Australian, Jodi Magi, detained for posting a photo of a car parked across two disabled parking spaces.
An Australian woman has been jailed by the Abu Dhabi authorities after falling foul of the country’s strict social media laws.
Jodi Magi, 39, is being held in prison pending her deportation.
Ms Magi was convicted of “writing bad words about a person” by an Abu Dhabi court in May,
Her offence was to post a picture of a car parked across two disabled spaces on her Facebook Page.
She aroused the ire of the authorities even though the number plate of the car had been blanked out.
Having been convicted, Ms Magi tried to leave the country, having offered to pay the fine of £1,727.
But this was turned down by the Abu Dhabi authorities who insisted she presented herself to a court.
At this point she was arrested and taken away in a police van.
"No one's talking to me. No one's telling me what's going on," she told the Australian broadcaster, ABC, from the back of the van.
“They were about to put me in male lock-up and then they turned me away and no one knows what to do with me. I'm pretty scared."
It is still unclear how long Ms Magi will remain in custody.
A spokesman for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its travel advice for visitors to the United Arab Emirates was that they should be aware that the country’s laws appeared harsh by Australian standards.
Source:The Telegraph
An Australian woman has been jailed by the Abu Dhabi authorities after falling foul of the country’s strict social media laws.
Jodi Magi, 39, is being held in prison pending her deportation.
Ms Magi was convicted of “writing bad words about a person” by an Abu Dhabi court in May,
Her offence was to post a picture of a car parked across two disabled spaces on her Facebook Page.
She aroused the ire of the authorities even though the number plate of the car had been blanked out.
Having been convicted, Ms Magi tried to leave the country, having offered to pay the fine of £1,727.
But this was turned down by the Abu Dhabi authorities who insisted she presented herself to a court.
At this point she was arrested and taken away in a police van.
"No one's talking to me. No one's telling me what's going on," she told the Australian broadcaster, ABC, from the back of the van.
“They were about to put me in male lock-up and then they turned me away and no one knows what to do with me. I'm pretty scared."
It is still unclear how long Ms Magi will remain in custody.
A spokesman for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its travel advice for visitors to the United Arab Emirates was that they should be aware that the country’s laws appeared harsh by Australian standards.
Source:The Telegraph
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