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U.S. citizen and self-proclaimed “Sassy Trucker” Tierra Young Allen, 29, is officially returning to Texas after her detainment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)!
AP News reports that Allen finally left Dubai on Tuesday (Aug. 8) after months of detainment.
Radha Stirling, head of an advocacy group called Detained in Dubai, reportedly said Allen’s flight to the U.S. will connect through the United Kingdom. It’s unclear when exactly she’ll be reunited with her loved ones back home.
Stirling also told AP News that Tierra Young Allen had to cough up $1,360 to clear her travel ban, which was one of the main factors in her monthslong detainment.
This long-awaited development is the latest update in the case, which The Shade Room has been following on Instagram.
In mid-July, word of Tierra Young Allen’s detainment spread like wildfire after her family gave FOX 26 Houston the rundown.
According to her mother, Tina Baxter, the ordeal began after Allen’s friend got into an accident while driving a rental car. When the ladies went to the agency to retrieve some important items they had left inside the impounded vehicle, a problem allegedly arose. As a result, Baxter says Allen “yelled back” at an “aggressive” rental car agent, who filed a police report.
For context, swearing and yelling in public is a punishable offense in the UAE.
According to community activist Quanell X, “She is in jail for one reason and one reason alone: she raised her voice.”
Meanwhile, Baxter called the matter “very frightening” and said Allen had been in custody for two months.
“The longer she’s been there, the more reality has started to kick in.”
After the story picked up steam, Dubai authorities rejected claims that officers detained her for yelling. Instead, they told The National that Tierra Young Allen was taken into custody for “slandering and defaming” a car rental employee “amidst a dispute over car rental fees.”
“The Dubai Police General Command firmly denies allegations made in some stories circulating in the media that an American woman was arrested merely for ‘yelling’ in public. The reports present a completely distorted picture of the case.”
While Tierra Young Allen is finally heading back to Texas, it’s reportedly unclear if there are any more legal complaints against her in the UAE.
