Mother of British woman Mia O’Brien sentenced to life in Dubai starts new bid to raise funds after GoFundMe suspended

The mother of a British law student sentenced to life in prison in Dubai has revealed her fundraising efforts have been in vain after her GoFundMe was taken down for breaching community rules.

Mia O’Brien, 23, from Liverpool, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after reportedly being found with a large amount of cocaine.

O’Brien’s mother, Danielle 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), had been deleted for violating community guidelines.

After a heated spray at GoFundMe on Facebook, McKenna is now sharing her bank details publicly on the social media platform.

“I haven’t seen my daughter since last October. Mia is only 23 years old and has never done a bad thing in her life,” McKenna originally wrote on the now-deleted GoFundMe page.

“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.”

A GoFundMe spokesperson told British tabloid The Sun that the page was removed on Friday 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,” they said.

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).

She is currently being held in the notorious Dubai Central Prison, also known as Al-Awir, according to the Daily Mail.

Speaking with the publication, McKenna said her daughter felt she had “destroyed her life” and that the prison conditions were “horrendous”.

“She’s just made a stupid mistake after going over to see a friend and her boyfriend in Dubai,” she said.

“She was crying on the phone and saying ‘Oh mum - please forgive me’.”

O’Brien is due to have an appeal in the next few weeks.

There’s a zero tolerance for illegal drugs and drug-related offences in the UAE, according to Smartraveller.

Penalties for drug offences can include the death penalty or life imprisonment.

“Penalties for having or using illegal drugs include lengthy jail terms and heavy fines. These laws also apply if you’re transiting through the UAE,” the government’s travel advice site said.

“If illegal drugs are found in blood or urine tests, this is considered possession. It won’t matter where or how long ago you consumed the drugs.”

In the UAE people can be charged with possession if trace amounts of drugs are found on their body, clothing or luggage, and can be convicted for 0.05g or less.