There is a new update in the case of the 23‑year‑old British law student who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Dubai after being found with 50 grams of cocaine.
Mia O’Brien, from Huyton in Merseyside, was convicted on July 25, after a one‑day trial conducted in Arabic, according to her mother, Danielle McKenna. Her mother claims Mia pleaded not guilty but was sentenced to life behind bars and fined £100,000.
She is now held in Dubai’s Central Prison, which is well known for extreme overcrowding and harsh conditions.
Mia had been studying law at the University of Liverpool and hoped to qualify as a solicitor or lawyer before her arrest, her mother says. Danielle insists Mia never used drugs before and had no intent to traffic them.
Prison conditions and life behind bars
According to Danielle, Mia is sharing a small cell with six others and has to sleep on a mattress on the floor.
She says there is minimal supervision by staff, and Mia must bang on a large door if she needs assistance.
Danielle also reports Mia has witnessed fights and is frightened.
She believes her daughter is trying to stay strong, but the strain is immense.
Mia has said she is not seriously ill, though she has developed rashes, according to her mother.
The prison system in Dubai has faced accusations from human rights organisations regarding violence and poor treatment of inmates.
An appeal is expected to be lodged in the coming weeks.
Danielle is hoping that Mia might eventually be permitted to serve her sentence in the UK, possibly via transfer or clemency after Ramadan.
The latest update
Danielle had previously set up a GoFundMe campaign to assist with legal fees and travel costs. The fundraiser was later removed for violating GoFundMe’s terms regarding legal defence campaigns.
She publicly thanked those who tried to help and started exploring other routes to raise funds.
In a new update, Danielle has since set up a new page on the Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, which has raised £420 at the time of writing.
She wrote in the description of the fundraiser: "As everyone knows by now, Mia has been given a life sentence in Dubai, and is now in central prison.
"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 a long the way. Even if it’s only a £1 it could help us massively. Thank you so much."
For now, Mia remains in custody, holding on to hope that justice may yet prevail and that she might one day return home.