The mother of a University of Liverpool who was jailed in Dubai over a “single line of cocaine” has spoken out about her daughter’s “very stupid mistake”.
Mia O’Brien, who initially faced a life sentence after being found in possession of 50g of cocaine while on holiday in Dubai, was unexpectedly released in time for Christmas.
The 24-year-old law student was being held at Al-Awir Central Prison, following her arrest at a flat party in UAE city. During this time, her family repeatedly insisted the process was unfair, with her mum, Danielle, calling the conviction a “miscarriage of justice”.
via Facebook
Earlier this month, Danielle posted on Facebook that Mia’s release was imminent, claiming she was in “shock” that her “baby girl is coming home”.
On Christmas morning, Mia’s mum posted a video montage of her daughter on TikTok, titling it: “She’s Home”.
In the video’s comments, she referred to Mia’s return as a “Christmas miracle”, before making speaking more seriously about her daughter’s experience: “Mia feels she has destroyed her life as she wanted to be a solicitor […] She is absolutely devastated by what has happened”.
“Mia is really strong, but I know she is going through a living hell,” she continued.
In a separate comment on a deleted fundraiser, Danielle previously said: “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”.
A UAE-based legal expert spoke to The Sun about the potential reasons behind Mia’s release: “They did not specify a reason for her release and such things are not made public, but keeping a young Brit in jail for 25 years would have been bad for Dubai’s PR, so I believe that would be why they decided to set her free”.
The founder of the Detained in Dubai Support group, who were initially working on an appeal case, Radha Stirling commented: “Dubai police have a history of rushing to secure convictions without the rigorous evidentiary standards we expect in the UK […] Mia’s case could be the latest in a long line of miscarriages of justice”.
The Dubai Police and Detained in Dubai have been contacted for comment.
Featured image via GoFundMe and Facebook
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