Flight attendant freed from Dubai gives emotional message landing home in Dublin
An Irish woman who was trapped in Dubai after she was charged with trying to end her life following alleged domestic abuse has made it back home to Ireland.
Tori Towey, 29, said she is ‘so relieved’ to be back in Ireland after her experience in Dubai.
Tori, from Boyle, County Roscommon, was charged with attempted suicide and alcohol abuse after she was attacked in her home.
Authorities in Dubai banned the cabin crew member from leaving the UAE and confiscated her passport.
Irish premier Simon Harris was forced to intervene in the case after Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald raised it in the Dáil – Ireland’s parliament – on Tuesday.
She told reporters at Dublin’s airport: ‘I’m just so relieved, I just I can’t believe it. I’m just so thankful and grateful to be back.
‘Obviously when my mother came out to me it was a massive help, but it was just the unknown and just not knowing anything, not knowing what’s going to happen.’
Tori also said the support of the Irish people and media had been ‘amazing’.
Her mum, Caroline, said: ‘One you talk and the media started to help, we started getting bombarded with messages of support.’
Taoiseach Simon Harris said: ‘Tori, I am so glad we have you home. No Irish citizen should ever have to endure what you did & no woman should ever have to experience violence and abuse.
‘Zero tolerance for gender based violence in all circumstances & in all parts of the world.’
Tori spoke highly of her home country, adding: ”I feel bad for people who don’t have the support that we have. We are such a tight country and we have each other’s backs’.
The Government of Dubai’s media office said: ‘Dubai Public Prosecution has closed the case involving Irish national Tori Towey after she and her husband, a South African national, were involved in a case featuring mutual charges of assault, dating back to May 2024.’
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