The Aussie Woman Who Was Jailed In Abu Dhabi For A Facebook Post Has Been Freed

The Australian woman who was arrested and imprisoned in Abu Dhabi over the weekend for “writing bad words on social media” has been freed.

According to ABC News, 39-year-old West Australian woman Jodi Magi was released after two days in jail and deported from the United Arab Emirites.

In total, she spent 53 hours in custody. Her crime? Posting a picture to Facebook of a driver who had parked across two disabled parking bays.

During her brief imprisonment, Magi claims she was strip-searched, shackled at the ankles, forced to sleep on a concrete floor and denied access to toilet paper and eating utensils.

She described her experiences in a blog post shortly after exiting the country.

“Even though I am pretty traumatised by my own experience, what has affected me more are the many, many stories told to me by my fellow inmates at both the jails I ‘visited’,” she wrote.

“I have nothing to complain about compared to the vast majority of women I met whose only crime was being poor, marrying the wrong guy, getting pregnant outside of marriage or/and being victims of rampant and systemic police corruption where ‘evidence’, ‘ethics’ and ‘due process’ are unheard of concepts.”

According to Amnesty International, there are more than 60 local activists imprisoned within the UAE for political reasons.

Magi attributed her eventual release to those who shared her story; a luxury she acknowledges others in similar situations cannot boast.

“I know 1000% after hearing their stories that I would never have been released in such a speedy fashion without a) my Australian nationality, b) the media coverage (surreal), c) the belated efforts of the embassy and d) all of the support from my friends as well as people I have never even met,” she added.

Magi has been living in Abu Dhabi since 2012, teaching graphic design to Emirati women.

She is now taking time to “decompress” in Laos.

Photo above taken from jodimagi.com