23-year-old Liverpool student handed life sentence in Dubai prison after ‘stupid mistake’

A 23-year-old student from Liverpool has been jailed for life in the United Arab Emirates following a “very stupid mistake”.

Mia O’Brien, a former law student from Huyton in Liverpool, has been placed in a central jail in Dubai this week.

Her family has labelled her imprisonment “a massive shock” as they make a desperate plea for help.

via Facebook

Her mother, Danielle McKenna, has said she is “absolutely devastated” following the news of her 23-year-old daughter’s situation.

Danielle launched an urgent appeal to raise funds for legal fees and travel costs following her imprisonment.

In a statement added to the GoFundMe page Danielle created, the she claimed her daughter “unfortunately got mixed up in the wrong so-called friends and made a very stupid mistake”.

Danielle then emphasised that Mia had studied law at university, and had “never done a bad thing in her life”.

The charges the former student faces are currently unknown, but life sentences for drug trafficking cases in the United Arab Emirates are not uncommon – and can result in the death penalty in extreme cases.

A life sentence in Dubai typically spans between 15 and 25 years of imprisonment.

Mia’s mother said: “She’s just been transferred to another prison after getting a life sentence. It’s been a massive shock”.

via GoFundMe

Mia’s family called upon friends and relatives to “donate anything you can spare”.

Her mother, Danielle, later uploaded a follow-up statement to the page, thanking those who had sent money to the family to aid them in their attempt to release their daughter from the Dubai prison.

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“I just want to thank everyone for their donations so far, this money will be used to send to my daughter Mia, and also for any legal fees that may arise, and maybe even to go towards getting family over to Dubai to see her, as none of us have seen Mia since last October, so thank you all so much” she wrote.

The GoFundMe page has since been deleted, and the family are yet to clarify Mia O’Brien’s charges or likelihood of being released.

The fundraiser, which had a target of £1,600, had collected just under £700 before it then disappeared.

It’s unclear what crime Mia McKenna was convicted of, life sentences in the UEA can often apply for drug trafficking, serious violence, or terrorism. The UK Foreign Office warns of zero tolerance for drug offences, with severe penalties even for trace amounts.

Featured images via Facebook and GoFundMe