Facebook posts about job land U.S. contractor in Emirates jail

A hallmark of American life – griping about work – has landed a Florida man in a Middle Eastern jail.

Ryan Pate, a helicopter mechanic from Belleair Bluffs, Florida, took to Facebook after a dispute over sick leave with the company he was working for in the United Arab Emirates. He was home in Florida at the time, but when he returned to Abu Dhabi last month, he was told to report to the police station, where he was arrested for slandering his employer.

He spent about 10 days in jail, he said, 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,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday.

Pate, 30, said the incident stemmed from a December trip to Florida. He spent the holidays with family and proposed to his girlfriend, but also was trying to get treatment for a back injury. There was disagreement with his bosses about extending his leave, he said, and after an unsatisfactory call, he took to Facebook.

He said he can’t remember precisely what he wrote, but knows he called his bosses “backstabbers” and warned other contractors not to work for them. He didn’t give the rant much thought until he was back in the Persian Gulf, where he planned to end his employment. Soon after, he said he received a call from police telling him to come to the station, where officers showed him screen shots of his comments.

Rep. David Jolly has intervened on his constituent’s behalf. In a letter to the Emirati attorney general, Jolly emphasized respect for the country, but argued because the posts occurred on American soil, those laws shouldn’t apply.