[imagesource: Detained in Dubai / SWNS]

An Irish man is staring down a potential two-year sentence in Dubai – all for daring to post a less-than-flattering review of a dog grooming business from his homeland.

Craig Ballentine took a job at a canine salon in Dubai last year, where he loyally worked for nearly six months. But after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, the 33-year-old had to take a few sick days. No biggie, right? He even sent his boss a doctor’s note to explain the situation.

But instead of some understanding, his employer decided to label him as an “absconder” and report him to the authorities – a move that, according to Craig’s lawyers, is not within Dubai’s own employment laws.

As a result, Craig found himself not only unemployed but also stuck with a travel ban on his passport, a mess that took two months and thousands of pounds to undo before he could finally return to Northern Ireland.

Once home, Craig took to Google to leave a scathing review of the grooming centre and his former boss, calling out the issues she’d caused.

Fast forward to three weeks ago, when Craig went to Abu Dhabi for a quick holiday with friends – only to be whisked off to Dubai to face slander charges under the UAE’s draconian cybercrime laws.

He is now stuck in the country – absent from his employment as a support worker with autistic people in Belfast – and facing two years in prison.

“We’ve seen people arrested for complaining to customer service or for leaving online reviews on hotels and rental car agencies”, said Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, who have been working to try and get Craig home.

Craig has been advised by local lawyers there is almost zero chance of the case against him being dropped.

“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 new Cybercrime laws are a complete nightmare for foreigners. Basically, all it takes is for someone to claim that you posted something offensive or rude – the police don’t even need to see the post itself. The real kicker is that the complainants hold all the power, often demanding money from the accused just to make the case disappear.

“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 while most people wouldn’t dream of opening a similar case in their own countries, they seem quite happy to open them in the UAE, says Stirling.

“It’s atrocious that authorities are allowing such frivolous criminal reports to entangle visitors in 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 ruined.

He said they 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.

Kiss the SA constitution and stay in your lane without a word if you ever decide to live or work in Dubai – if you don’t, you may never make it back home.

[source:nypost]