Professor Cyril Karabus did not receive his passport on Monday after the UAE cleared him to travel, his lawyer said.
|||Johannesburg -
South African doctor Cyril Karabus did not receive his passport on Monday after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cleared him to travel, his lawyer said.
“We didn't get the passport today (Monday), so we will try again on Tuesday morning,” lawyer Michael Bagraim said.
“Tomorrow morning at 7am professor Karabus will go and camp by our attorneys' offices.”
Bagraim said part of the problem was that the attorneys were in court on Monday and could not “push” to get the passport.
He said Karabus was doing fine but was frustrated and wanted to return home to Cape Town.
The 78-year-old paediatric oncologist has been detained in the UAE since August 18 last year, after being sentenced in absentia for the death of a Yemeni girl he treated for leukaemia in 2002.
He was acquitted on March 21, but not allowed to leave the country pending the appeal.
On April 24 the UAE lost its appeal against his earlier acquittal after an appeal judge said Karabus was not guilty on all charges.
Earlier on Monday, Bagraim said Karabus's return was an “administrative wait”.
“We are literally just waiting for the return of the passport after everyone approved that he could get it and that he can return. It is an administrative wait,” he said.
“He knows he is free but there is a glitch stopping him. The wait is frustrating for him knowing he can come home. We just all have to be patient. We hope this doesn't translate into too much tension on his heart.”
He said Karabus was “all right” despite the frustration.
Meanwhile, the Health Professions Council of SA said it would not withdraw from the Africa Health Exhibition, as said on April 19, to protest against the continued detention of Karabus.
The exhibition, run by the Dubai-based company Informa Life Exhibitions, will be held next month in Johannesburg.
The HPCSA would issue a cautionary notice to all its registered health practitioners who wanted to work, and were working, abroad.
“We are calling on... practitioners who are either employed in countries where human rights are not respected or considering employment in such countries, to make informed decisions on the legal risks of their employment and working conditions to avoid a similar situation to that of Dr Karabus,” HPCSA chief operations officer Tshepo Boikanyo said. - Sapa