AN IRISH WOMAN has been charged with attempted suicide and consuming alcohol in the UAE city of Dubai, the Dáil has heard.

The case of Tori Towey was raised in the Dáil today by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who called on Taoiseach Simon Harris to intervene and call in the UAE ambassador. 

Harris said he would engage with McDonald about how to intervene in Towey’s case. 

“She has been a victim of the most gross domestic violence. Her passport has been destroyed and a travel ban has been imposed on her,” said McDonald, who along with Sinn Féin Roscommon-Galway TD Claire Kerrane has been in touch with Ms Towey.

She went to the authorities seeking protection many times, but to no avail. Following one particularly severe beating in which her husband repeatedly tried to slam doors on her arms and break her limbs, she escaped upstairs and she attempted to take her own life.

McDonald added: “Unfortunately, Tori now faces charges in Dubai of attempted suicide and the abuse of alcohol.

“The system over there, rather than protecting this woman, who is an Irish citizen, chose instead to detain her and charge her. She is now under the most incredible stress.

“I spoke to her this afternoon. Her mother, Caroline, has travelled to be with her. Tori wants to come home. It is as simple as that. She is a Roscommon woman, and she wants to come home.” 

Ms Towey has lived in Dubai since April 2023 after getting a job as an airline attendant. 

In response to McDonald, the Taoiseach said:

“I thank Deputy McDonald for bringing the case of Tori to my attention.  I believe her colleague Deputy Kerrane has raised the matter with the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

“I am not directly appraised of the situation but I am very happy to be directly appraised of it now and to work with Deputy McDonald to intervene and see how we can support an Irish citizen in what sounds to be, from what Deputy McDonald has told me, the most appalling of circumstances. ”

If Deputy McDonald would like to engage with me on it I am happy to engage with her directly on it and I thank her for bringing it to my attention.

Detained in Dubai

Speaking to The Journal, Radha Stirling of human rights advocacy group Detained in Dubai said that Ms Towey is set to appear in court next week and in a worst case scenario could face a prison sentence.

She explained that often lengthy legal processes in Dubai mean that Ms Towey’s immediate future is uncertain.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen at that court date. The prosecutors basically told her it was going to court she’s been charged. She doesn’t have legal representation. It’s very expensive in Dubai, and she just, frankly, couldn’t afford it.

“So she’s going in blind, and the hearings come up really quickly as well. So from the time she found out she was charged, it’s only, you know, two, three weeks.”

Despite the swiftly appointed court date, the process could drag on for months, she said.

“This could take four to six months for that to happen. That’s sort of a best case scenario. In a worst case scenario, she actually goes to prison.”

Towey and her mother are currently staying in an Airbnb in Dubai while she awaits her court date.