THE mum of a Brit woman jailed for life in Dubai has been left “absolutely devastated” after learning about her daughter’s fate.
Mia O’Brien, 23, is reportedly being held in Al-Awir prison which is notorious for once being dubbed “Dubai’s version of Alcatraz”.
GoFundMeJailed Brit Mia O’Brien with her devastated mother Danielle McKenna (right)[/caption]
Mia is serving a life sentence in one of Dubai’s most hellish prisonsGoFundMe
GoFundMeLaw student Mia got ‘mixed up with the wrong so-called friends’ while at university, according to her mum[/caption]
Her family are yet to say what Liverpool-born Mia was found guilty of in the strict United Arab Emirates city.
Life sentences can often be handed down for several reasons including drug trafficking and possession, murder or attempted murder, human trafficking and terrorism-related activities.
Heartbroken mum Danielle McKenna, 46, announced her daughter’s daunting predicament through a GoFundMe page.
She wrote on the now-deleted page: “Mia has been given a life sentence over in Dubai and she is now in central prison.
“As you can all probably imagine, as her mother I am absolutely devastated.
“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.
“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.”
Danielle later thanked people for their donations, explaining the money would be used to cover legal fees and travel costs, allowing Mia’s family to visit.
After Mia’s story was covered by the press, the GoFundMe page mysteriously vanished.
It was later revealed that it had been deleted for violating the website’s guidelines.
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.”
The fundraiser – which had a target of £1,600 – made just under £700 before it was removed.
Discussing her daughter’s state of mind, Danielle also told the Daily Mail: “She’s going through it at the minute.
“She’s just been transferred to another prison after getting a life sentence. It’s been a massive shock.”
PRISON HELL
Danielle said Mia has been locked up in “central prison” which is believed to be the Al-Awir prison in central Dubai.
The jail is used for both male and female convicts with them being seperated once they step through the chilling gates.
Women make up one of the four blocks inside the huge jail, according to the British Government website.
Horror stories from inmates who have previously been locked up and those from the families of Brits still trapped behind bars paint a disturbing picture of Al-Awir.
GoFundMeMia’s family are yet to say what she was found guilty of[/caption]
AFPThe Al-Awir prison is notorious for facing dozens of horror allegations of abuse, torture and rape from former inmates[/caption]
GoFundMeAfter Mia’s story was covered by the press, her family’s GoFundMe page mysteriously vanished[/caption]
In 2012, Karl Williams was imprisoned for a year after police found drugs in the boot of his hire car.
He compared the Al-Awir jail to the “Dubai version of Alcatraz” during his sentence.
In his memoir, he recalled seeing inmates being stabbed to death in violent clashes that were not stopped by guards.
In a statement, he said that his testicles had been electrocuted while he was interrogated by police.
“They pulled down my trousers, spread my legs and started to electrocute my testicles,” he wrote in the statement.
“It was unbelievably painful. I was so scared. I started to believe that I was going to die in that room.”
Their lawyers also said that the men were forced to sign documents in Arabic at gunpoint.
Karl claimed Russian gangsters ruled the prison wards and allegedly used HIV-positive inmates to rape and deliberately infect others as a form of punishment.
At least four HIV-positive prisoners at Al-Awir were allegedly denied medication up to five months, according to another shocking report by the Human Rights Watch.
British footballer Billy Hood made similar accusations as he said prisoners were tortured and left to die from diseases.
His claims were repeated in 2021 by 60-year-old Albert Douglas who told The Sun Online prisoners are raped, tortured and even starved by the cruel guards.
Dubai’s prison system and government deny all the claims.
PABrit Karl Williams compared the Al-Awir jail to the ‘Dubai version of Alcatraz’ during his sentence[/caption]
The jail is used for both male and female convicts with them being seperated once they step through the chilling gates
Detained in DubaiAlbert Douglas told The Sun Online prisoners are raped, tortured and even starved by the cruel guards[/caption]