Legally? Who knows.
Not being a dbag in life? Probably leans towards not posting.
Meh, everyone puts their whole life online nowadays (the kids call it lifecasting). What else are you going to do if your laptop gets stolen anyway?
in this case,
- she's not a minor (as far as we can tell) so having/publishing her pictures are not illegal in the UK.
- She's not a UK resident or have established a valid UK contract, or contact UK authorities about international law concerning rights to the use of ther image
So, i'd say it's pretty legal. Douchbaggery, but legal.
If i were on his place, i'd get enough personal information to 'convince' (wink wink) her that it was her best interest to return my property and report the seller (if that was the case) the local authorities.
Also, since he never mention that he tried to contact her, it makes him 10x more idiot.
The location of the laptop has nothing to do with it. It is the behavior of the publisher that is unethical and/or illegal. If the Iranians have a cause of action against the publisher in the UK based on privacy laws, they would have standing to bring a suit in court in the UK. They don't have to be citizens to do that.
Are there rules?
Clearly, a legal opinion on this will be complex, to say the least.