Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
A man from Northern Ireland who was arrested after posting a negative review about his former employer in Dubai looks set to spend Christmas in the United Arab Emirates after he was given a February court date, the BBC reported.
Craig Ballentine, a Northern Ireland holidaymaker, was arrested in Abu Dhabi airport in October over a negative Google post about his former workplace — a dog grooming salon, the report said.
Ballentine's case reportedly traces back to a roughly six-month stint he spent working at the salon in 2023.
He is said to have needed time off due to illness and presented his employer with medical certificates as proof of his condition.
But the employer registered him as "absconded" with UAE authorities after he missed work, and he was hit with a travel ban, per the BBC.
After managing to get the ban lifted, Ballentine returned to Northern Ireland, where he wrote a Google review detailing the issues with his former employer.
He was arrested after returning to the UAE for a holiday and faced charges of slander.
Ballentine, who said he had paid a fine and that he was given a one month social media ban, had hoped to get his travel ban lifted and return to Northern Ireland ahead of Christmas.
But he told the BBC that while on the way to a police station to get the ban lifted, he was told authorities wanted to appeal his case and had set a court date for February.
"While I was in the middle of the transit going there, I got the email that the court was not happy and they wanted to appeal again," he said. "I called friends and family and couldn't stop crying, because you're holding on to those emotions, you're just trying to focus on 'let's get out of here.'"
A GoFundMe set up by Ballentine's family has raised nearly $2,500 to help with his legal fees.
"What started out as a holiday to catch up with friends for Craig has turned out to be a living nightmare," the family says on the page.
"At present legal fees are crippling and any money raised will go to help clearing these costs," they added.
Ballentine has also appealed to politicians to support his case with the help of Radha Stirling, a representative from the campaign group "Detained in Dubai."
"The amount of support Craig has is quite incredible," Stirling said. "Charging someone for an online review is something everyone can imagine happening to them. We've received an influx of worried tourists contacting us to check their police status in Dubai and it's certainly a good idea."
