this."

It was not clear what connection the rabbi has with Canada, nor whether he holds Canadian citizenship or residency. The Canadian Embassy in Israel did not call after messages were left, seeking comment.

In Ottawa, Chris Girouard, a spokesman for Canada's Department of Justice, said he could not confirm or deny whether there have been requests for extradition, citing confidentiality of state-to-state communications.

CBC

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The Olympic torch reaches San Francisco today and although pro-Tibet protests made laps in London and Paris chaotic, Olympics chief Jacques Rogge said there are no plans to cut short a global relay.
Hundreds of security officers deployed across San Francisco for the flame's only US stop. Activists fuelled by anger about Beijing's policies in Tibet and its reaction to deadly rioting in the Himalayan region last month were gathering for demonstrations.

Several hundred paraded through the city's streets on the eve of the torch procession, many carrying Tibetan flags and signs and chanting "Shame on China".

This morning some 700 security officers deployed in the West Coast city and airspace restrictions were imposed. Barricades were set up outside the Chinese consulate.

Coast Guard boats were to patrol the waterfront route of the torch.

The fierce protests in London and Paris in recent days -- efforts that succeeded even in extinguishing the flame for brief periods -- have put city officials on edge.

"It's getting a little scarier," said retired State Appellate Court Judge Harry Low, a prominent figure in the city's Chinese-American community. "The intensity of the opposition to the torch and to China seems to be increasing."

The official route takes the torch from near the city's baseball stadium along its scenic waterfront to the Fisherman's Wharf area favoured by tourists. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he expected tens of thousands to attend and hundreds of police to patrol the route.

Authorities were stepping up patrols on the Golden Gate Bridge after three protesters scaled its cables on Monday to hang pro-Tibet banners.

China's crackdown on anti-government protests in Tibet in March, which it says were orchestrated by Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has drawn sharp international criticism and clouded preparations for the Beijing Olympics in August.

Hours before the San Francisco torch relay, President George W. Bush urged China to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

He said he agreed at a meeting with Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong "that it would stand the Chinese government in good stead if they would begin a dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama."

Rogge told the Wall Street Journal that reports the International Olympic Committee executive board would consider scrapping the torch relay outside China, to avoid more ugly scenes, were "based on a misunderstanding".

"I am saddened that such a beautiful symbol of the torch, which unites people of different religions, different ethnic origin, different political systems, cultures and languages, has been attacked," Rogge said of the disruptions.

OLYMPIC FLAME

Rogge met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for about an hour on Wednesday. "It was a good meeting where a range of Games topics were discussed between both parties," said an IOC statement.

Wen told Rogge the Olympic flame was a symbol of "peace, friendship, advancement and brightness".

"We firmly believe that the Olympic flame, which belongs to all mankind, will never be extinguished," the Foreign Ministry's Web site paraphrased Wen as saying.

The troubled torch procession has kept Tibet in the headlines, and become a magnet for other groups unhappy about a range of China-related issues, including its involvement in Sudan's Darfur region.

Beijing fiercely condemns the protests, and they have stirred up patriotic resentment among many ordinary Chinese who feel they politicise a sporting event that should be a celebration of 30 years of economic development and opening to the outside world.

Western leaders are facing a delicate balancing act as calls mount for them to boycott the opening ceremony.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a speech to Chinese students that it was important to recognise there were "significant human rights problems" in Tibet, although he did not back calls for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

"I believe the Olympics are important for China's continuing engagement with the world," Rudd said, according to a transcript of the speech made on Wednesday.

China blames the Dalai Lama and his associates for orchestrating monk-led protests which later turned violent as part of a campaign for independence. The Dalai Lama denies the claims.

-Reuters

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Police warned neighbours of Shannon Matthews not to take the law into their own hands after her mother was remanded in custody in connection with her disappearance.

Officers in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, handed out leaflets urging people to show restraint after reports said residents were angry about the family's alleged role in the case.

The windows and doors of the girl's family home were boarded up with metal grilles, while police stood outside.

The leaflets said: "It is important that the community does not jump to any conclusions about people who may be involved in this inquiry.

"Please do not take the law into your own hands and leave the police to do their job."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said there had been no specific threats and the leaflets were a precautionary measure.

"We've been putting them out since day one," he said. "They are a means of communicating with the local people."

Karen Matthews, 32, appeared before Dewsbury magistrates charged with perverting the course of justice and child neglect. She will next appear in court on April 16.

Her nine-year-old daughter disappeared after a school swimming trip in February, sparking a massive police hunt.

She was found safe and well in the base of a bed about a mile from her home 24 days later.

Matthews was arrested on Sunday, becoming the fourth member of the girl's extended family to be held in connection with her disappearance.

Matthews' partner Craig Meehan, 22, has been remanded in custody on charges of possessing indecent images of children.

Michael Donovan, the 39-year-old uncle of Meehan, has been charged with abduction and imprisonment in the case.

He was taken to hospital on Sunday after a case of "serious self harm", a Ministry of Justice source said, but has since returned to Leeds prison.

Two other family members were released on police bail on Saturday pending further investigations.

Media reports identified the pair as Amanda Hyett, 25, and Alice Meehan, 48, the sister and mother of Craig Meehan.

Hyett was held on suspicion of assisting an offender while Meehan was arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Shannon Matthews has not returned home since her rescue and remains in the care of social services.

Reuters

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CHINESE authorities foiled plots to kidnap foreigners and carry out suicide attacks around the Beijing Olympics, police said today, in a fresh blow to the image of harmony China has sought to promote before the Games.

The European Parliament, meanwhile, voted for a possible boycott by EU leaders of the Olympics opening ceremony if China fails to talk to the Dalai Lama, raising pressure on Beijing over its handling of unrest in Tibet and neighbouring areas.

Authorities in the restive northwestern region of Xinjiang detained 45 suspects and seized explosives and firearms in an operation a police spokesman said cracked two terrorist groups seeking to disrupt the Olympics.

"We are facing a real terrorist threat. All walks of life and the public should maintain a high degree of vigilance," police spokesman Wu Heping said.

China has heightened security in advance of the Games, which start on August 8, following a rash of anti-Beijing unrest in Tibet and neighbouring areas.

In San Francisco, determination to avoid incidents turned the torch relay into a widely criticised game of hide-and-seek as the route was abruptly changed after the flame was besieged by human rights protesters in London and Paris.

The White House said people deserved the right to express themselves freely and peacefully.

US President George W. Bush felt obliged to "speak publicly on this matter and to speak privately to the Chinese about human rights freedoms, political speech freedoms, and he's going to continue to do that before, during and after the Olympics," spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Mr Bush has urged China to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who lives in exile in India.

Mr Bush and other Western leaders face a delicate balancing act as calls mount for them to boycott the Games' opening ceremony.

Republican US presidential candidate John McCain said Mr Bush should reconsider his plans to attend the opening based on whether China makes concessions toward Tibet and the Dalai Lama.

"I believe President Bush should evaluate his participation in the ceremonies surrounding the Olympics and, based on Chinese actions, decide whether it is appropriate to attend," Senator McCain said.

China said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown would not attend the opening, but would be at the closing ceremony.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon may not attend the opening due to a scheduling conflict, a UN spokeswoman said.

Indonesia will meanwhile shorten its leg of the torch relay on April 22 in Jakarta following a request by Beijing over security concerns, a sports official said today.

The path the torch takes on May 2 in Hong Kong will also be curtailed, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said the torch relay faced a crisis, but he was confident the Olympics would rebound and urged competitors not to lose faith.

China's ambassador to the United States condemned a purported attempt to disrupt the US leg of the relay, saying such "disgusting" conduct was doomed to fail.

"A tiny group of people ignored the spirit of the Olympic charter and tried to disrupt and sabotage the Beijing Olympic Games," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong as saying. He did not elaborate on the purported plot.

For its part, Tibet's government-in-exile said it was not trying to disrupt the torch relay, and the Dalai Lama said he had asked Tibetans in San Francisco not to be violent, reiterating his support of the Games in Beijing.

Protests led by monks gave way to riots in Lhasa on March 14, sparking demonstrations in other Tibetan-populated areas that China has suppressed with a flood of troops.

Beijing blames Tibet's spiritual leader and his associates for orchestrating the unrest as part of a campaign for independence. The Dalai Lama denies involvement.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Tibet had figured prominently in talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today.

Mr Rudd said his Government believed there were "significant human rights problems" in Tibet that should be resolved through dialogue.

But he indicated Mr Wen and other Chinese officials showed no wavering from their public stance.

In New Delhi, Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said it was open to dialogue, but Beijing was sending mixed messages.

Reuters

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