Mother of 23-year-old British law student issues new statement as daughter jailed for life in Dubai after making 'very stupid mistake'

The mother of the 23-year-old British student who was jailed for life in Dubai after making what she dubbed a 'very stupid mistake' has shared a new statement.

Mia O'Brien, who studied law at Liverpool University, was arrested after allegedly being found with 50 grams of cocaine at an apartment in Dubai last October.

The law student's mum, Dannielle McKenna, 46, said that her daughter was arrested alongside her friend and the friend's boyfriend, with all three of them being charged with drug dealing.

The Merseyside native pleaded not guilty, but was given a life sentence after a one-day hearing earlier this summer (25 July), as well as a £100,000 fine. In Dubai, the penalties for drug-related offences can be severe, as the UK Foreign Office says that sentences for drug trafficking can 'include the death penalty'.

Mia O'Brien has been jailed for life in Dubai after what her mum called a 'very stupid mistake' (Facebook)

Mia was reportedly held in Dubai Central Prison, also known as Al-Awir, where the conditions have been described as 'hellish'.

However, her mother has since confirmed that she'd been transferred to another prison following her sentence, though she did not specify where.

Dannielle's original fundraiser

Dannielle previously set up a GoFundMe for Mia, writing on the now-deleted page: "Mia has been given a life sentence over in Dubai, and she is now in central prison.

"As you can all probably imagine, as her mother, I am absolutely devastated. I haven’t seen my daughter since last October. Mia is only 23 years old and has never done a bad thing in her life."

The fundraiser went on to say that Mia had 'unfortunately got mixed up in the wrong so-called friends and made a very stupid mistake and is now paying the price'.

Mia was reportedly being held in Dubai's Central Prison (GoFundMe)

GoFundMe's response

The GoFundMe page, which Dannielle said was set up to be used to cover legal fees and travel costs, allowing Mia’s family to visit, was removed by the website for violating its guidelines.

A GoFundMe spokesperson said (via The Sun): "It was removed because it violates Term 9 of the Prohibited Conduct section in our Terms of Service. Term 9 prohibits raising funds on GoFundMe for the legal defence of certain alleged crimes."

Dannielle's response to GoFundMe

In an update last week (7 September), Danielle took to Facebook to share her details online, allowing people to donate money directly to her bank.

"Seems as the GoFundMe are being absolute c*nts," she hit out, before declaring: "I am going to set up my own, as they are nitpicking at everything, so they can shove there [sic] cut up there [sic] a*se, call themselves a charity, but make sure they take a percentage out of every donation.

"So if you would like to donate, please send it to [...] and I would just like to thank everyone."

Danielle's previous scathing remarks directed at GoFundMe after they deleted her fundraiser for violating it's website guidelines (Facebook)

Dannielle's new fundraiser

The description of the new fundraiser, which is titled 'Mia Rose fund', reads: "Hi, 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."

The new fundraiser has raised £70 of its £5,000 goal (GiveSendGo)

Dannielle concluded: "Even if it’s only a £1 it could help us massively. Thank you so much."

The fundraiser has a goal of £5,000 and, at the time of writing (10 September), it has just £70.