Man detained in Dubai 'just wants home for Christmas'

Image source, Craig Ballentine

Mr Ballentine has been accused of slander

Niall McCracken

BBC News NI

A holidaymaker who has been detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after posting a negative Google review has said he “just wants to be home for Christmas”.

Craig Ballentine, from Northern Ireland, was arrested in Abu Dhabi airport in October because he posted critical comments about his former employer in Dubai.

He has been accused of slander, but the UAE's strict cybercrime laws mean there is a chance he could be jailed for the remarks he made in the online review.

The 33-year-old care worker told BBC News NI: “It’s just a waiting game for my family now, the most important thing for me at the minute is to be with them on Christmas Day.”

His comments come as Sinn Féin have released details about Michelle O’Neill’s intervention in the case.

BBC News NI has seen a letter sent by the first minister to the UAE Embassy in London.

In the letter she states: “The increasing number of people travelling from across Ireland to UAE is to be very much welcomed, however cases such as Mr Ballentine’s creates a concern for many of those, whether tourists, or taking up employment.

“I would sincerely urge your good offices to intervene on behalf of Mr Ballentine, taking a compassionate approach to the matter and ensuring that he can return home at the earliest opportunity.”

A spokesperson for Sinn Féin confirmed that to date no reply has been received from the UAE Embassy.

Mr Ballentine, from Cookstown in County Tyrone, welcomed the continued intervention from politicians.

He said: “We’ve seen a number of councillors and MLAs get involved and I’m so grateful, obviously with Michelle O’Neill being Stormont first minister that’s very important.

“She’s still waiting for a reply from the UAE embassy, but fingers crossed that will come soon.”

Image source, Craig Ballentine

Mr Ballentine cannot leave the UAE until the case against him is resolved

In 2023 Mr Ballentine got a job in a dog grooming salon in Dubai.

After working there for almost six months, he needed time off due to illness and so he gave his employer a doctor’s certificate as proof of his condition.

But when he did not show up for work, he was registered as “absconded” with the UAE authorities, which meant he could not leave the county.

Mr Ballentine later managed to get that travel ban lifted and he went home to Northern Ireland, but doing so took two months and cost him thousands of pounds.

While he was back in Northern Ireland, he wrote an online review of the dog grooming salon, outlining the problems his former boss had allegedly caused him.

He told BBC News NI his Google post "explained the ordeal that I went through".

In late October Mr Ballentine returned to the UAE for a short holiday, at which point he was immediately arrested for the alleged slander.

The care worker was released from custody but he cannot leave the UAE until the case against him is resolved.

He was transferred from Abu Dhabi to Dubai where he now has wait until the case against him either goes to court or the charges are dropped.

Mr Balletine told BBC News NI that he has been encouraged by the cross-party support in Northern Ireland for his case, including from UUP councillor Trevor Wilson and DUP MLA Kieth Buchanan.

It has also included intervention from the former Ulster Unionist Party leader, Sir Reg Empey.

Sir Reg sent a letter to Labour’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East Hamish Falconer MP.

The letter states: “Can you advise what steps your department is taking to secure Mr Ballentine’s free passage back to the United Kingdom?”

The letter has not yet received a response.

Mr Ballentine added: “I am hoping the UK government and their embassies can continue to become more involved, and politicians highlighting the case is an important part of that.

“For now, I’m keeping in contact with my family as much as I can, but my parents are waking up everyday day asking – ‘when will our son return home?’ I hope we can answer that soon.”

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