I really can't understand why well-off Westerners continue to work in or visit the UAE, Qatar, etc. You have a choice. Unless you're doing some kind of humanitarian or cultural work which actually requires you to be there, stay the hell away.

The unusual thing here is that a man is being prosecuted for a Facebook post. The fact that he is being prosecuted for something he wrote in the US is not at all unusual. The United States routinely prosecutes Americans who engage in actions which are illegal in the United States, even if the actions are legal in the country in which the action takes place. The US government invokes this extraterritorial jurisdiction mainly for two categories of crimes: sex crimes against minors and corruption/bribery.

It's beautifully ironic that this was man was arrested at the employer's request, because the man portrayed them negatively. Yeah. Global Aerospace Logistics sure looks like a bunch of swell chaps now, I bet people are lining up to beg to work for them.

Good news everyone, his employers are hiring: http://www.gal.ae/careers/Jobs.aspx

Just don't "slander" them.

> Ryan Pate ... is accused of slandering his employer, which is illegal in the Emirates... He wrote in December about his superiors at Global Aerospace Logistics being "backstabbers."

Slander is making /false/ defamatory statements. By reporting him to the police on his return trip, his superiors have proven themselves to be backstabbers.

Where's the slander?

This is not exactly in the same category, but as I was coming back to Australia a few weeks ago I saw a sign stating that Australia considered child abuse committed internationally to be a crime and would prosecute.

With regard to this particular case, it really is your responsibility to know the laws of the place you're going to.

This is not very surprising, especially to residents in Qatar, as there has been great anxiety and lack of clarity over the country's first cyber law.

http://dohanews.co/criticism-qatars-cybercrime-law-mounts-ho... ‎

Granted, they will tell you it is because of acts of cybervandalism and computer intrusion by hacktivists from the likes of the Syrian Hacker Army and company. Now, those groups have attacked even infrastructure of companies like Qatar Petroleum or RasGas (I forget which one). Now, none of us trust the law because of slander/libel provisions.

However, I do not think Americans ought to talk. We have bounced foreigners on entry to the US for non-sensical Facebook commentary about getting wrecked in America, somehow construed to mean they will go on a terror rampage.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30267026

So, yeah, fellow Americans. We should get off our high horse.

A small reminder to never work in those countries. Only the desperate ones go there.

I'm always amused by the typical comments posted after every story like this. Yes, many places in the ME do have some really archaic laws, but you're more likely to have to get arrested and forced to pay a bribe in places like Thailand, China, many African and South American countries etc. In Thailand you can get arrested for insulting the king (and I won't be surprised if they'd do that over a FaceBook post written in a different country). However, it's not often you hear people advise westerners against going there.

I'm not a lawyer, but why would he admit to it?

> "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," he told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

I think the correct defense is to make them prove that he wrote, then if they prove he did, start saying "well I thought it was OK".

so, this was a public post? or he was friends with everyone he was badmouthing? illegal or not, that's plain poor decision making.

Amnesty International released this tool a while ago to see what "crimes" you're committing with your posts in other countries:

http://www.trialbytimeline.org.nz/

Also, once again civil libertarians were right: when US starts arresting people from across the globe for doing "crimes" that hardly have anything to do with its jurisdiction, eventually other countries will start doing the same with Americans, knowing that it's "okay" to do that.