More Details Released Over British Law Student, 23, Jailed For Life In Dubai Over Coke Bust
We wrote about Mia O’Brien, 23, from Huyton, Liverpool and the ‘stupid mistake‘ which earned her a life sentence in Dubai jail last week, and we can now reveal what that stupid mistake was, as her mum wasn’t very forthcoming with the details initially.
Sure enough, law student Mia was found with 50 grams of cocaine at an apartment in Dubai, which means she isn’t just spending the next 25 years in prison in Dubai, but she’ll also have to fork out $136,000 as a fine for the crime.
Distraught mom Danielle McKenna, 46, told MailOnline: “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.
“She is absolutely devastated by what has happened. Mia is being really strong, but I know she is going through a living hell.”
The mum said Mia, who was studying law at the University of Liverpool, is “devastated” after destroying her career chances.
“Mia feels she has destroyed her life as she wanted to be a lawyer or solicitor. She’s just made a stupid mistake after going over to see a friend and her boyfriend in Dubai. I don’t think she was asked to bring anything back. She was caught with cocaine in an apartment.”
“It was about 50 grams, and there were two other people — her friend included. They have been charged with drug-dealing.”
Brutal stuff. Of course, Mia should know better than to be messing around with cocaine or any other drug in a place like Dubai, but it’s still completely tragic that a 23-year-old girl is going to spend the next quarter of a century in a Dubai hell-hole prison over it. She’ll be 48 by the time she’s released – older than her mum is now! Surely that’s way too harsh a sentence, all things considered.
Worse still, Mia is being held at Dubai’s infamous Central Prison, which is known for its inhuman conditions, overcrowded cells and tyrannical guards. Rape is an “every day occurrence”, where both guards and inmates engage in violent assaults, according to a report from Human Rights Watch last year.
Her mum added: “Mia said she has to sleep on a mattress on the floor and shares the cell with six others. 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.”
Awful. Mia is due to appeal her life sentence in the coming weeks, so let’s hope the courts have mercy on her. It wasn’t that long ago that Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum granted a pardon to 18-year-old London teenager Marcus Fakana, after he’d spent 6 months inside. If Mia catches the ruler on a good day, then who knows? Maybe he’ll sort her out too. Although I’m pretty sure cocaine use is a much more serious offence over there than what Marcus did.
Best of luck, Mia and family.
For the British dad who was recently sentenced to 40 years in Dubai jail after being caught with £2,000 of cocaine, click HERE. I suppose he wants a pardon and all?
