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Official will not contest verdict

AJMAN — Dr Ahmed Saad El Sheriff, Assistant Under-Secretary for Curriculum Activities in the Ministry of Education, has said he will not appeal against the verdict of the Ajman Court of First Instance which rejected the defamation case the Public Prosecution had filed on his behalf against Amina Thani, an employee of the Ajman Educational Zone.

The Public Prosecution took up the case after Dr El Sheriff complained against Amina Thani for making slanderous remarks against him, and had sought D1 million as compensation. Amina Thani, then working in the Curriculum Department of the Ministry, had accused Dr El Sheriff of violating copyright laws by replacing an author's name in a book with his own name.

Mohammed Al Chiba, Amina Thani's lawyer, submitted a memorandum attached with the manuscript of the book in the author's own handwriting besides a letter from the author which led to the Court of First Instance acquitting her of the charges of slander.

The court also summoned Abdullah Bilal Al Shamsy, Director of Activities' Administration, who was also the supervisor for the book, and the owner of the printing press which printed the book, to give their testimony in the case, but they failed to turn up.

Al Chiba said: "We were very clear from the beginning in our documentation of the case, providing the court with all the documents required, which ultimately led to Amina Thani's acquittal." Al Chiba also questioned the propriety of Dr Al Sheriff going in appeal against the verdict since "only the Public Prosecution has the right to appeal in this case."