An Amsterdam court extended on Monday the arrest of Israeli modeling agent Shai Avital, the man accused of sexually assaulting models represented by him, for a further two weeks.
Avital was arrested in the Dutch capital on Friday in a joint operation by Israeli and Dutch police after fleeing the country 10 months ago following accusations of rape and sexual assaults made by his former models.
Avital is now set for extradition to Israel.
Extradition request reveals rape investigations
An extradition request filed by Israel's State Attorney's Office revealed Avital is suspected of sexual assault and rape allegations. Until this request, it was believed police were only investigating the modeling agent for the sexual assault claims.
Israel Police have also clarified that they are not involved in any way in the extradition process from the Netherlands, stressing that the entire extradition is carried out by the Dutch police.
An Israel Police source stated that if Avital chooses to cooperate, he will land in Israel in the next 40 days. However, if he chooses to appeal the Amsterdam court's decision, he could delay the extradition process by a number of months.
Sexual assault, rape allegations made against Shai Avital
He has been under investigation by Israel Police for over a year since three formal complaints were filed by his former models and accusations of rape were made public on the Israeli investigative TV show Hazinor.
In total, 26 women have filed complaints of sexual harassment against the modeling agent.