A campaign group is urging people going to Dubai to check their police status before travelling after a Tyrone man was arrested for a negative review left on social media.

Craig Ballentine is a 33-year-old Tyrone man who posted online relating to a dog grooming centre in Dubai and could now face up to two years in prison.

Mr Ballentine has previously lived in Dubai for six months, where he worked at said dog grooming centre.

After becoming sick and taking two days off with a medical certificate provided, he found his employer has reported him as ‘absconded’.

This meant Mr Ballentine couldn’t work in Dubai and also couldn’t leave Dubai for three months until this charge was resolved.

When he returned to Northern Ireland, he wrote a negative Google review for the company.

A few months later when he returned to the country to visit friends, he was arrested on arrival to Abu Dhabi airport and he is now stranded in Dubai.

On Lunchtime Live, campaign group Detained in Dubai's CEO Radha Stirling said most people “don’t realise” how “extreme” the social media laws are in Dubai.

"Anything negative"

Ms Stirling said Mr Ballentine is now facing “charges of slander” under Dubai cybercrime law.

“It's essentially anything negative,” she said. “It could be any clause of the UAE cybercrime laws.

“It could be offensive, it could be an insult - basically, it comes down to the feelings of the company or the person in the company that it's about.

“I mean, I've seen people arrested for complaining directly over the telephone to customer service, even politely.

“I've seen people arrested for leaving a two, three star review on a rental car company.”

Craig Ballentine from Co. Tyrone who is currently stranded in Dubai. Image: Detained in Dubai.

Ms Stirling said Mr Ballentine’s situation is “an extremely common thing”.

“It's a way for companies to have bad reviews taken down, but also to seek compensation,” she said.

“So I would not be surprised at all if the complainant in this case, his former employer actually demands money from him.”

Ms Stirling said Mr Ballentine wasn’t made aware of the case brought against him at all and said this is actually common practice.

“His former employer didn't contact him or get in touch at all - I think they were waiting,” she said.

“They were hoping that, if they take a police case, and they just wait until eventually he comes back to Dubai where he'll be arrested.

“It's extremely vindictive.”

"His mother thought he was dead"

Upon his arrest, Mr Ballentine wasn’t able to contact any of his family, Ms Stirling said.

“He disappeared,” she said. “He was completely out of contact.

“He was not allowed his phone - they confiscated it.

“His mother actually thought that he was dead - she thought the worst.

“You know, it was totally unlike him not to be in touch when he's traveling - they were very close family, and she genuinely thought that something terrible had happened.”

Ms Stirling said Mr Ballentine only contacted her about a week ago after being inspired by cases like Tori Towey’s.

"Vague and confusing"

She said these laws are “vague” and “confusing”.

“It's as though nothing online is legal in the UAE, and it's unbelievable, but almost every single traveller to the UAE would already be in violation of those cybercrime laws because they're so vague,” she said.

“Whether it's using a VPN, whether it's a sharing a charity online, or a social media post made five years ago - perhaps about something negative related to the UAE, it could just be as simple as the weather.

“[The laws are] often weaponised against frenemies, enemies, employers, employees, landlords and tenants, and we even see husbands and wives, because it covers even private communications.

“So if I send a rude message to my spouse, for example, on WhatsApp, you know, in the middle of a divorce, they could take a case against me for that, and that would be covered under the cybercrime laws.”

Craig Ballantine pictured with the UK's Princess Kate. Image: Detained in Dubai

Ms Stirling said if people “checked their [police] status in advance of travelling” it would “significantly reduce” the amount of cases like Mr Ballentine’s.

The next step for Mr Ballentine is waiting for his court date while staying with a friend in Dubai.

First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill is “really strongly advocating for him” – pushing the Foreign Office to intervene and she has also contacted the UAE ambassador in London.

“We hope that with this sort of diplomatic push that the UAE can see, you know, do you really want to jail a tourist over a Google review,” Ms Stirling said.

A court date has yet to be set in the case.

Listen back here:

Main image: Craig Ballentine. Image: Detained in Dubai.