A man is facing two years in prison in Dubai – after posting a negative review of a dog grooming business from his home country.
Craig Ballentine, 33, accepted a role last year at a dog salon in Dubai, where he worked for almost six months.
Autism support worker Craig, from Belfast, was subsequently diagnosed with fibromyalgia and had to take days off work.
He informed his boss and sent her a doctor’s note, but against Dubai’s labor law, they reported him as an “absconder” to the authorities, his lawyers say.
This led to his unemployment and a travel ban on his passport that took two months and thousands of pounds to lift, allowing him to return home to Northern Ireland.
After returning home, Craig left a review on Google about the care center and his former boss and the problems she had caused.
Three weeks ago, Craig visited Abu Dhabi for a short break with friends – and was flown to Dubai to face defamation charges under the UAE’s tough cybercrime laws.
Now he is stranded in the country, absent from his employment as an autistic aide and faces two years in prison.
“We’ve seen people detained for complaining to customer service or leaving reviews online about hotels and car rental agencies,” said Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, which has worked to try bring Craig home.
“Craig has been advised by local lawyers that there is almost zero chance of the case against him being dismissed.
“When someone is offended, even if they are at fault, they can open a criminal prosecution out of spite. Craig deleted the post, apologized, but still faces jail time. It’s scandalous.”
“We’ve seen people arrested for complaining to customer service or leaving online reviews of hotels and car rental agencies.”
“The recently passed laws in the United Arab Emirates on cybercrime are a nightmare for foreigners.
“All it takes is for a complainant to simply tell the police that someone has posted something offensive or rude. The police don’t even need to see the actual post.
“The complainants have all the power and often demand money from the accused to close the case.
“It is a tool for vindictive people to extort. Once a criminal case is won, they can also file a civil case for massive damages – the system encourages it.
“Roommates, co-workers and even spouses have abused this law and we find that foreigners are often the ones who benefit.
“In this case, both parties are Western and most people wouldn’t dream of opening a similar case in their own countries, but they seem quite happy to open it in the UAE.”
Craig told Ms Stirling in a phone call that his mother was “so upset and stressed she thought I was dead”.
Craig, who often volunteers in his local community, is scared and desperate to return home.
“Craig needs to get home and go to work,” said Ms Stirling.
“It is cruel that the authorities are allowing such frivolous criminal reporting to confuse visitors to the system.
“The sheer number of cybercrime reports they receive must be significant. There are no protections or safeguards and people’s lives are being destroyed.
“We have contacted Craig’s local representative Michelle O’Neil to ask her to make diplomatic representations to the UAE Ambassador and the FCDO.
“Hopefully she can help in the same way that Ireland helped Tori Towey get home.”