Mia O'Brien, a 23-year-old British law student, is preparing to appeal a life sentence handed down by a Dubai court after being convicted of drug possession.
O'Brien, who had been studying law at the University of Liverpool and aspired to become a solicitor, was arrested in October 2024 after authorities allegedly found 50 grams of cocaine in her Dubai apartment.
The arrest occurred in the company of a friend and that individual’s boyfriend. Despite pleading not guilty, O'Brien was convicted in a trial that lasted just one day, on 25 July 2025, and sentenced to 25 years behind bars.
The proceedings, conducted entirely in Arabic, were marked by the absence of English translation, which her supporters argue undermined her ability to defend herself.
Criticism of the UAE's Legal System
The young woman's conviction has been met with widespread condemnation, particularly from Radha Stirling, founder of the advocacy group Detained in Dubai.
Stirling has voiced concerns that O'Brien's case reflects broader issues within the UAE’s legal system, and went on to describe the law student's situation as part of a larger pattern of miscarriages of justice.
The founder also cited examples such as the 2020 case of Derrin Crawford, who was imprisoned in the UAE for two months despite testing negative for drugs.
“Dubai police have a history of rushing to secure convictions without the rigorous evidentiary standards we expect in the UK,” Stirling said. "We've seen fabricated confessions, reliance on circumstantial evidence, and a disregard for due process."
"Mia's case could be the latest in a long line of miscarriages of justice," Stirling added.
O'Brien's Family Spoke Out
O'Brien’s mother, Danielle McKenna, said the ordeal has devastated the family in a now-deleted GoFundMe post.
“Mia is only 23 years old and has never done a bad thing in her life,” McKenna wrote. "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."
Speaking to the Daily Mail, McKenna added: “She’s going through it at the minute. She’s just been transferred to another prison after getting a life sentence. It’s been a massive shock."
"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," the mom revealed.
The Possibility of an Appeal
Despite the severity of her sentence, O'Brien is appealing the ruling, IBTimes reported.
While appeals in the UAE are rare and often do not result in a successful reversal, there have been instances of foreign nationals receiving pardons following high-profile cases.
One notable example is the 2013 case of Marte Deborah Dalelv, a Norwegian woman who was initially convicted in Dubai for consensual sex and alcohol consumption but was later pardoned after media scrutiny and diplomatic intervention.
Similarly, British academic Matthew Hedges was released after being convicted of espionage in the UAE in 2018, following diplomatic efforts from the UK government.
However, legal experts warn that O'Brien’s chances of success in appealing the 25-year sentence are small, particularly given the UAE’s judicial system.
Human rights groups are urging the UK government to take stronger action in supporting its nationals facing similar situations.
Stirling has called for heightened travel warnings and more robust consular protection, citing systemic issues in the UAE’s legal system that disproportionately affect foreign nationals.