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posted by n1 on Monday March 09 2015, @04:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the fighting-crime dept.

AP reports that Ryan Pate, a helicopter mechanic, took to Facebook while in Florida after a dispute over sick leave with his company and when he returned to Abu Dhabi last month, he was told to report to the police station, where he was arrested for breaking a United Arab Emirates law on slandering his employer. Pate was shown screenshots of the Facebook message and told his employer had filed charges accusing him of breaking wide-ranging Emirates laws that ban slander. The laws were introduced in late 2012 and make it an offense to use the net to mock or deride organizations and individuals. Pate spent about 10 days in jail and is now free on bail awaiting a March 17 trial. His supporters say he faces up to five years in prison and a steep fine if convicted. "I just couldn't register it in my head because as an American growing up in the United States, the First Amendment right is just ingrained in my brain," says Pate. "I never even entertained the fact that I would wind up in prison out here for something I put on Facebook in the United States."

Pate's congressman, Rep. David Jolly, intervened on his constituent's behalf, lobbying the State Department and Emirates officials for help. In a letter to the Emirati attorney general, Jolly emphasized respect for the sovereignty of the country, but argued because the posts occurred while Pate was on American soil, those laws shouldn't apply. "It is deeply troubling that Mr. Pate now faces judicial proceedings over an action that was done legally in his home country," says Jolly. Speaking via phone from his apartment in Abu Dhabi, Pate was remorseful. β€œI just want to apologize to everybody I dragged into this,” he said. β€œIt is embarrassing, and I never meant for this to happen. I let my emotions get the better of me.”

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by TheGratefulNet on Monday March 09 2015, @05:07PM

    by TheGratefulNet (659) on Monday March 09 2015, @05:07PM (#154981)

    I pretty much agree. I would not be caught dead (...) in any arab country or territory. I won't fly over them or go near them. its not worth it and they don't have anything close to western rights and freedoms (even though our own are quickly eroding, we still are nowhere near as backwards as they are).

    yes, backwards. with absolutism, not relativism. a doomed society that is living only on borrowed time.

    there's an old saying, you lie down with pigs and you get dirty. if you choose to do business with companies that require you to enter middle eastern moslem countries, you should know that you are living a very risky lifestyle. no one is forcing anyone to take jobs over there. if you accept such a position and you run into trouble, its your own damned fault for being greedy (which is the only reason any westerener would ever take a job there anyway).

    you think you can 'play' them and not worry about the down-side? take their money but cry when they force their laws on you?

    your own fault for going there, period. I feel no sympathy for those that OPT to go there.

    --
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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 09 2015, @08:03PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 09 2015, @08:03PM (#155057)

    Dubai is one of the major air travel hubs nowadays.

    This arrest could be due to something more "personal" (e.g. he offended someone high up). Otherwise if the UAE is having a change of policy/heart on enforcement, many air-travellers would want to know (and try to avoid Dubai and UAE), since they probably have broken UAE laws too.

    Or the next time they fly one of the UAE airlines and say it sucks and others should avoid it, they might get in trouble too.

    • (Score: 2) by CRCulver on Monday March 09 2015, @09:03PM

      by CRCulver (4390) on Monday March 09 2015, @09:03PM (#155077) Homepage
      Transit passengers in Dubai or Sharjah airports typically don't have run-ins with the UAE state unless they go through passport control. That's where the infamously uptight customs searches happen, and the guy described in the article had left the airport and spent some time in the country. If one is just changing planes in those airports, going from gate to gate with perhaps a meal at a airport restaurant in between, one has little to worry about.
      • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Nobuddy on Monday March 09 2015, @09:37PM

        by Nobuddy (1626) on Monday March 09 2015, @09:37PM (#155086)

        I have to assume you have never travelled to UAE.
        Their passport clearance and customs are some of the easiest and most reasonable I have ever gone through. The US is far far far far far far far far---fucking FAR worse than UAE.

        far.

        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 09 2015, @10:45PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 09 2015, @10:45PM (#155139)

          Jailing someone for four years because they found three poppy seeds on his shirt is far^n more reasonable than the US. What does the TSA lock people up for life if they have heard of poppy seeds?

        • (Score: 2) by CRCulver on Monday March 09 2015, @11:27PM

          by CRCulver (4390) on Monday March 09 2015, @11:27PM (#155170) Homepage
          I have traveled to the UAE and my passage through passport control has always been smooth, and much more pleasant than entering the United States. However, my point remains that transit passengers shouldn't be scared by horror stories that happened at the passport control/customs stage or well after it somewhere inside the country..
        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Tuesday March 10 2015, @12:43AM

          by tangomargarine (667) on Tuesday March 10 2015, @12:43AM (#155201)

          Well sure, why wouldn't they be? Nobody is trying to suicide bomb THEM.

          --
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          • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 10 2015, @02:51AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 10 2015, @02:51AM (#155233)

            Nobody is trying to suicide bomb the US or TSA either. Maybe a nutjob every couple years tries it, but that's it, its nothing outside of an extremely rare and unusual occurrence.

            • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday March 12 2015, @08:17PM

              by tangomargarine (667) on Thursday March 12 2015, @08:17PM (#156879)

              Maybe no one *currently.* I don't think it's much of a stretch to call 9/11 a concerted suicide bombing attempt. Planes explode when they hit buildings. Or start on fire. Or something.

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              "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by kaszz on Monday March 09 2015, @11:29PM

      by kaszz (4211) on Monday March 09 2015, @11:29PM (#155171) Journal

      Dubai is one of the major air travel hubs nowadays.

      It's probably time to put an end to that and route air traffic to through countries that won't harass passengers.