Doctor, nurse deny ex-colleague’s accusation of libel
Lawyer defended suspects didn’t have criminal intention, accuses former doctor of malice
Dubai: A doctor and a nurse denied in court on Sunday libelling their ex-colleague at a medical centre via email and informing her patients that she was facing legal action over a malpractice case.
The 50-year-old Hungarian doctor and the 35-year-old British nurse pleaded not guilty and firmly rejected the charge of libelling their Swedish ex-colleague by emailing her clients and the centre’s clients that she was facing legal action for allegedly being responsible for a foetus’ death.
When the defendants appeared before the Dubai Misdemeanor Court, they denied belittling and libelling the Swedish woman, also a doctor, via email and the Internet.
“My clients are innocent and they had no criminal intent. The claimant [Swedish doctor] lodged this case out of malice. She constantly made trouble when she worked at the same medical centre,” argued advocate Yousuf Al Beloushi, of Bin Suwaidan Advocates and Legal Consultants in courtroom nine.
According to the accusation sheet, prosecutors said the suspects belittled and undermined the Swedish doctor in front of her patients and colleagues when they alleged by email that she was responsible for the death of the foetus.
Records said the suspects sent to the clients [of the claimant and the centre] an email in which they mentioned that she was facing a malpractice lawsuit.
Advocate Al Beloushi defended in court on Sunday: “We ask the court to dismiss this case for lack of crime. She lodged a labour lawsuit against her previous workplace… and she also lodged a separate criminal lawsuit that is still being studied by prosecutors. This criminal complaint should not have been referred to court because she lodged it after the legal period of three months. Her complaint, according to the Criminal Procedures Law’s article 10, should have been lodged within three months… but she lodged it after six months.”
Records said the Swedish complainant reported to the police on October 8, 2012 that the suspects defamed her.
She claimed to the police that she started working for the medical centre in Al Wasl in May 2009 and left them in May 2012.
On August 18, 2012, the defendants sent out an email to nearly 3,000 patients and colleagues and in which they alleged that she was facing legal action, testified the Swedish woman.
She alleged that her patients informed her about what she described by libelous email.
The suspected doctor and nurse claimed to prosecutors that the Swedish doctor is the one who sent out an email first and claimed that she was facing medical compensation case of Dh5 million.
The defendants contended that they sent an email to the centre’s patients and staff and clarified the situation and that the Swedish woman had been terminated. However they stressed that they did not libel her.
A judgement will be heard on May 28.
