As the government, media and businessmen were saluted for securing retired paediatrician Cyril Karabus's return, The Times has identified the unsung heroes who spent sleepless nights fighting his cause for freedom.
After being held for nine months in the United Arab Emirates on fraud and manslaughter charges, Karabus arrived at Cape Town International Airport on Friday amid a frenzy of celebrations.
Karabus, 78, thanked everyone for the support he received during his ordeal, both those at home and those abroad.
"I just wanted to thank the people in Abu Dhabi who helped me," he said.
"I socialised a little bit with them, but particularly Dr Elwin Buchel who came to see me when I was in jail and offered me accommodation when I was released from jail.
"I doubt very much if he thought that he would be accommodating me for the next seven months," he said.
Yesterday, Karabus's daughter, Sarah, revealed the names of a few of the people who worked behind the scenes to secure the retired professor's release.
Among those who worked to secure her father's release were Cape Town paediatrician, Andrew Bristow, who started an online petition on Avaaz.org.
Avaaz.org is an online platform which allows people from all over the world to launch campaigns against injustices.
Others who worked to secure the professor's release included Cape Town advocate Dawid Velgemoed, who travelled to the UAE to consult with Karabus's legal team two weeks after his arrest.
Laurence Seeff and Mike Fisher, who started the Free Prof Karabus Facebook page and Johannesburg gynaecologist, Theo Kopenhager, were the first to pull out of the International Obstetrics and Gynaecology Conference to highlight Karabus's plight.
Karabus's arrest followed an operation he performed on a three-year-old cancer patient while he was a locum at Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, in 2002.
The patient died of leukaemia. Karabus was found guilty of fraud and manslaughter in absentia in 2003.
Two courts cleared him of the charges but he battled to get his passport back.
"We need to use this momentum to free other people," said Sarah.
Karabus's lawyer, Michael Bagraim, said he has been inundated with pleas for assistance by families whose relatives found themselves in similar situations.
"I believe there are many, because I heard from families who have written to me because of Professor Karabus's ordeal asking me to assist," said Bagraim.
"But I have said it is not my main course of work. I have not been involved with them, but I must have received calls from at least 10 different families pleading for help," said Bagraim.
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