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Topics: UK News, World News, Crime, Police
Rhiannon Ingle
The mother of the 23-year-old British student who has been jailed for life after what she's dubbed a 'very stupid mistake' has now spoken out.
In October 2024, 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.
Her mother, 46-year-old Danielle McKenna, explained that her daughter was arrested alongside two other people - her friend and the friend's boyfriend - with all three being charged with drug dealing.
Mia, who pleaded not guilty before a judge convicted her after a one-day hearing earlier this summer (25 July), has since been landed with the devastating sentence of 25 years behind bars as well as a staggering £100,000 fine.
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"She pleaded not guilty - they don’t have a just trial over there. She was just given a life sentence and has to serve 25 years. The trial was all in Arabic, and Mia was told of the sentence later by her lawyer," Danielle told The Daily Mail.
She went on to explain that her daughter is 'absolutely devastated' by what has happened, adding: "Mia is being really strong, but I know she is going through a living hell."
Danielle initially announced Mia's situation through a now-deleted GoFundMe page, writing at the time: "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: "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."
In her latest update (7 September), Danielle has taken 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."
The GoFundMe page, which Danielle 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."
Mia is reportedly in touch with her family as much as possible during her jail stint while she waits in her cell, which she shares with six other women, reportedly sleeping with a mattress and a pillow on the floor each night.
The 23-year-old was also reported to have been held in Dubai's central prison, also known as Al-Awir - with Danielle telling The Daily Mail that she'd 'just been transferred to another prison after getting a life sentence'.
LADbible Group has previously reached out to GoFundMe for additional comment.