23-Year-Old British Student Gets Life Sentence In Dubai For A "Stupid Mistake"

Mia O'Brien, who is a 23-year-old British law student, has been sentenced to life in prison in Dubai for what her mother describes as a "very stupid mistake", Manchester Evening News reported. The exact nature of her offence hasn't been publicly disclosed, but according to local reports, O'Brien was allegedly caught with 50 grammes of cocaine during her trip to the Middle East in October. She had pleaded not guilty.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has strict laws and penalties for drug offences, including lengthy prison terms and heavy fines. O'Brien's life sentence in Dubai translates to 15-25 years in prison, as per the UAE's legal system.

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Her mother launched a fundraising campaign to cover travel expenses, legal fees and costs associated with visiting her daughter in prison. However, the campaign was removed by GoFundMe for violating their terms of service. She has now set up a page on Facebook to raise funds.

The law student from Merseyside was convicted by a judge in July. Her mother, Danielle McKenna, had written in the now-removed GoFundMe post that her daughter is being held in the city's central prison, with her family last seeing her in October. "As her mother, I am absolutely devastated," she wrote.

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"Mia going through living hell"

While speaking to the Mail Online, McKenna claimed: "Mia feels she has destroyed her life as she wanted to be a lawyer or solicitor. I speak to her but she can't say too much on the phone. She's just made a stupid mistake after going over to see a friend and her boyfriend in Dubai."

"She is absolutely devastated by what has happened. Mia is being really strong but I know she is going through a living hell. The prison conditions are horrendous. There are no staff really and she has to bang on a big door if she needs anything.

"She's seen fights and said she has been really scared. Mia said she has to sleep on a mattress on the floor and shares the cell with six others. But she's not been ill - she has just come out in a few rashes."

McKenna said, "She said she hopes that she might get sent back to serve her sentence here after Ramadan when they might do clemency deals. But she is devastated by what has happened. We we were all shocked by the sentence she was given."

"But Mia is being really brave about it but she really misses her two young brothers who are aged just five and seven. She just wants to come home. I want her home too - she's my only daughter. I was so shocked when she told me what had happened - I would never had thought it in a million years. She can't wait to come home. She said the prison can be scary but she's just trying to keep her head down."