IN THE DOG HOUSE

Man Jailed in Dubai Over Negative Dog Grooming Review

“This is going too far,” Ballentine’s mother told reporters. “He didn’t use bad language, he just expressed his views which is what you’re supposed to do on review sites.”

A Northern Ireland man faces two years in prison in Dubai after he posted a negative review of a dog grooming business while in his home country. Craig Ballentine, 33, worked at a canine salon in Dubai for nearly six months. After requesting time off to manage his fibromialgia, his employer’s management reported him to local authorities as “absconded.” This led to him being fired and a travel ban being placed on his passport. After eventually returning home to Northern Ireland, he left a Google review for the grooming salon, detailing his ex-employer’s alleged misconduct. When he traveled to the United Arab Emirates in late October for a vacation, Ballentine was subsequently transported to Dubai and indicted on slander charges under the nation’s cybercrime laws. His family are now calling on officials in the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office and the British ambassador to the UAE to intervene. “This is going too far,” Ballentine’s mother told reporters. “He didn’t use bad language, he just expressed his views which is what you’re supposed to do on review sites.”