British man, 33, dealing with two years in jail in Dubai after posting important evaluate of Middle East canine grooming enterprise – from his house in Northern Ireland

A British man was arrested on holiday and is now facing two years in a Dubai prison for posting a negative online review about a dog grooming business from the UK.

Craig Ballentine, 33, from Belfast, accepted a role last year in a Dubai canine salon where he worked for nearly six months.

But after a spat with his former employer, he left a scathing review and is now locked up due to extremely strict cyber laws in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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

‘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.’

While in Dubai, Mr Ballentine was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and needed to take days off work.

He informed his boss and sent her his doctor’s note but according to Dubai employment law his employers reported him to the authorities as ‘absconded’, his lawyers say.

This led to his unemployment and a travel ban that took two months and thousands of pounds to remove before he could return home to Northern Ireland.

After returning home, Mr Ballentine, who is an Autism support worker, left a Google review complaining about the Dubai grooming centre, his former boss and the problems she had caused.

Ms Stirling added: ‘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.

‘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.

Three weeks ago, Mr Ballentine visited Abu Dhabi for a short holiday with friends.

But suddenly, he was taken to Dubai to face charges of slander and is now once again stuck in the country, facing two years in prison.

‘Flatmates, co-workers and even spouses have abused this law and we find that it’s often foreigners who are taking advantage,’ Ms Stirling said.

‘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.’

Mr Ballentine told Ms Stirling in a phone call that his mother was ‘so upset and stressed she thought I was dead’.

The support worker, who frequently volunteers in his local community, is scared and desperate to return home.

‘Craig needs to get home and get to work,’ Ms Stirling continued.

‘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.

‘We have reached out to Craig’s local representative, Michelle O’Neill to implore her to make diplomatic representations to the UAE’s Ambassador and FCDO.

‘We hope she can assist in the same way Ireland helped Tori Towey come home.’