An online fundraiser for a 23-year-old British woman ‘jailed for life’ in Dubai has been deleted for breaching one of the platform’s guidelines. GoFundMe said raising funds for the “legal defence of certain alleged crimes” is prohibited.
The family of Mia O’Brien from Huyton, Liverpool, say she is being held in Dubai’s central prison. They have not disclosed what she has been convicted of but say she “made a very stupid mistake”. Her mother Danielle McKenna, 46, 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.”
The fundraiser had a target of £1,600 and had collected almost £700 before it was removed, reports The Sun.
A GoFundMe spokesperson told the newspaper: “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.”
In a later post on GoFundMe, prior to the fundraiser’s removal, Ms McKenna added: “I just want to thank everyone for their donations so far, this money will be used to send to my daughter Mia, and also for any legal fees that may arise, and maybe even to go towards getting family over to Dubai to see her, as none of us have seen Mia since last October, so thank you all so much.”
The mother told the Mail Online that her daughter was “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.”
While the crime O’Brien has been convicted of has not been revealed, life terms can be handed down in the United Arab Emirates for offences such as drug trafficking and possession, murder or attempted murder and human trafficking.
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman detained in the UAE and are in contact with the local authorities.”
In its travel advice for Dubai, the FCDO warns there is “zero tolerance for drugs-related offences”. “The penalties for trafficking, smuggling, using and possessing illegal drugs (including residual amounts) are severe.”