Jess Battison
The mum of a British student jailed in Dubai has set up a new fundraiser after revealing her daughter’s ‘very stupid mistake’.
Previous GoFundMe pages organised by Danielle McKenna have been deleted for violating its terms of service.
Until recently, Mia O’Brien’s accused crime had not been disclosed, with her family saying they hadn’t seen her since ‘last October’.
The 23-year-old from Huyton, Liverpool, has been given a life sentence in the United Arab Emirates as well as a fine of £100,000.
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As McKenna says she made a ‘stupid mistake’ while going to visit a friend, it has since been revealed that she was reportedly found in possession of cocaine.
With Dubai and the rest of the UAE having very strict rules in place, there is zero tolerance for drug-related offences. In the UAE, penalties for trafficking, smuggling, using and possessing illegal drugs (including residual amounts) are severe.
And the UK Foreign Office (FCDO) warns that sentences for the likes of drug trafficking ‘can include the death penalty’.
It is reported that O’Brien was discovered with 50 grams of the Class A substance, worth around £2,500.
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Now launching a personal appeal on Facebook, McKenna has repeatedly tried to set up fundraisers for her daughter with a previous page to assist with her legal costs, reading: “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.
"So all I ask is if you can donate anything you can spare, even if it's a £1, it could help up massively and I would be forever grateful. Thank you so much."
However, the page was removed for reportedly ’breaching community rules’, as a GoFundMe spokesperson told The Sun: "It was removed because it violates Term 9 of the Prohibited Conduct section in our Terms of Service. Term 9 prohibits raising funds on GoFundMe for the legal defence of certain alleged crimes."
So, McKenna has now created her own makeshift fundraiser, sharing her bank details publicly on Facebook.
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“Seems as the GoFundMe are being absolute c**ts,” she wrote. “I am going to set up my own, as they are nitpicking at everything, so they can shove there cut up their arse.”
O’Brien was reportedly serving time in Dubai’s central prison, where conditions are said to be ‘horrific’. Her mum says she pleaded ‘not guilty’ and has not yet paid the fine.
McKenna has also shared that with an appeal hearing due in a few weeks, O’Brien hopes she may be able to serve her sentence back in the UK following Ramadan.