Irish woman charged with 'attempting suicide' and banned from leaving Dubai after alleged attack
Warning: This article contains discussion of domestic violence and suicide which some readers may find distressing.
An Irish woman has been charged with 'attempting suicide' and banned from leaving Dubai after being the victim of an alleged attack.
It’s reported that airline worker Tori Towey was attacked in her home and now cannot leave the state as the Irish premier pledges to intervene in her case.
The 28-year-old works over in the UAE as a cabin crew member and it's reported she tried to take her own life after allegedly being attacked. Left with severe bruising and other injuries, Towey survived but was taken to a police station.
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Here, she was charged with attempted suicide and abusing alcohol, resulting in her passport being blocked from use.
Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald raised the airline worker’s case in the Irish Parliament yesterday (9 July).
Adding that Towey’s mum has now travelled over to Dubai to be with her, she explained the woman has been the victim of domestic abuse.
“Tori wants to come home, simple as that. She is a Roscommon woman, and she wants to come home,” she said.
“I am asking now, as a matter of absolute urgency, that we have a statement from this House, that you intervene Taoiseach, that the ambassador is called and that it is made absolutely plain to the authorities of Dubai that no woman should be treated in this way, and an Irish citizen, an Irish woman will not be treated in this way.”
The Irish premier, Simon Harris, said he wasn’t aware of Towey’s case but thanked McDonald for bringing it to his attention.
He said he would be happy to work with her and others ‘to intervene and see how we can support an Irish citizen in what sounds to be, based on what you tell me, the most appalling circumstances’.
Towey and her mother are currently staying in a rental in Dubai with the family receiving assistance from the Detained In Dubai advocacy group.
CEO of the group, Radha Stirling, said: “Tori’s experience is nothing short of tragic and quite frankly, she is lucky to be alive.”
She claimed that the woman was ‘moments from death either by suicide or at the hands of her violent rage driven husband’.
Detained in Dubai is now: “Calling on Dubai authorities to urgently drop the charges against Tori, remove the travel ban and let her fly home to Ireland with her mother.”
A spokesperson for Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs told LADbible: "The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Ireland to the UAE are providing ongoing consular assistance in relation to this case.
"The Irish Ambassador to the UAE is in regular contact with our citizen (including this morning). The Embassy is also engaging with all the relevant authorities in UAE on the case. Officials will continue to provide advice and consular assistance."
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence to the national domestic violence helpline Refuge on 0808 2000 247, available 24/7, or via live chat, available 3pm-10pm, Monday to Friday.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Topics: Ireland, World News
Jess Battison