Mia O’Brien is a young British law student who was recently sentenced to life imprisonment, find out more about her and the incident below
Following the conviction, Mia will now serve her sentence in Dubai’s central prison, far from her home in Liverpool.
Who is Mia O’Brien, British law student jailed for life in Dubai after being caught with cocaine
LAWFARE: Serious countries enforce their laws. In Dubai, being caught with 50 grams of cocaine can mean life in prison. In contrast, the West has created the impression that laws won’t be enforced. Mia O’Brien, a 23-year-old UK law student, was sentenced to life after authorities… pic.twitter.com/tqD7kju3Kz
— @amuse (@amuse) September 7, 2025
Absolutely No Sympathy At All!
🇬🇧23-year-old Scouser Mia O’Brien sentenced to life in prison in Dubai
🇦🇪According to her mum the British law student made a very stupid mistake after getting caught up with the ‘wrong’ people.
🇬🇧It is understood a fundraiser set up on GoFundMe… pic.twitter.com/iADG8NjWbO
— James Goddard (@JamesPGoddard90) September 6, 2025
While family and friends briefly turned to crowdfunding for help, their appeal was taken down due to platform restrictions.
Mia O’Brien jailed for life in Dubai
Authorities in the UAE recently sentenced a woman named Mia O’Brien’s to a life sentence in Dubai. The sentencing has stunned her family and community back home, and it took place after she was arrested in October last year. Mia has not seen her family since her arrest and although the exact details were initially scarce, recent reports suggest that she was found guilty of possessing and attempting to traffic banned substances in Dubai. Mia could now face at least 15 to 25 years behind bars under Emirati life sentence law. Her devastated mother, Danielle McKenna, has spoken out about the incident and called it the result of a “very stupid mistake” made under the influence of the wrong crowd.
Charges and allegations
According to reports, authorities caught Mia O’Brien with 50 grams of cocaine, a Class A drug in October. The drugs were reportedly valued at around £2,500 (approximately ₹3 lakh). As of now, her family members have avoided disclosing the charges and only called it a “very stupid mistake.” Meanwhile, official court documents have confirmed all the drug possession and trafficking allegations. In Dubai, crimes involving banned substances carry some of the toughest penalties as compared to other parts of the world. Criminals often face life sentences, which are common even for relatively small amounts of drugs.
O’Brien plead not guilty to intent to supply the drugs, however, was convicted by a judge after a one-day hearing on July 25 and fined £100,000 (AUD $205,917) and is currently being held in the Dubai Central Prison, also known as Al-Awir with an appeal due in the next weeks.
Mia O’Brien biography and age
Mia O’Brien from Merseyside is a 23-year-old British national from Liverpool who was pursuing a career in law before her recent arrest in Dubai. Her friends and family described her as a kind-hearted and studious young woman who never had any previous run-ins with the law. According to sources close to her, Mia started taking the wrong path after falling in with the wrong group of friends.
Her mom Danielle McKenna mother had launched a fundraising campaign to cover travel expenses, legal fees and costs associated with visiting her daughter in prison but the campaign was removed by GoFundMe for violating their terms of service.
McKenna said her daughter’s GoFundMe account, created to help fund potential legal fees and flights for family members to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and had already raised over £700 (AUD $1450).
Mia is held in the city’s central prison, with her family last seeing her in October.
Education
Mia O’Brien was studying law at a university in Liverpool and was looking forward to one day practicing it professionally. However, her arrest has cut short all of those aspirations, and she now faces decades in prison.
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