April 16, 2013

(JTA) — A South African doctor remains free on bail in the United Arab Emirates while prosecutors appeal a judge’s dismissal of manslaughter charges.

Cyril Karabus, 78, a pediatric oncologist, was cleared by a medical review committee of any wrongdoing in the 2003 death of a 3-year-old cancer patient under his care in the UAE. A judge dismissed the case last month, but the prosecution appealed, The New York Times reported last week.

Karabus, who is Jewish, was arrested last August while in transit on his way home to South Africa after attending his son’s wedding in Canada. 

He had returned to South Africa after the patient’s death. Unbeknownest to Karabus, however, he was charged with manslaughter and falsifying documents, and was found guilty in absentia and sentenced to three years in prison. He was unaware of the trial or sentence until his arrest at the airport.

After his arrest, he spent nearly seven weeks in prison before being released on bail and confined to house arrest.

While his family lobbied for his release from the country, citing a heart condition, Karabus went through more than 25 court hearings.

Karabus since his release has participated in the family Passover seder and in his grandson’s brit milah through video chat.

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