There has been a significant development in the case of Mia O’Brien, a 23-year-old student who has been imprisoned in Dubai.
Mia, hailing from Merseyside in the UK, received a life sentence after allegedly being discovered with 50g of cocaine in Dubai.
The young woman is reportedly detained in Dubai’s central prison, where the conditions have been described by inmates as ‘hellish’.
Mia’s mother, Danielle McKenna, expressed her distress in a fundraiser, saying: “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.”
“This is a young girl, who went to university to do law, and unfortunately got mixed up with the wrong so-called friends and made a very stupid mistake and is now paying the price,” Danielle added.
Despite setting up a fundraiser, Danielle encountered issues with GoFundMe due to violations of their terms. A spokesperson clarified that it was removed for breaching their policies regarding raising funds for certain legal defenses.
In response, Danielle decided to share her bank details on Facebook, stating: “I am going to set up my own, as they [GoFundMe] are nitpicking at everything… I would just like to thank everyone.”
A GoFundMe representative explained: “It was removed because it violates Term 9 of the Prohibited Conduct section in our Terms of Service.”
There is now a fresh update on the situation, as Danielle has launched a new fundraising page on the Christian site GiveSendGo, which has gathered £420 ($561) so far.
“As everyone knows by now, Mia has been given a life sentence in Dubai, and is now in central prison,” Danielle noted.
She appealed for support, saying: “I am asking for your help, so that family can get over to Dubai to visit Mia, as we haven’t seen her since last October, and it would also really help with any other fees that we may face along the way. Even if it’s only a £1 it could help us massively. Thank you so much.”
Previously, the exact nature of Mia’s crime was unclear, but it has now been confirmed that she is imprisoned due to allegedly possessing 50g of cocaine.
In an interview with the DailyMail.com, Danielle remarked: “She’s just made a stupid mistake after going over to see a friend and her boyfriend in Dubai.”
“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,” Danielle explained.
“It’s a lot of drugs but there are others involved and she has just been caught up in it,” Danielle continued.
Mia is scheduled for an appeal hearing in the forthcoming weeks and remains hopeful that she might serve the remainder of her sentence closer to home.
Danielle shared, “She is devastated by what has happened.”
The family was taken aback by the severity of the sentence, with Danielle adding, “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,” Danielle noted.
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.”