British student given life sentence in Dubai shares update from prison
A 23-year-old British law student jailed for life in Dubai after what her family described as a “stupid mistake” has shared an update from prison.
Mia O’Brien, from Huyton, was arrested in October after allegedly being found with 50 grams of cocaine. She denied the charges but was convicted following a one-day hearing on 25 July and handed a life sentence along with a £100,000 fine.
O’Brien had been studying law at the University of Liverpool and hoped to pursue a career as a solicitor. Her mother, Danielle, told Mail Online her daughter feels her future has been destroyed.
“She went to Dubai to visit a friend and her boyfriend and made a very stupid mistake,” she said. “Mia feels she’s ruined her life because she always wanted to be a lawyer.”
The 46-year-old said her daughter is not a drug user and has never been in trouble before, insisting she did not intend to sell or transport the drugs.
O’Brien is being held in Dubai’s Central Prison, which has long been criticised for overcrowding and poor conditions. According to her family, she is sharing a cell with six other inmates and sleeps on a mattress on the floor.
“She’s witnessed fights and told me she has been scared,” Danielle said. “There are hardly any staff, and if she needs something she has to bang on a big door. She is devastated but staying strong.”
The family say an appeal is expected in the coming weeks. Danielle hopes her daughter could eventually be transferred to the UK to serve her sentence.
“She misses her two little brothers, who are just five and seven. She just wants to come home, and I want her home too. She’s my only daughter,” she said.
A GoFundMe page set up by the family to cover legal fees and travel costs has since been removed by the platform, which said fundraising for the legal defence of certain alleged crimes was not permitted.
Despite the setback, Danielle thanked supporters and said any funds raised would go towards legal expenses and helping the family travel to Dubai.
Loved ones have described the case as a “miscarriage of justice” and say their priority remains securing O’Brien’s return to the UK.
