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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: 2) by Zinho on Wednesday March 11 2015, @12:37AM

    by Zinho (759) on Wednesday March 11 2015, @12:37AM (#155836)

    Seems to me more like one of those bargains where charges are dropped on one culprit (Skylarov) in exchange for that culprits cooperation in getting another culprit (Elcomsoft). That's the prerogative of prosecutors[1]. Doesn't mean they didn't have jurisdiction.

    Yes, I believe that's exactly what happened. And I was incorrect about the jurisdiction issue, as I admitted in my previous post.

    . . . it sure seems like the US law was applied and did apply, and charges were dropped on Skylarov . . . So similarly in this case, the UAE law can and does apply to the guy.

    It sounds like we agree that the cases are analogous. That being the case, it's reasonable to point out the hypocrisy of a U.S. government official publicly saying that the U.A.E. shouldn't have prosecuted in the current case; the pot is calling the kettle black. I believe that was the point all the way back at the beginning of this thread.

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