Tori Towey, an Irish woman facing criminal charges for attempting suicide in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will be allowed to return to Ireland.
On Wednesday, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald announced that the UAE government has lifted the travel ban imposed on Towey, who hails from Boyle, Roscommon. She will now be able to travel home to Ireland. “We await her return and the end of her nightmare,” McDonald wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs is providing consular assistance to Towey, 28, who has been living in Dubai since April 2023, and working as a flight attendant for Emirates Airlines, according to a post by the Detained in Dubai group, which provides legal help in civil and criminal cases. Towey was charged with alcohol consumption and attempted suicide, which have historically been criminalized acts in the UAE. According to Detained in Dubai’s post about Towey, she allegedly faced domestic abuse from her husband and was physically attacked by him before the incident occurred. Her husband has not publicly commented on these allegations.
Towey—who survived the alleged suicide attempt—was taken to a local police station, where her passport was destroyed. Until Wednesday’s decision to allow her to leave the country, she was previously prevented from leaving the UAE, the Dáil, the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland’s parliament, heard on Tuesday.
McDonald informed colleagues in the Dáil of Towey’s case and urged Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Simon Harris to intervene. “The system over there, rather than protecting this woman who is an Irish citizen, chose instead to detain her to charge her. She’s now under the most incredible stress when I spoke to her this afternoon,” McDonald said.
McDonald also shared that Towey’s mother Caroline had traveled to Dubai to be with her daughter.
Harris, who said he was not previously aware of Towey’s case, pledged to offer any support the Irish native requires. The Department of Foreign Affairs has stated that it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance to Towey.
TIME has reached out to both the Irish and UAE governments for further information and comment on Towey’s case.
Radha Stirling, who founded Detained in Dubai, told TIME she had spoken to Towey on Wednesday morning and commented on the momentum behind the Irish woman’s case.
“The Irish government is certainly stepping up in record time, we usually don’t see them come together that fast,” Stirling said. “I’m expecting with that diplomatic push we might be able to get her home even before the court date next week, but of course we have to plan that it could go very badly and she could end up with a prison sentence,” she added.
Towey’s case is scheduled to be heard in court on July 18.
What is the suicide legislation in the UAE?
While suicide has historically been illegal in the UAE, it was widely reported that recent amendments to the Gulf nation’s personal status and penal laws would bring about significant changes to decriminalize suicide and attempted suicide. While survivors of suicide were rarely prosecuted in the past, the law left them vulnerable to charges and less likely to seek help.
Alcohol consumption was also decriminalized in the same wave of reforms, which aimed to modernize the nation where expats form around 80% of the population.
However, per documents from the UAE’s Ministry of Justice pertaining to the “Federal Law No. (3) of 2016 Concerning the Penal Code,” those accused of attempting suicide can still be subjected to incarceration of “no more than six months,” a fine of “no more than 5,000 AED” ($1,361), or both punishments. The court is also given the discretion to order that the detention period be served in a “healing facility.” Meanwhile, those accused of aiding an individual attempting suicide are “subject to the punishment of incarceration.”
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental-health crisis or contemplating suicide, call or text 988. In emergencies, call 911, or seek care from a local hospital or mental health provider.