AN EMOTIONAL Tori Towey fought to keep her tears at bay as she landed back on Irish soil following a horror ordeal.
Tori, 28, was facing criminal charges, including attempting suicide and consuming alcohol, following a brutal attack by her husband at their home in the United Arab Emirates.
Arriving at Dublin Airport on Thursday afternoon, Tori spoke with reporters.
Sharing show grateful she is to have escaped her situation, she thanked Irish people for their support in getting her home from her detainment in Dubai.
She said: “I’m just so relieved. I just, I can’t believe it.
“I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone, you know, the embassy ambassador, the Taoiseach, Mary Lou, Claire Kerrane, obviously the media, I wouldn’t be here right now without the support of the Irish people.
“This is just such an amazing country and I feel bad for people that don’t have the support that we have like we’re such a tight country and we have each other’s backs and I just, I can’t believe how fast I’m going and I’m so emotional.”
She went on to thank CEO of advocacy group Detained in Dubai Radha Stirling for helping her return home.
She said: “A huge thanks to Radha Stirling. She’s the first one that we got on to. She kicked off everything like the minute we spoke to her, that’s when everything kind of came to fruition and I’m just so thankful and so grateful to be back.
Speaking about her horrific ordeal, the air steward briefly touched on the situation.
She said: “It was just the unknown, just not knowing anything not knowing what was going to happen, but I’m back now and I’m excited to get home and see my family. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”
Tori went on to say that it was only between today and yesterday that she was given any clarity on the situation and wasn’t “getting any answers” before then.
She said: “I’m obviously like, so thankful as well to my family and my friends. They’ve been going through everything with me and keeping me strong.”
The desperate Emirates Airlines flight attendant, from Boyle, Co Roscommon, pleaded for help from the Irish Government after she was taken to a police station and her passport blocked from use — despite her suffering a campaign of domestic abuse.
She had been forced to stay in a rented apartment in Dubai with mum Caroline, who flew out to support her daughter.
But following a diplomatic intervention from Ireland, the shocking travel ban imposed on Tori by Dubai authorities was lifted, allowing her to fly home.
Also speaking to 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. But once we kicked off and the media started to help and we started getting bombarded with lots of messages of support and we were tuning into the Oireachtas and watching everything going.
“So it’s just a huge thanks to the country, to our politicians, to our people, to our ambassador and all her staff and the amazing work for us.
“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.”
