Brit, 23, Jailed For Life In Dubai Over ‘Stupid Mistake’ Is Released From Prison
You may remember Mia O’Brien, 23, from Huyton, Liverpool and the ‘stupid mistake‘ which earned her a life sentence in Dubai jail last September. Law student Mia was found with 50 grams of cocaine at an apartment in Dubai, which meant she not only received a term of life imprisonment, but also had to fork out $136,000 as a fine.
Well, the good news is that Mia has now been granted (very) early release from Dubai’s central prison, according to her mum Danielle McKenna.
On December 3, Dannielle posted an update on her Facebook page, announcing: “My baby girl is coming home. Thank you so much everyone, am still in shock, am buzzing, can’t wait to give her the tightest cuddle ever. She’s coming home, she’s coming home, my baby is coming home.”
According to campaign group Detained in Dubai, Mia had been convicted in a single-day trial conducted entirely in Arabic. No English translation was provided, but instead Mia was swiftly put on trial and convicted without understanding what the hell anyone around her was saying.
Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, warned that Mia’s ordeal is just one example of Dubai’s flawed justice system that has repeatedly punished British nationals.
She said: “Dubai police have a history of rushing to secure convictions without the rigorous evidentiary standards we expect in the UK. We’ve seen fabricated confessions, reliance on circumstantial evidence, and a disregard for due process. I would urge the public to withhold judgement. Mia’s case could be the latest in a long line of miscarriages of justice.”
It’s just as well Mia was permitted to go home early, as apparently Al-Awir Central Prison is no joke.
Her mum had said previously “[Mia] is absolutely devastated by what has happened. Mia is being really strong but I know she is going through a living hell. 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. Mia said she has to sleep on a mattress on the floor and shares the cell with six others. But she’s not been ill – she has just come out in a few rashes.”
In the end, Mia O’Brien is a very lucky girl indeed. Being caught with 50 grams of cocaine in a country that’s notorious for its contempt of drugs is just beyond stupid, but at the end of the day she’s only 23 years old and it’s brutal to think that someone that age can spend their prime years wasting away in a Dubai prison over something so foolish.
Of course, there’ll be plenty of other prisoners in Dubai jail right now who will have committed a similar or even lesser offence, and won’t be as jammy as Mia. Some people get all the luck eh?
For the British man who was left devastated after being kicked out of Dubai due to his face tattoos, click HERE.
