Wanted man found in ex-judge's car, court hears

ABU DHABI // A wanted man was found in the car of a former judge, a court heard yesterday.

A policeman told the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court that officers stopped the car of AZ, a former Emirati judge.

The car, travelling from Dubai, also contained a passenger.

The policeman said that when the officers asked the former judge to accompany them to the police station he asked if they had an arrest warrant.

He told them he was a judge. "He demanded that if we had any offence against him we should present it on the spot, and [said] he wouldn't accompany us to the station," said the police officer.

The officer said that when he asked the passenger for his ID documents, he said he did not have any as they had been withdrawn by the authorities.

The former judge, who retired from his post in 2003, was charged with impersonating a judge and not complying with the authorities.

His lawyer told the court he was unsure of AZ's whereabouts.

Chief Justice Sayed Abdul Baseer, the head of the Criminal Court, adjourned the case until May 13 and ordered the prosecution to find the former judge.

hdajani@thenational.ae