Chasidic man must pay ex-wife £300K over ‘harassment’ for leaving community

The strictly Orthodox man whose ex-wife suffered a campaign of harassment from the community after filing for divorce has been ordered to pay her almost £300,000 by a High Court judge.

Miriam Kliers and her former husband Schlomo were members of the Slonim community in Stamford Hill, north London, but when their marriage broke down she was abused by the community, which led to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Deputy High Court Judge Nicholas Cusworth this week ruled in her favour, ordering Schlomo Kliers to pay £290,000, despite telling the court that he only earned £10,000 per year. Ms Kliers said his annual income was nearer to £100,000.

Judge Cusworth said Mr Kliers probably earned more than he “readily discloses” to the taxman – and more than had been set out in court. He also said another judge had ruled in separate litigation that “illegal benefit and mortgage applications” had previously been made, for which he bore some responsibility.

The couple, who separated in 2012, hit the headlines in 2018 after the High Court ruled in favour of Miriam Kliers on their legal wrestle over the £1m family home in Stamford Hill, which she left to move to York to rebuild her life.

The judge in that case ruled that Mr Kliers’ accusations that his former wife committed adultery was “a cynical ploy” and ruled that she owned three quarters of the property, based on the money her father put into its purchase in 2004.

After their marriage ended, Ms Kliers began a new relationship, but she and her new partner suffered what the judge this week described as “considerable and quite unacceptable abuse and harassment from the Chasidic community”.

She was diagnosed with PTSD in December 2018, brought about partly “due to the eventual loss of her regular relationship with her children, who have remained within the community,” said Cusworth.