HORROR ORDEAL
I was strip-searched at a hellhole Dubai prison for attempting suicide after horror abuse at the hands of my husband
Tori's life took a dark turn as her partner became 'jealous and controlling'
FREED air hostess Tori Towey has revealed the horror treatment she suffered at the hands of the Dubai authorities after she tried to take her own life.
The former Emirates cabin crew member was detained, had her passport taken away, and was banned from leaving the Middle Eastern country.
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Tori, 28, had been living a nightmare in Dubai after being charged with attempted suicide and alcohol consumption following a horror attack by her abusive husband.
The young woman from Boyle, Co Roscommon, suffered severe bruising and other injuries that required hospital treatment after being brutally attacked in her own home.
But after an attempt to take her own life in the wake of the domestic violence assault, authorities in Dubai instead charged Tori and she was hit with a travel ban.
more on Tori Towey
The United Arab Emirates cabin crew member was detained in Dubai after her passport was taken from her.
And she was on the verge of facing a potential jail time in one of Dubai's hellhole prisons.
She told the : "One lawyer told me that what I had done was equivalent to murder."
Tori and her mum Caroline had pleaded for help from the Irish authorities after she was held under Dubai's strict laws.
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And following a diplomatic intervention from Ireland, the shocking travel ban imposed on Tori by Dubai authorities was lifted, allowing her to fly home.
A stunned Tori recalled how she was taken to a police station instead of a hospital after her suicide attempt at her Dubai home following domestic violence by her husband.
She said: "[Cops] came in and handed me a green dress and asked me to put it on.
"They brought me to the station, made me blow into this thing and took my fingerprints."
Tori, who was in a hysterical condition at the police station, said "aggressive cops" strip-searched and "injured" her as they ripped pieces of jewellery off her body.
She added: "They just took me, strip-searched me, and took all my jewellery off.
"I had a belly button piercing and they were struggling to take it out, they were pulling at it and ripping at it and like hurting me and I was saying, ‘look, it’s okay, I’ll take it out myself’.
"And like just not nice at all, like just kind of aggressive, they don’t speak to you, they don’t tell you what’s happening to you, they don’t tell you anything."
Tori Towey fights back tears as she lands in Dublin after Dubai hell
In 2023, Tori got a job at Emirates as a flight attendant after completing a four-year stint at the Dublin City Council.
She was introduced to her husband by pals during a night out.
Tori said: "He was South African, a bit younger than me, and he worked for Emirates, too."
"We got on well. He was romantic, he would bring me flowers, and he was lovely and sweet. I remember ringing home and saying, 'Oh my God, I've met this guy and he is the best thing ever."
But things took a dark turn for the cabin crew member when his partner became "jealous and controlling";.
He used to take my phone away to stop me from contacting anyone. Sometimes he'd smash it — I went through three phones in a few months," she said.
And then came the worst night of her life when her husband aggressively charged her after she said she would leave the house following a violent outburst at a bar.
Is attempting suicide a crime in Dubai?
By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter
DUBAI is infamous for strict personal laws that see attempted suicide as a criminal offence.
Anyone found to attempt suicide - or those who survive - can face a potential sentence of up to six months.
Although people who attempt suicide are rarely detained, they are exposed to potential prosecutions by the country's court system.
In matters of attempting suicide, discretion remains with the court whether to convict a person or send them to mental institutions for further help.
And any person found assisting another person to commit suicide by any means can be charged and prosecuted, following an unspecified but strict jail term
TORI'S PLIGHT
Opening up on her UAE hell from her Roscommon home, Tori laid bare the shocking treatment she suffered at the hands of the Dubai authorities.
The domestic abuse victim told how one Dubai cop even TAUNTED her despite visible signs of severe bruising and other terrible injuries.
She said: “My forehead was completely swollen, my shirt was ripped, I had blood and bruises everywhere and a guy came in and he started pointing and laughing at me.
“He said ‘Ha, ha, what happened to you? Did you hit your head on the ground when you were praying?’”
Panic-stricken Tori outlined how she was held at the overcrowded Al Barsha police station - dubbed hell on earth - from 4am to 11am - with children among the fellow detainees.
She said: "There was a tiny corridor with these individual cells with mattresses on the floor and so many girls were packed in there.
“There were also a lot of children in there, sleeping alongside their mothers.
Speaking to the media, Tori's mum Caroline shared details of the "nightmare" her daughter had endured in Dubai.
She said: "It was a bit of a nightmare. It felt like a hostage.
"It's a real nightmare, but it's over now and we just have to try and go home and get our heads together and move on. So, thank you so much."
Tori also revealed how she celebrated her homecoming to Ireland by having cake at a family party in Roscommon on Thursday evening.
She said: “We went to my cousin’s house and had dinner and had some cake. They all had balloons there and everything, so that was really nice.
“And then I just came home and slept!”
As she recovers at home with relatives, travel lover Tori ruled out a return to Dubai.
In a live chat hosted by Ms Sterling on the social media site X, Tori said: “I don’t have any plans on going back, not any time soon anyways.
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“There was a time when I didn’t think it was even possible that I was going to be able to come back at all (to Ireland).
“So I’m just relieved and I suppose over the next few weeks I’m just going to rest and spend time with family and friends and then just go from there.”
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