Mia O’Brien, 23, was handed a 25-year sentence after being found with 50g of cocaine in Dubai and is thought to be serving her time in a hellhole prison, sharing a cell with up to six other inmates
The desperate mum of a British law student banged up in a hellhole jail in Dubai after being caught with cocaine has launched a fresh bid to free her daughter. Mia O’Brien, 23, was handed a 25-year sentence after being found with 50g of the Class A drug.
Mum Danielle McKenna’s previous fundraising appeal was removed by GoFundMe for violating its guidelines on raising money for legal defence of certain crimes.
But she posted her bank details on Facebook and pleaded for people to donate directly to her. She wrote: “I am going to set up my own, as they are nitpicking at everything.”
We previously reported how GoFundMe removed a fundraiser set up by Daniella to cover legal fees and travel costs and she desperately tried to clear Mia’s name and visit her in Dubai, where she was arrested last October.
According to the website’s terms of service, prohibited fundraisers include: “The legal defence of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors.”
Liverpool University student Mia was busted by cops in the UAE along with a pal and her boyfriend after being found with 50g of cocaine, worth a street value of around £2,500 in the UK. All three were charged on suspicion of drug dealing.
But heartbroken mum Danielle, of Huyton, Merseyside, insisted Mia — who was convicted by a judge after a one-day hearing on July 25 — has “never done a bad thing in her life.”
She told the Daily Mail: “She is absolutely devastated. Mia feels she has destroyed her life as she wanted to be a lawyer or solicitor. I speak to her but she can’t say too much on the phone.”
Danielle said Mia has “just made a stupid mistake” after flying to Dubai to see a friend and her boyfriend. She insisted Mia paid for the flight with her own savings and “nobody paid for her flight,” adding: “She’s not one of these wannabe influencers.”
Mia pleaded not guilty to intent to supply the drugs, but the judge swiftly ended the trial and handed her a life sentence of which she has to serve 25 years.
The petite blonde is now banged up in a cell in Al-Awir prison in central Dubai with six other inmates, mainly Nigerian criminals, her mum has claimed. She was also fined £100,000.
The notorious lock-up — dubbed “the Alcatraz of Dubai” — has faced horror allegations by former inmates of abuse and rape.
Daniella added: “The prison conditions are horrendous. There are no staff really and she has to bang on a big door if she needs anything. She’s seen fights and said she has been really scared. She was crying on the phone and saying ‘Oh mum – please forgive me’.”
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