UK Law Student Mia O’Brien Sentenced to 25 Years in Dubai Prison for Cocaine Possession

Law student Mia O’Brien faces life in prison for being caught with cocaine in Dubai.

British law student Mia O’Brien, 23, has been sentenced to 25 years in Dubai’s Central Prison after authorities found her with 50 grams of cocaine, worth an estimated $3,377, in an apartment. Along with the lengthy prison term, O’Brien was ordered to pay a $136,000 fine.

O’Brien, who studied law at the University of Liverpool and aspired to become a solicitor, pleaded not guilty. Her mother, Danielle McKenna, 46, said the trial was conducted entirely in Arabic and claimed her daughter did not receive a fair hearing. “She was just given a life sentence and has to serve 25 years. She is absolutely devastated by what has happened,” McKenna said from her home in Merseyside.

Mia, 23, was found in an apartment with 50 grams of the drug.

The young student traveled to Dubai to visit a friend and her boyfriend when the arrest took place. McKenna said two others present at the apartment were also charged with drug dealing.

O’Brien is now being held at Dubai’s notorious Central Prison, a facility that human rights organizations have condemned for its harsh conditions, overcrowding, and widespread abuse. Reports describe rape as an “every day occurrence,” involving both inmates and guards.

“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,” McKenna revealed.

She is being held at Dubai’s infamous Central Prison

O’Brien intends to appeal her life sentence in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, her mother has been attempting to raise money for legal fees after a crowdfunding campaign was removed, resorting to sharing her bank details on social media to seek support.

McKenna expressed sorrow over her daughter’s shattered future: “Mia feels she has destroyed her life as she wanted to be a lawyer or solicitor. She’s just made a stupid mistake.”