A 23-year-old woman from Liverpool has been sentenced to 25 years in Dubai’s Central Prison for a crime she reportedly committed. The woman, named Mia O’Brien, is serving a life sentence due to what her mother, Dannielle McKenna, described as a ‘stupid mistake’.
“I haven’t seen my daughter since last October. Mia is only 23 years old and has never done a bad thing in her life,” a fundraiser explains. “This is a young girl, who went to university to do law, and unfortunately got mixed up in the wrong so-called friends and made a very stupid mistake and is now paying the price.”
It has been revealed that Mia was allegedly found with 50 grams of cocaine, which led to her imprisonment. “She’s just made a stupid mistake after going over to see a friend and her boyfriend in Dubai,” Dannielle told the DailyMail.com.
“… She was crying on the phone and saying ‘Oh mum – please forgive me’. I definitely don’t think she was going to sell the drugs or bring them back. It’s a lot of drugs but there are others involved and she has just been caught up in it.”
Dannielle mentioned that her initial fundraiser was shut down, and she plans to set up her own. She explained on Facebook: “I am going to set up my own, as they [GoFundMe] are nitpicking at everything… I would just like to thank everyone.”
A GoFundMe spokesperson clarified: “It was removed because it violates Term 9 of the Prohibited Conduct section in our Terms of Service. Term 9 prohibits raising funds on GoFundMe for the legal defence of certain alleged crimes.”
Mia is awaiting an appeal, hoping to serve the remainder of her sentence closer to home. “She is devastated by what has happened,” said Dannielle. “We were all shocked by the sentence she was given.”
Despite the circumstances, Mia is trying to remain strong, though she misses her younger brothers, aged five and seven, immensely. “She just wants to come home. I want her home too – she’s my only daughter,” Dannielle added. “I was so shocked when she told me what had happened – I would never have 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.”
An FCDO Spokesperson stated: “We are supporting the family of a British woman detained in the UAE and are in contact with the local authorities.”