Jodi Magi allegedly posted a photo of a car parked across two disabled bays outside her apartment

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

An Australian woman arrested in the United Arab Emirates for “writing bad words on social media” should be deported soon, Julie Bishop has said.

Jodi Magi, 39, was sentenced for a cyber crimes offence after reportedly posting a photo on Facebook of a car parked across two disabled spots outside her Abu Dhabi apartment.

Magi appeared in an Abu Dhabi court on 12 July to pay a court-ordered fine and was taken into custody pending deportation to Australia.

The foreign minister told reporters on Tuesday she expected Magi to be deported in “a very short time” and Australian consular officials were providing support to her and her husband.

She said it would not be appropriate for her to go into the details of the incident while Magi was still in detention.

Earlier Magi said she was unsure what would happen to her and accused the Australian government of failing to help her.

Magi told the ABC the government appeared interested only in its trade relationship.

“I was under the impressions that embassies were in countries to help citizens in times of difficulty,” she said.

“No one is talking to me, no one is telling me what’s going on,” she said on Tuesday.

After being detained, Magi said, she was driven around in a car for about four hours.

“And they were about to put me in male lock-up and then they turned me away – no one knows what to do with me. I’m pretty scared.”