Irish woman who says abusive SA husband trapped her in Dubai is free to go, after govt steps in

Tori Towey. (Tori Towey/Facebook)

• The government of Ireland said Tori Towey, an Emirates stewardess who was due to go on trial in Dubai, is now free to return home.
• Towey said her abusive South African husband had effectively trapped her in Dubai, then caused her to wrap a cord around her neck.
• She had been facing prosecution for attempted suicide, which the UAE treats as a crime.

An Irish woman who says her South African husband had abused and trapped her in Dubai is returning home and will seemingly no longer face charges.

On Wednesday, Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Simon Harris said a travel ban on Tori Towey had been lifted and her legal support team in Dubai said charges against her had been dropped.

Towey had faced charges in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 28 June, but Harris stepped in on Tuesday, 9 July, after being made aware of her case, and promised diplomatic efforts would be launched.

She had been “the victim of a brutal attack”, said Harris at the time, then “found herself waking up not in a hospital, but in a police station”.

Ireland considered Towey to have been trapped by a UAE travel ban, engineered by her husband through a pre-emptive complaint, under a system that gives men effective control over foreign travel by women considered their dependents. 

On Wednesday, a day after the matter was first raised in the Irish Parliament, Harris announced to the Lower House of the Assembly that government representatives would be accompanying Towey to the airport.

An abuser sent home

Her family said Towey met her then-boyfriend as a colleague at Emirates and they were quickly married.

He equally quickly became abusive, her mother told legal consultants, Detained in Dubai, and the police were summoned to at least one public venue after he went on a rampage.

He was told to go home.

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His ongoing abuse was documented; Towey filed a police report in which she alleged he had tried to break her arm in a bathroom door, told her he would kill her, choked her and threatened her with a knife. After neighbours intervened, she was taken away by an ambulance.

When Towey ultimately tried to leave for Ireland, according to Detained in Dubai, she arrived at the airport to find a travel ban in place due to an earlier complaint lodged by her husband. 

Such “pre-emptive” complaints were not uncommon in the UAE, the group said, and allowed men to prevent wives from fleeing abuse.

Towey returned home.

“The next day, Tori and her husband had some wine, and he became enraged, accusing her of having an affair,” said Detained in Dubai.

Fearing a slow death by torture, Towey ran to a bathroom “and wrapped an electrical lead around her neck”. She woke up to the police and paramedics and was taken to a police station. 

She had been due to appear on 18 July on charges of alcohol consumption and attempted suicide.

Detained in Dubai CEO Radha Stirling compared the case to previous instances where the UAE charged victims of rape with having sex outside of marriage.

“Now, they’re charging domestic violence victims with attempted suicide and alcohol consumption.”

On Wednesday, Stirling said Dubai police had dropped the charges against Towey.

Political support

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald drew attention to the case in the Irish Parliament on Tuesday.

“Tori is a Roscommon woman and she wants to come home,” she told the Assembly and urged Harris to intervene urgently.

He immediately agreed.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from mental health issues, you can contact:

• Sadag’s 24-hour mental health helpline: 0800 456 789.
• SA Federation for Mental Health: 011 781 1852.
• Lifeline South Africa: 0861 322 322.