Pretoria – Retired South African paediatrician Professor Cyril Karabus could be re-united with his family in a matter of days.
The latest media reports on Tuesday afternoon indicated that the South African Embassy was in possession of the professor’s passport.
Earlier on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ebrahim Ebrahim, said he expected Karabus to get his passport back from Abu Dhabi authorities in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, 15 May, which will enable him to make transport arrangements.
Karabus, 78, who was also an emeritus professor at the University of Cape Town, has been in detention in the UAE after being sentenced in absentia for charges of manslaughter and fraud.
Despite being cleared, his release was delayed because his name remained on the UAE’s database as a fugitive from justice.
Speaking to journalists at his department’s headquarters in Pretoria today, Ebrahim said after extensive engagements between the South African Embassy and the UAE authorities, he was confident that the professor’s release would happen in a matter of days.
“The South African Embassy is in constant contact with the relevant authorities to expedite this process, and we trust that his passport will be in returned to him by Wednesday, 15 May 2013 in order for his travel arrangements to be finalised.
“The only remaining issue of concern is the fact that the administrative arrangements by the UAE authorities are taking very long before he can leave the UAE. It is anticipated that the process will be finalised before the end of the week,” he said.
According to media reports, Karabus’s attorney and his family already expected the retired professor to be released in the past few days, but that was frustrated by the slow processes.
He was arrested in relation to an operation he performed on a three-year-old cancer patient at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, in 2002. The patient died of leukaemia.
He was acquitted on March 21 and won an appeal, and his bail money of R250 000 was returned to him on Monday, but he still had to wait for his passport from Abu Dhabi prison authorities.
Yesterday, Ebrahim said the latest communique from the UAE confirmed that Karabus had been cleared of all charges against him.
“The department received a note verbale from the UAE on 13 May 2013, informing that the SA Mission in Abu Dhabi should be requested to facilitate the processing of all outstanding documentation to enable the speedy return of Professor Karabus to South Africa,” he said.
Syrian unrest condemned
Meanwhile, Ebrahim reiterated the condemnation of the continued unrest in the Syrian Arab Republic, and sent condolences to the families of the 46 people who lost their lives following car bombings in a Turkish border town on Saturday.
He called on all parties involved in the two-year unrest to cease fire to avoid any further loss of life, and to sit around one table to discuss solutions.
“In this regard, South Africa welcomes current US-Russian efforts to convene an international conference at which both the Syrian government and opposition will be allowed to partake, signalling an end to the military conflict in that country.
“South Africa believes that it is essential that a political path be supported by a united, cohesive international effort towards a Syrian-led negotiated political transition aimed at establishing a democratic pluralistic society in which minorities are protected,” said Ebrahim. – SAnews.gov.za
