Brit Mia O’Brien jailed in Dubai faces 25 years for ‘single line of cocaine’

A woman who shared a cell with Mia has spoken out about the details the Brit student shared with her while the two of them were locked up in Dubai’s infamous Al Barsha detention centre

British student Mia O’Brien could be stuck in her “living hell” Dubai jail^[1] until 2050 over a ‘single line of cocaine’, according to reports.

The 24-year-old law student from Merseyside has been left navigating life in a “hell-hole” jail after being handed a life sentence in Dubai. O’Brien, of Huyton, Merseyside, was allegedly caught with 50 grams of Class A drugs^[2] in the Middle East in October, her mum has said.

Another woman who was held alongside Mia has said she is facing a 25-year sentence^[3] for “one line of cocaine”, meaning she may not be released until 2050. The woman, a mum and fellow Brit who was Mia’s cellmate after she left the scene of a car crash before paying £3,000 bail and being released, said the student confided in her during their time together.

READ MORE: Dubai’s strict drug laws explained as Mia O’Brien suffers ‘living hell’ in UAE ‘Alcatraz’^[4]READ MORE: Mia O’Brien’s mum lashes out at ‘haters’ after girl jailed over Dubai ‘mistake’^[5]

Mia admitted taking cocaine at a party to the woman, but denied being any king of drug dealer. Speaking to the Sun^[6], she said the student “knew she was in big trouble but didn’t seem to think she would be treated as a dealer”.

“If what she’s saying is true and all she has done is a line of cocaine, 25 years is a horrifically long sentence,” she said. The woman went on to claim that Mia had “fallen out” with her friend – she was arrested alongside a pal and her partner – and she said it was the boyfriend who had the cocaine.

“Her problem was that they had all been arrested and Mia had it in her system. Her friend didn’t so she was released and is back in the UK. Mia thinks she must have stitched her up to get home,” the woman said.

The woman described the state of the Al Barsha detention centre where Mia had been held before moving to Al Awir jail, as “vile” with no light in the cells and disgusting toilet facilities.

Mia, from Huyton, Merseyside, had been studying law at Liverpool, and had held big ambitions of one day becoming a lawyer or solicitor. But now, with a lengthy stretch of prison time before her, Mia reportedly feels that these dreams have been “destroyed”.

Speaking with the Mail Online^[7], Mia’s mum Danielle McKenna, claimed: “Mia feels she has destroyed her life as she wanted to be a lawyer or solicitor. I speak to her but she can’t say too much on the phone. She’s just made a stupid mistake after going over to see a friend and her boyfriend in Dubai.”

According to Danielle, 46, Mia is not a drug taker and has never previously been in trouble. The mother of five also doesn’t believe her daughter intended to either sell the drugs or take them back with her.