Craig Ballentine, 33, is currently stuck in Dubai after he was accused of slandering a dog grooming centre he worked for last year – with his lawyers saying he could face two years in jail
A Brit is facing two years in a Dubai jail after posting a negative review about a dog grooming business he used to be employed at.
Craig Ballentine, 33, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, worked at a canine salon in Dubai for nearly six months last year. He was then diagnosed with fibromyalgia – a chronic condition that causes widespread pain and tenderness in the body – and had to take time off work.
Despite handing over a doctor’s note to his employer, he was labelled as “absconded” by his boss, which violates Dubai employment law, according to his legal team. This led to him being given the boot and slapped with a travel ban on his passport, which took two months and thousands of quid to lift, enabling him to fly back home to Northern Ireland.
After leaving a Google review about the grooming centre and his former boss, Craig visited Abu Dhabi for a holiday and was taken to Dubai to face slander charges under the UAE’s strict cybercrime laws. He is now stuck in the country, unable to return to his job as an autism support worker and facing a potential two-year prison sentence.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, who is battling to get Craig back home, said: “We’ve seen people arrested for complaining to customer service or for leaving online reviews on hotels and rental car agencies”. Local lawyers have reportedly told Craig there is almost no chance of the case against him being dropped, reports the Daily Star.
“When someone is offended, even if they are at fault, they can open a criminal prosecution out of spite. Craig deleted the post, apologised but still faces jail. It’s outrageous. We’ve seen people arrested for complaining to customer service or for leaving online reviews on hotels and rental car agencies. The UAE’s recently enacted Cybercrime laws are a nightmare for foreigners.”
Explaining the laws, Radha said that people can find themselves in hot water over someone else’s vindictiveness. She said: “It is sufficient for a complainant to simply tell police that someone 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 out the case.
“It’s a means for vindictive people to extort. Once a criminal case is won, they can also open civil cases for massive damages – the system incentivises it. Flatmates, co-workers and even spouses have abused this law and we find that it’s often foreigners who are taking advantage. In this case, both parties are Western and most people wouldn’t dream of opening a similar case in their own countries but seem quite happy to open them in the UAE.”
Craig told Ms Stirling in a phone call that his mother was “so upset and stressed she thought I was dead.” Radha and Detained in Dubai have reached out to Craig’s local representative, Michelle O’Neil to implore her to make diplomatic representations to the UAE’s Ambassador and FCDO. The Mirror has contacted Michelle O’Neil, who holds the positions of Northern Ireland’s First Minister and Vice President of Sinn Fein, for comment.
