A British law student who “made a very stupid mistake” has been jailed for life in Dubai, her family claimed in a now deleted post.
Mia O’Brien’s mother Danielle McKenna, 46, launched a heartfelt plea on a fundraising site for help with travel and legal fees, according to reports.
O’Brien, 23, from Huyton, Liverpool, got “mixed up” with the wrong so-called friends and “is now paying the price”, Mrs McKenna said without specific details.
A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokeswoman told the Standard: “We are supporting the family of a British woman detained in the UAE and are in contact with the local authorities.”
It is understood GoFundMe removed the page because it violates its ban on the raising of funds for the legal defence of certain alleged crimes.
In the post which is no longer available, Mrs McKenna wrote: “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. 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.
“So all I ask is if you can donate anything you can spare, even if it’s a £1, it could help up massively and I would be forever grateful. Thank you so much.”
Later, after raising just short of £700 or her £1,600 target, she added: “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.”
Mrs McKenna reportedly told the Daily Mail: “She’s going through it at the minute. She’s just been transferred to another prison after getting a life sentence.
“It’s been a massive shock.”
The family has not disclosed the crime Mia has been convicted of, but the country generally hands down life sentences for the following offences: drug trafficking and possession; murder or attempted murder; human trafficking and terrorism-related activities.
A life sentence in the UAE typically means 25 years of imprisonment.
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