September 13th 2025.
Mia was having a great time at a party in Dubai, dancing and enjoying the night with her friends. But suddenly, the atmosphere changed when the police arrived. Little did she know that this would be the beginning of a long and difficult journey for her.
The 24-year-old British law student, Mia O'Brien, from Huyton, Merseyside, was sentenced to life in prison in Dubai for being caught with 50 grams of cocaine last October. She is now at Al-Awir central prison, along with a British mother who shared her experience with The Sun.
According to Mia's cellmate, who has since been released, the party had drugs and Mia admitted to taking some. However, she never imagined that she would be treated as a drug dealer. She was simply having fun and made a mistake.
Mia's friend, who was also at the party, was arrested along with her boyfriend and both were given life sentences as well. The cellmate claims that Mia had a falling out with her friend and that her friend's boyfriend was the one in possession of the drugs.
Mia's mother, Danielle McKenna, has been fighting for her daughter's release and has even set up two fundraisers to help with legal fees and to have a family member visit Mia. However, both fundraisers were taken down for violating the website's rules against campaigns for the defense of certain crimes.
During a visit to the UAE, Danielle revealed that her daughter is now "paying the price" for getting "mixed up in the wrong so-called friends." In addition to the life sentence, Mia was also fined 500,000 dirhams.
Dubai has a strict zero-tolerance policy towards drugs, and even visitors can face prosecution for having any substances in their blood. The punishments range from three-month prison sentences and fines for small offenses to the death penalty.
Mia's former cellmate believes that 25 years is an extremely long sentence for what Mia claims to have done - just a line of cocaine. She hopes that Mia's story will serve as a warning to others about the dangers of getting involved with drugs in a country with such strict laws.
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