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Jodi Magi: WA woman arrested and jailed in Abu Dhabi for 'writing bad words' on Facebook

 

An Australian woman has been arrested and jailed in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates after she was found guilty of "writing bad words on social media".

 

In February, Jodi Magi, 39, took a photo of a car in her apartment block that was parked across two disabled parking spaces, without any disability stickers.

 

She blacked out the number plate and put the photo on Facebook, drawing attention to the seemingly selfish act, but not providing any identifying details or names.

 

However, someone in the apartment block complained to police and the case went to an Abu Dhabi court in June.

 

Ms Magi, who has lived in Abu Dhabi since 2012, said she was forced to sign multiple documents in Arabic without any translation.

 

Two weeks ago she was found guilty of "writing bad words on social media about a person" and told she would be deported.

 

The West Australian woman told the ABC she was shocked and confused by the court's decision and she did not have any understanding of what she was supposed to have done that was illegal.

 

"I have zero idea. I used the internet," she said before being arrested.

 

Last week Ms Magi tried to voluntarily deport herself and pay the approximately $3,600 fine, but Abu Dhabi authorities would not allow her to leave without presenting herself to court.

 

Ms Magi had been warned this could mean she would end up in jail, despite this not being part of her sentence.

 

"I'm putting my life in the hands of chaos," she said. "I'm terrified."

 

Yesterday, as suspected, Ms Magi went to pay the fine but was arrested and jailed.

 

"They were about to put me in the male lock-up and then they turned me away and no-one knows what to do with me," she told the ABC from the back of the police car she was in.

 

"No-one is talking to me. No-one is telling me what is going on. I've been driving around for literally about four hours."

 

Ms Magi spent last night in jail and it is not known how long she will be held for.

 

She said the Australian embassy in Abu Dhabi has not provided any help or advice apart from recommending she get a lawyer.

 

"I'm not sure if it was me being naive. I was under the impression that embassies were in countries to help their citizens in times of difficulty," she said in an interview before her arrest.

 

"But from my experience it seems that their job here seems to be to generate business and they have no interest in anything other than that."

 

The ABC asked the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) if the Australian Government was going to make any representations to the UAE government about Ms Magi's imprisonment.

 

In a statement they said: "The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade continues to provide consular assistance to an Australian woman detained in Abu Dhabi and that for privacy reasons they cannot provide any more information."

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Jodi Magi: Australian woman jailed in Abu Dhabi over Facebook posts released and deported from UAE

 

Australian woman Jodi Magi, who was arrested in Abu Dhabi over Facebook posts, has been released after two days in jail and deported from the United Arab Emirates.

 

The 39-year-old West Australian woman was arrested and jailed on Sunday morning after she had been found guilty of "writing bad words on social media".

 

Ms Magi was taken to the airport by authorities on Tuesday evening and flown out of the country.

 

She had spent 53 hours in custody where she claims she was shackled at the ankles, strip-searched, forced to sleep on a concrete floor without a mattress or pillow and had no access to toilet paper or eating utensils.

 

Ms Magi, who says she was traumatised by the experience, said she was affected by the many women she met in the Abu Dhabi jail system who were what she called "victims of rampant and systemic police corruption where evidence, ethics and due process are unheard-of concepts".

 

"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," Ms Magi wrote.

 

"I still feel incredibly guilty leaving them in there when I am typing this from the luxury of an airport restaurant."

 

Ms Magi said she owed her "speedy" release to her nationality, intense media coverage, the Australian embassy and support from family, friends and "people I have never even met".

 

"I am sending out a massive thank you to all of you for your good wishes and practical efforts to help," she wrote.

 

Human rights group Amnesty International said there were more than 60 local activists in prison in the United Arab Emirates for political reasons.

 

Three Emirati sisters were recently released after spending three months in jail after they tweeted support for their imprisoned pro-democracy activist brother.

Found guilty of 'writing bad words on social media'

In February, Ms Magi took a photo of a car in her apartment block in Abu Dhabi that was parked across two disabled parking spaces without any disability stickers.

 

She blanked out the number plate and put it on Facebook, drawing attention to the seemingly selfish act but not providing any identifying details or names.

 

However, someone in the apartment block complained to police and the case went to an Abu Dhabi court in June.

 

Ms Magi, who had lived in Abu Dhabi since 2012, was forced to sign multiple documents in Arabic without any translation.

 

Two weeks ago she was found guilty of "writing bad words on social media about a person" and told she would be deported.

 

Last week Ms Magi tried to voluntarily deport herself and pay the approximately $3,600 fine, but the authorities would not allow her to leave without presenting herself to court. She was then arrested when she presented herself at the court last Sunday.

 

Ms Magi told the ABC she was shocked and confused by the court's decision and she did not have any understanding of what she was supposed to have done that was illegal.

 

"I have zero idea. I used the internet," Ms Magi said before being arrested.

Ms Magi flew to Asia, where she said she was going to "decompress" after the experience.

FM

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