British Student Sentenced 25 Years Dubai Drug Possession

Mia O'Brien, a 24-year-old British law student from Merseyside, has been sentenced to 25 years in a Dubai prison after being found with 50 grams of cocaine at a party last October. Despite pleading not guilty and claiming she only took a single line of cocaine, she was convicted following a one-day trial held in Arabic and faces a £100,000 fine. Her former cellmate and fellow Briton revealed that Mia believed she would not be treated as a drug dealer, asserting that it was her friend's boyfriend who possessed the drugs, while her friend was released after testing negative. Mia's mother, Danielle McKenna, has launched fundraising efforts to challenge the verdict and provide legal aid, although some fundraising pages have been removed due to platform policies. Mia is currently held in Al Awir prison, described as a harsh facility with poor conditions, and her case has drawn attention to the severity of drug sentencing in the UAE. The friend who was arrested alongside Mia's boyfriend was also sentenced to 25 years, while Mia's friend was released without charge.