South African doctor detained in UAE is granted bail

The elderly South African doctor detained while travelling through the United Arab Emirates was finally given bail this morning.

Professor Cyril Karabus was convicted in absentia by a UAE court for the alleged manslaughter of a terminally ill Yemeni girl he treated in the country in 2002.

Unaware of the conviction, Mr Karabus stopped off in Dubai on August 18 this year, on his way back to South Africa from his son’s wedding in Toronto.

The 78-year-old doctor has been in an Abu Dhabi jail since and his trial was postponed five times because the prosecution could not find the hospital files that contained the evidence.