The ex-husband of a flight attendant jailed in Dubai for attempting suicide after allegedly assaulting her says he is now in custody in the UAE and could be arrested soon.
Irishwoman Tori Towey, 28, was charged with alcohol abuse and attempted suicide on June 28 after she was allegedly attacked by her South African partner at their Dubai home.
Her case sparked international outrage. With the help of charities and diplomatic intervention by the Irish government, she was released about two weeks later and returned home.
Now her husband says he is stuck in the country, having been banned from travelling and losing his home and job. Homelessness and debt default are also crimes in the UAE.
Emmerich Basson, 23, who like his former partner worked at Emirates, said he was in a “serious situation” and has asked the South African government for diplomatic intervention, but so far he has received “no help”.
23-year-old South African Emmerich Basson, who worked at Emirates like his former partner, has said he is ‘stuck’ in Dubai
Tori Towey, 28, (pictured) was accused of attempting suicide and given a travel ban by authorities in Dubai
Towey has since been allowed to return home after an international outcry
Towey was photographed with severe bruising across her body following alleged abuse by her husband
He said he was given the entry ban after he “crossed the road in front of a Chinese lady’s car” after going out for dinner with friends in May last year.
He said at the time: ‘I didn’t think much about it. I got in the taxi and went home.’
But after traveling abroad for work for several days, he was unable to re-enter the country and was detained by immigration officials.
Basson claims that they put him in a room for ten hours, ‘without food, without water’, and that he was not allowed to sleep.
He says he was then asked to remove his uniform and put on handcuffs before being taken to an unlocked van “in the middle of the night” where he was locked up with “hardened criminals.”
He said authorities in Dubai are refusing to drop the case against the driver and have told him they are still investigating the case a year later.
“I don’t have a passport,” he said. “I have a travel ban on my name. I lost my home. I had to give up my dog for adoption and I’m staying in a hotel room right now.
‘I can only stay here for two more days. After that I will be homeless, which is a crime in the UAE.’
He continued: ‘Since May last year, after this incident, I have been under extreme stress, emotionally, physically and financially. I have lost my job, I cannot pay my debts.
Basson said he was given the travel ban after he “crossed the road in front of a Chinese lady’s car” after dining with friends in May last year.
“In the next two days I will be arrested for not paying my debts.” He said his family has “begged and approached” the South African government, but to no avail, and that he sees “no light at the end of the tunnel.”
Radha Stirling, from Detained in Dubai, the organisation that campaigned on Towey’s behalf, claims Basson has been charged with abusing a driver, a charge she says is a criminal offence in Dubai.
“It is a disgrace that he has not been prosecuted for the appalling abuse of Tori Towey, but instead has been charged with the insult,” Stirling said.
“Better than nothing, but also a sign of the changes in law enforcement that are desperately needed in Dubai.”
Basson has denied all allegations of domestic violence. Towey and Basson married in March this year, according to South African media.
Towey spoke out about her alleged abuse this week, telling the BBC it started with “a lot of control issues”.
Her husband allegedly abused her in their home in Dubai
“Of course, I didn’t see anything like that in the beginning. That was when we moved in together,” she said.
‘I was cut off from my friends, my family. I wasn’t allowed on my phone. I was cut off from the rest of the world.’
She said the arguments with her new husband quickly led to emotional, mental and physical abuse.
“I just couldn’t see a way out, it wasn’t getting better, it wasn’t stopping,” she said. “At one point I just thought there was no way out, I couldn’t get away, I couldn’t do anything, I was stuck.”
Towey attempted suicide but woke up to find several police officers and paramedics surrounding her.
Tori flew into Dublin Airport with her mother Caroline in the evening and expressed her gratitude to those who had helped her get home.
“Without you, I wouldn’t be here now,” she told reporters.
“I woke up and they had given me oxygen. I had my pajamas on, so they took one of my dresses and told me to put it on,” she said.
They then put her in a police car and took her straight to the station. There I was ‘stripped naked and strip searched by the police and all my jewelry was removed,’ she said.
“I had a belly button piercing and they were having a hard time getting it out. They were pulling and ripping and hurting me. I said, ‘Look, it’s okay, I’ll take it out myself.’
After she was finally released and able to return home, Towey spoke about her ordeal in Dubai.
“Obviously it was a huge support when my mom came out, but it was also just the unknown and not knowing what was going to happen,” she said.
“It’s only between yesterday and today that I got a little bit of clarity. I didn’t get any answers, but I’m just happy to be back.”