‘It’s just ludicrous’ - Friend urges support for Co Tyrone man facing prison in Dubai in live campaign call

THE friend of a Co Tyrone man facing prison in Dubai for a negative online review of a dog grooming salon has renewed calls for his return.

Craig Ballentine (33) from Cookstown was arrested three weeks ago when he landed in Abu Dhabi to visit friends and was transported to Dubai.

He had previously worked as a dog groomer in Dubai for six months, but left a critical review of his employer online.

Taking part in a live call hosted by the Detained in Dubai group on Friday, Sean Morgan from Dundalk described his friend’s mood as “quite sombre”.

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The campaigners say that UAE’s cybercrime laws which prohibit online criticism could result in jail time.

Travelling under a British passport, Mr Ballentine is currently under a ban from leaving the UAE.

While allowed to move freely within the country, he now faces months of extra expense and stress as he waits for a court date.

Mr Morgan told the Irish News he hoped the “ludicrous” case could be dealt with quickly.

“I know when Craig landed in Abu Dhabi he knew nothing about why he was being held, it took them a while to actually tell him,” he said.

“He finally found it was because of a Google review, and he couldn’t believe he was being arrested for that.

“I actually don’t think the police have contacted the complainant at all to try and persuade them to remove the case against Craig.

“I don’t think anything has been done on their behalf at all. When Craig contacted the (British) embassy, they told him that unless he was arrested again there was not much he could do until it goes through the procedures.

“I just thought they could have done something more, especially when it was just over a such a petty crime as I would call it.”

Rhada Stirling from Detained in Dubai said other countries had been successful in applying diplomatic pressure in more complicated cases.

“When the government of Dubai is approached by another country, they tend to be quite welcoming of that communication,” she said.

“When they can see that it’s not an important case, that it is silly and reputationally damaging, they tend to solve them very quickly.

“So it comes down to the willingness of our country, do they want to make that phone call? Because as soon as they do they achieve good results.”

Stormont First Minister Michelle O’Neill, who is also Mr Ballentine’s MLA, has previously said she is closely monitoring the case.

Ms Stirling added that “the punishment is often the process,” which can take up to a year for someone to be completely exonerated.

“It means people will spend a fortune on accommodation and lawyers when they’re unexpectedly forced to stay in a luxury city as well as the loss of their employment.”

Mr Morgan said his friend’s employers had been understanding of the case.

“It’s exceptional to think you could be stuck in a country for 12 months over a Google review, it’s just ludicrous.

“We need to let Craig come home and not suffer the financial burden of being in Dubai and not able to work.”

With no date set for the court appearance, he described his friend’s mood as “quite sombre.”

“He just wants to get home realistically. There’s only so much sitting around you can do, so he’s trying to stay upbeat and positive but it can be quite frustrating.

“There’s day where his mood will be good and others where it’s a bit more flat.

“At the moment, his lawyers were helping as well as Radha.”

Ms Stirling said: “There’s nothing much his lawyers can do at this early stage when we don’t have a court date.

“They tend not to push the prosecution to make any decisions, so sometimes lawyers can impede the process and draw it out unnecessarily.”

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office commented: “We are providing support to a British man in the UAE. We have been in contact with his family and the local authorities.”