World

UAE deports Australian woman for ‘writing bad words’ on Facebook

Jodi Magi was sent to jail after she posted a photo on Facebook of a car illegally parked across two disabled spots

Web Desk July 16, 2015

Jodi Magi was arrested in Abu Dhabi after posting a photo on Facebook PHOTO: THE GUARDIAN

An Australian woman was deported from Abu Dhabi, UAE after being sent to jail for cyber crimes after “writing bad words on social media”.

Jodi Magi, 39, had posted a photo on Facebook in February of a car illegally parked across two disabled spots. The picture was allegedly accompanied by “insulting, degrading remarks”.

The complaint was made by the vehicle’s owner, a European. Magi admitted to having posted the photo but denied having written the incriminating text.

Read: UAE woman executed for killing American teacher

In April, Magi was sentenced in absentia to pay a fine of $3,600 and deportation. The 39-year-old then appeared in an Abu Dhabi court on July 12 and spent two days in jail before being deported on Tuesday.

Speaking about her stay in jail, Magi related that she had been shackled at the ankles, strip-searched and made to sleep on a concrete floor with no access to toilet paper or eating utensils.

“Obviously, I think a fine and deportation with [an] ... incarceration period was an extreme reaction to a jpg [image] of a car posted to a closed Facebook page, when I did not swear or mention a single name and blocked the registration plate,” Magi said in a Facebook post.

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Magi said that she was “pretty traumatised” and would take some time to “decompress” in Laos.

The 39-year-old also posted the court's print-out of her post on her Facebook account on Thursday in an attempt to deny allegations that she had used 'foul language'.

"The 'bad word' or 'foul language' I used is 'nobness' meant in the way it is referred to in the first paragraph of the Oxford dictionary meaning. A person of wealth or high social position. I was referring to the behaviour of the car owning acting in an entitled way through their creative parking," she added.

PHOTO: FACEBOOK

This article originally appeared on The Guardian

COMMENTS (6)

Bilal | 9 years ago | Reply @Abdel Hameed: Perhaps you did not read the article... "The complaint was made by the vehicle’s owner, a European"

Saleem | 9 years ago | Reply It is pretty degrading how women are getting treated there in jail. I wonder where are human rights activists now who always harp about Pakistan.

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Abdel Hameed | 9 years ago | Reply Nobody including westerners can take panga with UAE locals. Westerners dream for a job in UAE for its tax free and they enjoy all types of liberties. A westerner who is a foreman in his country becomes a manger/ director in UAE due to his skin and passport. They should avoid using any type of slang towards locals.

Salman - SK | 9 years ago | Reply Jodi is much better off having to leave that God awful backward country and return to a civilized environment. The news article does not mention it, but Jodi's Facebook page give the details of the gulag she spent two days in. The women in there are Indians and Philipinos, and from other Asian and African countries, accused of minor crimes, and women with out-of-wedlock pregnancies. But, these dispossessed and incarcerated women gave the emotional support, their own blankets, and forks and spoons to make it easy for Jodi to spend that time there. She says that the only reason she was let go in a short time is because of her Australian nationality, belated efforts by Australian Embassy, and the overwhelming expression of support from around the world.

Harish | 9 years ago | Reply UAE authorities are mad.

Parvez | 9 years ago | Reply Tolerance is a virtue.......that is slowly acquired.......and possibly the sudden acquisition of wealth that is not really earned has not helped in acquiring this virtue.

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