The mother of the student sentenced to 25 years in Dubai raises money for the trip.

New campaign to support Mia O'Brien

According to The Sun: The mother of Mia O'Brien has started a new campaign to raise money to visit her daughter in the notorious Dubai prison while also complaining about the 'haters' who comment on her situation online.

Daniel McKenna has created a new page on the Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo after GoFundMe unexpectedly closed their previous appeal.

Mia, who hails from Huyton, Merseyside, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in July after being arrested in October with 50 grams of cocaine in her apartment in Dubai. The value of the drugs was approximately £2,500 in the UK.

The 23-year-old woman also received a fine of £100,000 before being sent to Al-Awir Central Prison, known as 'Alcatraz' in the Persian Gulf.

Her mother claims her daughter is innocent and views the case as an 'unjust verdict', asserting that Mia simply made 'a very stupid decision' to visit her friend and boyfriend.

New fundraiser

In her new campaign titled 'Mia Rose Fund', Daniel wrote:

“Hello, as everyone knows, Mia has been sentenced to life in prison in Dubai and is now in the central prison. I am reaching out to you for help so that my family can travel to Dubai to visit Mia, as we haven’t seen her since last October, and it will also help cover other expenses.”

The goal of the fundraiser is £5,000, but by Wednesday morning only £55 had been raised.

Daniel was outraged by the criticism and stated:

“This is my little girl, my firstborn and my only daughter, I will fight for my children until my last breath.”

She also added:

“To the haters, I wish that misfortune does not knock on your door, your disgusting comments do not affect my life, so I will not respond to them.”

This new campaign began after GoFundMe closed the initial fundraiser, which had raised nearly £700 of its £1,600 target, due to 'rule violations'.

Mia, a law student at the University of Liverpool who dreamt of becoming a lawyer, is now in prison with six other women, sleeping on the floor with only a mattress and a pillow.

Her mother noted that the conditions in the prison are terrible:

“The conditions in the prison are just awful. There is virtually no staff, and she has to bang on large doors when she needs something.”

Daniel added that Mia often cries on the phone and begs for forgiveness.

The family hopes for an appeal or a clemency agreement that could bring Mia back to the UK.

“Mia is being very brave, but she misses her younger brothers, who are only 5 and 7 years old,”

Insight into the 'Alcatraz version in Dubai'

Mia O'Brien has been incarcerated in Al-Awir Central Prison in Dubai. This prison is used for both men and women, who are housed in different blocks.

Women occupy one of the four blocks in the prison. Cases of mistreatment and abuse of former inmates evoke horrific memories of conditions in Al-Awir.

In 2012, Karl Williams spent a year in this prison and compared it to the 'Alcatraz version in Dubai'. He reported witnessing violence and torture among inmates.

The Dubai prison and the government deny all these allegations.

Mia wants to return home, and her mother also wants her to come back.

“She just wants to come home. I also want her to come back – she is my only daughter,”

Questions regarding Mia's case continue to spark discussions. She was arrested along with her friend and boyfriend, but only her name has become public.

So far, prosecutors claim that 50 grams of cocaine were found in her apartment, but the mother asserts that her daughter was simply 'pulled into this situation' and questions whose drugs they really were.

Mia's situation draws attention to the complex questions of justice in different countries and living conditions in prisons. The family and supporters hope for a swift resolution of the case and the return of the girl to her home country, but Mia's fate remains uncertain. The significance of this case goes beyond personal tragedies as it reveals issues related to international law and human rights.

The fundraiser organized by Mia's mother demonstrates how the family is trying to fight for justice and maintain contact despite the challenges posed by legal problems.