British student, 23, jailed for life in Dubai

'As her mother, I am absolutely devastated'

Mia O'Brien from Huyton, Liverpool, is currently being held in the city's central prison.

Mia's mother, Danielle McKenna (46), has issued pleas for help through a fundraiser.

Danielle wrote on the now-deleted fundraising 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 with the wrong so-called friends, 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 £1, it could help us massively, and I would be forever grateful. Thank you so much," per The Sun.

Danielle later explained that the donations would be used to cover legal fees and travel costs so Mia's family can visit her.

It is yet unclear why the GoFundMe was deleted. The fundraiser had collected just under £700 of its £1,600 target.

A life sentence in the United Arab Emirates typically means between 15 and 25 years of imprisonment.

The family has not disclosed the crime Mia committed, however, the country usually passes on life sentences for drug trafficking and possession, murder or attempted murder, human trafficking, and terrorism-related activities.

The FCDO warns tourists in its travel advice: "The penalties for trafficking, smuggling, using and possessing illegal drugs (including residual amounts) are severe.

"Sentences for drug trafficking can include the death penalty. Possession of even the smallest amount of illegal drugs, including cannabis, can lead to a minimum 3-month prison term or a fine of between 20,000 UAE dirham and 100,000 UAE dirham.

"The Emirati authorities count the presence of drugs in the bloodstream as possession."