According to The Guardian:
The unnamed woman, a resident of Petrer in Alicante, south-east Spain, posted the photo on her Facebook page with the comment "Park where you bloody well please and you won't even be fined".
The police tracked her down within 48 hours and fined her.
Apparently, this is allowed in Spain so that police can "avenge their dishonor".
This is exactly the sort of behavior that leads to public distrust of police.
This story is a new take on online liberties in Spain:
A woman in Spain has been fined €800 (£570) [$886] after she took a picture of a police car parked in a disabled bay. She fell victim to a controversial new gagging law in the the country that prohibits 'the unauthorised use of images of police officers that might jeopardise their or their family's safety or that of protected facilities or police operations.'
Spanish story (more elaborate) here
I'd add a snarky comment here, but everything I came up with is just trolling.
Summing up my feelings: Spanish police: SRSLY, WTF?!
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2015, @10:09AM
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2015, @10:16AM
Yes, its definitely the moorish influence.
Because whitey is immune to the fascist impulse.
God, you racists are such fucking idiots.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday August 18 2015, @10:27AM
Franco speaking... no, he's not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 5, Funny) by wonkey_monkey on Tuesday August 18 2015, @10:35AM
I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition!
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2015, @11:38AM
Are you retarded?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2015, @11:21PM
Not retarded, apparently bigoted.
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Tuesday August 18 2015, @11:36AM
" Australian embassy in Abu Dhabi has not provided any help or advice apart from recommending she get a lawyer."
Yes, that is what embassies do. Seriously what the fuck? People watch too many movies if they expect their embassy to take any interest in them whatsoever.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Francis on Tuesday August 18 2015, @02:03PM
There's a lot of misunderstanding of what the embassy is supposed to do. They're there to give advice and to handle paper work. If you get in trouble with the law they may or may not be of any help at all depending upon the country and they're not likely to do much more than suggest that you get a lawyer. But, they probably did inform her of her rights. The cases where the embassy is willing to intercede beyond that are relatively unusual and the staff hate doing it. Do something stupid that requires you to be bailed out usually winds up as a diplomatic incident that they have to deal with. And for better or for worse, they have to consider the consequence for other expats in the future rather than just the current case. Sometimes it's just not worth the blowback.
But, ultimately, they have absolutely no say in the internal politics and law of the country where the embassy is located. In this case, it sounds like they let her off easy. Yes, it's shitty to have to sign something in a language you don't understand and be deported, but when you mess with the police, intentionally or not, there can be significant questions.
When I was living in China it was advised to just tolerate what young people in expensive cars chose to do. The reason being that there was a high likelihood that they were either related to government officials or had ties to organized crime. Even if they weren't, they had deeper pockets and probably had connections.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday August 18 2015, @02:32PM
I'm curious about why somebody in her apartment block felt the need to narc her out.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Tuesday August 18 2015, @06:23PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2015, @06:42PM
Woman speaking up in an Islamic land and a foreigner. Seems obvious in hindsight.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bradley13 on Tuesday August 18 2015, @04:41PM
That definitely sucks. FWIW, she still shouldn't have signed the documents. I've spent a bit of time in the Middle East, always nervously: You are in countries where there is no rule of law. The government and its agents can do whatever they want to do, and by going there you accept this. I last visited during Ramadan; I (secretly) ate on my normal schedule. This was a jailing offense where I was at the time, and the Swiss embassy would have likely been powerless, had I been caught. However pretty the veneer, these are not civilized countries; you travel there at your peril.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2015, @07:31PM
You are in countries where there is no rule of law.
This may be true, but based on what you said...
I last visited during Ramadan; I (secretly) ate on my normal schedule. This was a jailing offense where I was at the time, and the Swiss embassy would have likely been powerless, had I been caught.
Isn't this an example of a law?
Putting pedant aside for a second... Really? It's their country. It's their laws. If you don't like it, then don't go there. For example, could you imagine an American going to Paris and saying "I was walking down the street with my rifle, but the police arrested me, they are uncivilized barbarians with no laws!" Or a German visiting the United States and saying "I was sunbathing in the nude on a beach, and the police arrested me, they are uncivilized barbarians with no laws!"
Different cultures have different norms and standards and priorities. You can argue whether there "should" be a law like not eating during Ramadan, but that's a very different argument than the one you made saying they are uncivilized and you take your life into your own hands by visiting.