Feuding imams told police won't testify

No officers remember the incident, in which both clerics accuse each other of starting a fight.

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Abu Dhabi // An imam accused of getting in a fistfight with another imam was told in court today that none of the police called to testify could remember the incident. 

MH, a Palestinian who lives in Abu Dhabi, is suing his ex-daughter-in-law's father for allegedly hitting him in the face, breaking a tooth and some bones. The man he is accusing, AH, denied the attack and said MH spat at him and insulted him.

In the last hearing, MH asked the court to summon two police officers who were on shift to testify regarding the severity of his wounds at the time. But the police sent a written statement that they could not determine the names of the officers and that none of their staff recalled such an incident.

The fight took place after MH's son divorced AH's daughter, according to records. On December 11, MH finished his morning prayers in a mosque in Al Mina and went to buy bread in the Tourist Club area, the court heard. MH parked his car in front of the bakery, which is next to AH's house. MH said AH opened the door and greeted him.

"I greeted him back," MH said. "I then was surprised that he started beating me in the face."

Advising them to make up, Chief Justice Saeed Abdul Baseer told them, "You are religious clerics, and one of you is lying."