Featured Image Credit: GoFundMe/Getty Stock Image
Topics: Travel, Social Media, Google, News, UK News
Callum Jones
Topics: Travel, Social Media, Google, News, UK News
A man from Northern Ireland has been detained and faces the prospect of spending Christmas in another country after leaving a negative Google review.
Craig Ballentine was arrested in Abu Dhabi airport back in October after posting a critical Google review online about his former employers in Dubai.
Radha Stirling, who helps tourists through legal issues in the UAE, said Ballentine made the comments about a dog grooming salon where he spent six months working in 2023.
Ballentine states he needed time off from the day job due to illness and presented his employer with medical certificates to facilitate that.
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However, the Dubai dog groomers reported him as 'absconded' to local authorities, and he was ultimately forced to return to the UK.
It was when he was back home that Ballentine wrote the negative review, an action he was subsequently arrested for in Abu Dhabi while on holiday there.
After being detained on slander charges, Ballentine says he has paid a fine and been given a one-month social media ban, according to the BBC.
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Hoping to return home in time for Christmas, Ballentine has now discovered there is a court appeal in place and that he could spend the festive season in the UAE.
He told BBC News NI: "I think anyone would be quite devastated. While I was in the middle of the transit going there [police station], I got the email that the court was not happy and they wanted to appeal again.
"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' and that was the priority yesterday - to get the travel ban lifted and just get out as soon as possible.
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"The next flight was 2am and that was the main goal - and then everything collapsed."
The BBC reports Ballentine is preparing for the possibility of spending Christmas so far away from home, though a subsequent GoFundMe hopes to 'Help Bring Craig Home!'.
"What started out as a holiday to catch up with friends for Craig has turned out to be a living nightmare," the fundraiser states.
"We are asking for help to cover the financial burden that this case has taken on Craig who has been out of work due to the fiasco that his previous employer has caused. The burdening costs are crippling and any help will be greatly appreciated. At present legal fees are crippling and any money raised will go to help clearing these costs."
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The GoFundMe concluded by saying the remaining funds would go to Stirling.