LAST UPDATE | 11 Jul

ROSCOMMON NATIVE TORI Towey is back home in Ireland after having a travel ban imposed on her by Dubai authorities and being charged with attempted suicide and alcohol consumption.

Tori had been charged with attempted suicide and consuming alcohol in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai, the Dáil heard on Tuesday, and was prevented from leaving the country. In recent weeks, as detailed to the Dáil, she had been the victim of alleged domestic violence.

The charges were dropped yesterday and the Dubai Public Prosecution Office said it had closed the case involving Tori and her husband, a South African national. She was returned home today.

Speaking to reporters upon her arrival to Dublin Airport, Tori thanked the Irish Embassy and the Irish Ambassador in the UAE, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald – who first raised the issue in the Dáil on Tuesday.

“Obviously, the media. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be here. Without the support of the Irish people – this is such an amazing country and I feel bad for people who don’t have the support that we have. We’re such a tight-knit country who have each other’s back.

Tori also gave a “huge thanks” to Radha Stirling, the founder of the Detained in Dubai group. She said Stirling was the first person that she contacted and “kicked off everything”.

“The minute we spoke to [Stirling], that’s when everything came to fruition,” Tori said.

Earlier, Stirling said Tori is “super excited to be arriving home”. Her foundation, Detained in Dubai, offers confidential legal help in civil and criminal cases in the UAE.

Speaking to The Journal, Stirling said the Irish embassy “escorted her all the way through the airport, right to the airplane door, and made sure she got on that flight”.

“She contacted me during her flight and was so excited and in the best spirits,” said Stirling.

“She is just elated to be back home and I believe her family is awaiting her, probably to have a party in celebration. She’s going to spend a bit of time with them, rest for the next day or so, and then talk to everyone who supported her, especially the media.

“She knows how much of a big role the media coverage of her case has played in getting her home in such a swift manner,” she said.

Stirling added that Tori’s case had been due to be heard in court next week.

In a statement this afternoon, Taoiseach Simon Harris said he is “so glad we have Tori home”. He added that “no Irish citizen should ever have to endure” what she did and “no woman should ever have to experience violence and abuse”.

Harris called for “zero tolerance for gender-based violence in all circumstances and in all parts of the world”.

The Dáil Chamber was informed on Tuesday that Dubai authorities had banned Tori from leaving.

Tori was subject to ‘brutal domestic violence’

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald first raised the issue in the Dáil on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday.

She said Tori had been “subjected to sustained and brutal domestic violence and abuse” and that when she sought help, “she was sent home with her husband”.

McDonald added that Tori’s husband “destroyed her passport” and that she had received a “vicious beating” from her husband two weeks ago.

The Sinn Féin leader also outlined how Tori had attempted to die by suicide in a “desperate attempt to escape the violence”.

“When Tori came to, she was surrounded by paramedics but instead of being taken to a hospital, she was taken to a police station,” said McDonald, who noted that she was then charged with attempted suicide and alcohol abuse and “placed in a cell with 50 other woman”.

Moments after Harris yesterday told the Dáil that “no effort would be spared” to get Tori home, he was given an update that the travel ban had been lifted.

“I’ve just been informed that the travel ban has been lifted, that the embassy will take Tori to the airport as soon as she is ready to go, and that the embassy of course will continue to follow up on the case, which is still active as of now,” Harris told the Dáil yesterday.

Harris said he spoke to Tori and her mother Caroline shortly after the update and thanked the Irish embassy in the United Arab Emirates for their work on the case.

McDonald welcomed “the end of this ordeal and nightmare” for Tori but remarked that it “raises fundamental questions around the treatment of women in Dubai.”

Speaking on Newstalk yesterday afternoon, Tori’s aunt Ann said the development came as a huge relief. 

She thanked Mary Lou McDonald, TD Claire Kerrane and Taoiseach Simon Harris for their work in highlighting Tori’s ordeal. 

The Dubai Public Prosecution Office said the two were “involved in a case featuring mutual charges of assault dating back to May”.

“Dubai Public Prosecution has also dropped the charges of attempted suicide against her considering the circumstances of the case and to enable her to return to normal life,” the Office added.