I was strip searched and thrown in a hellhole Dubai jail for trying to take my own life after being beaten by my husband: Emirates stewardess tells her story that beggars belief

Standing connected nan shores of a windswept lough successful agrarian Ireland, Tori Towey closes her eyes and breathes it each in. A gentle drizzle has turned to lashing rain, but thing tin swipe nan grin from her face. 'It's bully to beryllium home,' she says.

Less than a fortnight ago, Tori feared she mightiness ne'er spot Ireland — aliases her family and friends — again.

Working arsenic a formation attendant for Emirates airlines successful Dubai, nan 28-year-old had been surviving what — connected nan aboveground astatine slightest — looked for illustration each young woman's dream.

'I travelled nan world and saw truthful galore astonishing places: Sri Lanka, South Africa, loads of cities crossed Europe,' she says.

'And Dubai is really nosy erstwhile you get there: it's each yacht parties, ladies' nights and able group enjoying glitzy lives.

'I utilized to emotion getting dressed up, going retired to fancy restaurants and posting photographs online.'

But down nan glamour of her societal media pictures laic a sinister reality. Tori was surviving successful fear, battling beingness and affectional maltreatment astatine nan hands of her controlling husband, a chap Emirates worker whom she joined aft a whirlwind three-month romance.

The torment became truthful unbearable, resulting successful hospitalisation, constabulary reports and her hubby ripping up her passport, that astatine nan extremity of past month, seeing nary different measurement out, Tori tried to return her ain life.

Mercifully, she survived. But her hellish travel wasn't complete yet.

For alternatively than receiving aesculapian help, she recovered herself thrown successful a Dubai jailhouse that was notorious for torture and beatings, and charged pinch attempted termination and alcohol consumption, some criminal offences nether nan United Arab Emirates' archaic laws.

Worse still, because of nan charges, she recovered herself facing a tribunal proceeding and imaginable situation sentence.

'One lawyer told maine that what I had done was balanced to murder,' she says.

All nan while, she was forbidden from leaving nan state moreover pursuing her release, rendering her trapped 4,800 miles from home.

Thanks to a viral run connected societal media, however, led by nan London-based ineligible group Detained successful Dubai, which escalated her lawsuit to nan Irish parliament and made headlines astir nan world, nan criminal charges against Tori were dropped, her recreation prohibition lifted — and past Thursday, she landed connected location soil.

Sitting successful nan surviving room of her mother's location successful Boyle, Roscommon, this week, her tegument still ray and her eyes dark-rimmed, Tori says nary of it feels real.

'I'm successful shock,' she admits. 'I didn't deliberation I would ever get home. I felt for illustration a criminal, erstwhile I'd done thing incorrect isolated from effort to survive. I had to wantonness everything complete there: my car, half my belongings, my small canine — I still don't cognize what's happened to her. The astir important point was to get out.'

Everything Tori has claimed successful nan past 10 days astir her horrific experiences successful Dubai is, it is important to note, her type of events. She has ne'er identified nan man who allegedly abused her, whose callous behaviour drove her to nan brink of termination — and will not sanction him successful this, her first ever newspaper interview.

Since she walked retired of their shared location earlier this month, she has had nary interaction pinch him, and says she nary longer has his interaction details, nor those of his family.

Tori's acquisition abroad, from nan thrill of excitement erstwhile she first arrived successful April 2023 to nan depths of despair successful which she near nan UAE past week, is simply a world distant from nan quiet upbringing she had successful nan mini municipality of adjacent Ballaghaderreen.

Her mother, Caroline, is simply a societal attraction worker and her father, John, from whom Caroline is separated, useful for nan energy board. She and her older relative Andrew had a modest, happy childhood, but arsenic she sewage older Tori longed for thing more.

After assemblage and a four-year stint moving for Dublin City Council, she sold her car and travelled information Asia. In January 2023, she sewage a occupation arsenic a formation attendant pinch Emirates successful Dubai, a state she knew thing about.

'I moved complete by myself connected April 5,' she recalls. 'I had 7 weeks of training and then, successful June, I started flying. I perfectly loved it.'

Tori threw herself headlong into her new, breathtaking life. It wasn't until past December, erstwhile she spent Christmas Day connected her own, that she recalls emotion lonely for nan first time. And that, successful a infinitesimal of vulnerability, was erstwhile she met him. On a nighttime retired aft a displacement connected December 27, a co-worker introduced her to a friend.

'He was South African, a spot younger than me, and he worked for Emirates, too,' Tori says. 'We sewage connected well, truthful good that soon we were spending each time together.

'In nan opening it was great: he was romantic, he would bring maine flowers, he was beautiful and sweet. I retrieve ringing location and saying, 'Oh my God, I've met this feline and he is nan champion point ever.'

Things moved quickly — and successful February, while retired kayaking, he proposed. A besotted Tori didn't hesitate to opportunity yes.

'Our scheme was to person nan wedding a twelvemonth later successful Cape Town, wherever he's from,' she says. 'But we were some surviving successful compartment unit accommodation, and for america to move successful together, Emirates argumentation said we had to beryllium married. So we brought nan day guardant and decided to do it successful Abu Dhabi.'

Her dreams of a large achromatic wedding dashed, location was nary dress, nary loved ones successful attendance and nary romanticist vows. Instead, they went to a registry agency successful nan UAE capital, signed a certificate — 'and that was it'.

The newlyweds recovered a location connected nan outskirts of Dubai and sewage a dog, a five-month-old pup called Rosie. It was then, however, that things took a move for nan worse.

'All of a sudden, he became very suspicious and controlling,' Tori claims. 'Once I had a female friend complete while he was out, and he made maine locomotion astir nan location pinch a camera to show that location were nary men. He'd impeach maine of being a whore and a supplier addict — and dress up lies. Once, I didn't make capable pasta and he threw our meal successful nan bin. When he wanted maine to travel home, he threatened to tegument nan dog.

'He utilized to return my telephone distant to extremity maine contacting anyone. Sometimes he'd smash it — I went done 3 phones successful a fewer months.'

Tori insists she'd ne'er seen signs of this behaviour earlier they started surviving together. 'He was bully astatine hiding it. One infinitesimal he'd beryllium normal, and nan adjacent thing would travel complete him. You could spot it successful his eyes. I've ne'er seen anger aliases unit for illustration that.'

As his anger spiralled, he racked up immense bills connected her in installments cards, leaving her £8,500 successful nan reddish — a indebtedness she is struggling to salary off.

In a hopeless effort to support him calm, Tori began cutting loved ones off. Daily telephone calls and FaceTime chats pinch her mum ceased, and friends' anxious texts went unanswered.

'I put my telephone connected airplane mode for 3 months,' she admits. 'I was truthful drained that I couldn't support arguing — each I wanted was to support nan peace.'

Then came nan atrocious nighttime successful nan outpouring when, aft a convulsive outburst astatine a section bar, her hubby came location to find her packing her belongings. What followed, she says, was a four-hour ordeal successful which he choked her, held a weapon to her pharynx and tried to break her limb by slamming it successful a door.

Tori wipes tears from her eyes arsenic she recalls screaming and pleading pinch him to stop, earlier making a dash for nan beforehand door, wherever her neighbours called nan police.

'I believed that if I stayed, I would die,' she says. Photographs taken that nighttime show Tori covered successful humor and bruises, pinch ripped apparel and a tear-stained face. Emirates put her connected sick time off for her intelligence health, offering her adjacent support, aesculapian thief and therapy — for which she is, today, very grateful. But she was excessively embarrassed to show anyone what had happened, not moreover her family.

'I kept thinking, really did I get this truthful wrong? Why did I wed him? Everyone's going to deliberation I'm crazy.'

She felt she had nary escape: her indebtedness meant she couldn't spend to enactment successful a hotel, and he had ripped up her passport truthful she couldn't alert home. Tori became a protector of her erstwhile self.

'My hairsbreadth was falling retired and my rima was afloat of ulcers,' she says. 'I stopped caring astir my appearance. I struggled to get retired of bed.'

Though her hubby would apologise, and sometimes outcry astir his convulsive outbursts, they didn't cease.

'I was stepping connected eggshells,' she says. 'He would inquire maine 20 times a time if I loved him. He would request I hug him. My tegument would crawl, but I had nary choice.'

Then, connected June 27, nan brace had immoderate drinks together astatine home. Tori had 2 aliases 3 glasses of wine; her hubby was drinking brandy. A insignificant statement escalated and, retired of nowhere, she says he started smashing glasses. Terrified he would termination her this time, Tori locked herself successful nan bathroom.

'I've ne'er been a depressed person,' she says. 'I've ne'er had acheronian thoughts. But I retrieve thinking, 'I cognize wherever this is going. If it goes connected for illustration past time, I'd alternatively return my ain life'. So that's what I tried to do.'

Tori blacked out. The adjacent point she remembers is paramedics and constabulary — she presumes called by her hubby — astatine nan door, giving her oxygen.

At Al Barsha constabulary station, an over-crowded and arguable institution which has been dubbed 'hell connected earth', Tori was put successful a women's detention centre connected nan site.

Her crimes? Alcohol depletion and attempted termination (which was supposedly decriminalised successful 2020). Hysterical and confused, she was strip-searched and directed to nan cells astatine 4am.

'There were mattresses connected nan level and 50 aliases truthful girls lying connected them,' Tori says. 'They were from eastbound Europe, nan Philippines, each over. They had nothing: nary cleanable clothes, nary toothbrushes. There's a agleam light, for illustration a surgical light, that stays connected each night.

'They were each successful location for insignificant things, and immoderate of them had been location seven, 8 months. At that point, I thought, 'I'm astir apt ne'er going to get out'.'

Before officers confiscated her phone, she made 1 call: to her mother, who until this constituent had known thing of her daughter's distress.

Caroline sprang into action, calling nan constabulary and nan Irish embassy successful Dubai, and scrambled together capable money to get connected nan adjacent flight.

It is her mum's swift actions, Tori believes, which led to her release: astatine 11am she was told she could go. Caroline arrived soon afterwards and, aft an altercation pinch Tori's husband, who, somehow, was allowed backmost to nan couple's house, nan 2 escaped to an Airbnb.

But nan now dropped charges against her remained — successful fact, Tori was told that they had already been processed, pinch a proceeding scheduled for July 18.

It was past that they contacted Detained successful Dubai.

According to nan organisation's founder, lawyer Radha Stirling, countless foreigners person recovered themselves connected nan incorrect broadside of Dubai's draconian laws.

Both Tori and Radha are calling for recreation warnings for foreigners visiting nan country.

'I would pass group to do their investigation earlier they go,' says Tori. 'I'd pass them to beryllium observant getting joined complete there: home maltreatment is not taken seriously.'

As she talks, she twirls a dainty gem ringing — her wedding set — astir her finger. When she near Dubai, she switched it from her near manus to her right, a motion of taking backmost power aft months of torment.

'I should return it off, but it's a reminder that I will, eventually, person to do thing astir that,' she says, sighing. 'I besides want to look into getting a protection order, because I interest that, 1 day, he mightiness travel and look for me.'

At home, surrounded by cards from well-wishers and fending disconnected changeless cups of beverage from her mum, who's ne'er much than a fewer feet from her daughter's side, Tori is still trying to process what she's been through.

There person been tons of tears, agelong walks pinch nan family dog, Caspar, and reunions pinch friends. Little by little, she's learning to grin again.

'I consciousness for illustration I'm getting nan aged Tori back,' she admits.

As for nan future, she hasn't fixed it overmuch thought.

'It's truthful bully being backmost successful Ireland. Even nan weather,' Tori laughs. 'I utilized to person this dream of surviving successful nan sun, but ne'er again. Now that I'm home, I don't ever want to leave.'